6. Lessons and contrasts: Learning from the case study schools
6.7 Wellbeing and formal attainment: Co-evolution
A fundamental theme that surfaced again and again during our research was the dynamic (and essential) relationship between the wellbeing of students and their ability to progress towards formal, educational attainment.
Debate has raged for generations about the relative priority between formal instruction and attainment, and the material, emotional and social needs of students who are grappling with challenges and barriers not encountered by their advantaged peers.
Of course, on some level this debate has always been a false dichotomy. But in recent decades the policy consensus has swung towards the idea that it is qualifications and formal attainment that will make the greatest difference to the life chances of disadvantaged young people, so we should prioritise their academic performance and concentrate on effective strategies to lift that attainment.
The three case study schools provide a fascinating range of practice to learn from because of the differences in their context and orientation. In CVHS we found a highly academic school aligned with a very strong family culture prioritising exam results and university admission. At PGHS, community commitment to the value of formal education is much more varied, and the pathways to economic opportunity and jobs are under real threat. In Dandenong West and Noble Park, the primary-age children who come to school are usually not challenging in their behaviour or questioning of the value of school. However, the circumstances of their childhoods mean that their emotional, social and interpersonal development is likely to be inhibited or lacking in various ways.
So all the schools face, differently, the question of how wellbeing and ‘non-cognitive skills’ should be addressed alongside a strong emphasis on progress in literacy, numeracy, and other markers of formal attainment. Is there competition between these priorities? And how should they be addressed?
Student wellbeing is core business
At PGHS, Nanette van Ruiten describes the importance of achieving ‘conditions for learning’ that make it possible for teachers to teach, and for students to concentrate. PGHS serves as a powerful reminder of schools, many in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, where those conditions are not in place, and the disruptive effects this can have.
Progress in learning is the casualty if students are not convinced of the value of learning, if they are dealing with other intrusions on their attention, if schools are disorderly, and if teachers have to spend energy every day tackling bad behaviour and trying to maintain order and discipline.
International surveys of teachers show that behaviour is among the most significant causes of professional dissatisfaction and stress.113 In most schools, the priorities of wellbeing and academic success compete for time, attention and resources. The risk is that wellbeing initiatives miss out if they are not seen to be part of a school’s ‘core business.’
By contrast, PGHS spent some years working to achieve the ‘conditions for learning’ in which lessons are conducted in consistent, orderly and respectful terms. The benefits are there to be seen in the life of the school. An important aspect of school life is ongoing investment in relationships and wellbeing, through dedicated year-level coordinators and senior staff responsible for student welfare and behaviour. In our research visits we heard about and witnessed some of the daily tensions between responding immediately to the needs and behaviour of individual students, and continuing with the planned delivery of the curriculum. At CVHS, teachers repeatedly told us that the school is so favoured among professionals because they can teach without disruption: teachers and students alike are committed and ready to concentrate on teaching and learning. In CVHS perhaps the challenges to wellbeing manifest themselves differently because the culture of hard work and attainment is so strong. The school’s dedicated welfare team constantly works to identify students with family issues or emotional needs that may interfere with their schoolwork, and to find ways to support students with the stresses and pressures of teenage life and impending exams.
“Significantly, the schools in our case studies used collaboration
and the formation of wider relationships to find new ways to meet
student wellbeing needs.”
All the case study schools have a clear belief that schools have an important role to play in the wellbeing of their students. The schools have communicated that belief through explicit investment in welfare initiatives. Social workers are on staff and welfare teams at each school ensure that the school takes a holistic approach to supporting their students.
Importantly, the focus on welfare is not solely on behaviour management. There is a recognition that what goes on outside the classroom has a significant impact on student learning. At Dandenong West the welfare team provides mental and physical health support to students, and ensures that even with a highly mobile student population the students receive targeted, personalised support. In this location, that commitment has fed into the evolution of a ‘shared services platform’ capable of supporting a much broader range of personalised support to students and families than traditional channels of service delivery can manage.
The case study schools demonstrate that wellbeing and formal attainment are not always in competition. Over time they become natural allies, working together to support growth and development.
It is undeniable that student welfare and wellbeing compete in the immediate context of a finite school resource package. The demands of teaching the formal curriculum compete for resources and attention with many characters, voices and needs for time. The schools demonstrate in practice both that there is no neat separation between the family taking care of emotional development, and the school taking professional responsibility for cognitive advancement. Nor is there a single formula for addressing the wellbeing needs of students.
We observed that the wellbeing of students is always dynamic and evolving, presenting new questions and challenges for the adults working with them. Significantly, the schools in our case studies used collaboration and the formation of wider relationships to find new ways to meet student wellbeing needs; for example, through the formation of the Sammy D Foundation, or the development of family learning activities at the primary schools. When relationships grow laterally across and beyond school organisations, they actively nourish the social and emotional needs of students and adults alike. They create new organisational possibilities for reconciling the conflicting pressures of time, space and attention.