What if the school promoted the well-being of students?

“Students are more than their grades.” (1) As the school year comes to an end and students’ progress is assessed in terms of their academic results, we question the importance given to well-being at school.

Childhood and adolescence are critical periods for the development of lasting attitudes that will impact personal well-being and life choices. School, which occupies a considerable place in children’s daily lives, is as much a place for understanding the physical and psychological health of students as for action in the service of individual and societal well-being.

Student well-being is an evolving state that refers to the psychological, cognitive, social and physical capacities and mechanisms promoting a general state of good health and development.

“Well-being and academic success are closely correlated.” (2) Well-being is one of the essential prerequisites for academic success; success is an element that potentiates well-being.

Promoting well-being means having a positive influence on different factors: self-esteem; satisfaction with different aspects of one’s life; the quality of relationships and interactions with others; the feeling of belonging, etc. It also favorably impacts the positive emotions and aspirations that young people have for their future, including their potential to actively contribute to their community. Promoting well-being means, on the contrary, fighting against dropping out of school and limiting risky behavior as well as mental health disorders.

School is the place where students learn to best understand the choices available to them. They acquire the knowledge necessary to think critically, think about the influence that society has on them and consider how their own choices impact their lives and their well-being. Alongside this cognitive development, other related and complementary skills are necessary to support their development and promote their full potential.

Managing emotions

In this sense, School is a privileged space for the explicit development of social and emotional skills. Learning to learn presupposes knowing yourself better. Concentrating requires cultivating your attention. As part of a learning community – in their classroom – and a community of experience – in their school – students must also learn to manage their emotions and stress, as well as cultivate relationships constructively with their peers, teachers and family. In a volatile and complex global context, they must also be equipped to envisage the future, to find a purpose for what they are and do today, to be and become better tomorrow.

Promoting well-being at school is a key ingredient to boosting sustainable individual and collective well-being.

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