T&L Blog W3- Student wellbeing

 Dear WA,

I hope everyone is well! This week for Bitesize Research, I was interested to see some research findings about different aspects of wellbeing in school students from the University of Cambridge. 

Objectives: To look at broader notions of student wellbeing in schools, rather than just wellbeing equating to happiness. 

Summary: 

The author of this research looks at a broader conception of wellbeing, which includes ideas about students feeling capable and purposeful - sometimes called ‘eudaimonia’. 
The author argues that this broader conception of wellbeing improves student grades as well as their mental health. For example, students achieving top grades in Maths at GCSE had 1.5 times more eudaimonia than their peers. 
The author argues that this positive correlation is not apparent for ‘happiness’ (which is part of the RSHE national curriculum).
The author argues that wellbeing education should be broadened to ensure eudaimonia is included, and that this would unlock better academic performance in many students.

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflections arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

• How do I currently support my students to feel capable and purposeful?
• How do I promote growth in students’ eudaimonia?
• What strategies could I try to support this?
• What support might I need to do this?

Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!