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Optimal Learning Environments to Promote Student Engagement pp 207–218Cite as

Engagement Beyond the Core Academic Subjects

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Part of the book series: Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development ((ARAD))

Abstract

Continuing from examples of engaging approaches to core academic subjects discussed in Chap. 8, in this chapter, we discuss engaging approaches in three nonacademic subjects: art, vocational education, and curricula in social and emotional well-being. We discuss art only briefly as the primary example, The Lifelines Community Arts Project, is an after-school program presented in Chap. 13. The example from vocational education includes a study of the Cristo Rey corporate work-study program; and the examples of curricula in social and emotional well-being include a variety of interventions to facilitate positive psychology (e.g., gratitude interventions), The Penn Resiliency Program, and the Geelong Grammar School in Australia. Participants in the Cristo Rey work-study program built important competencies for succeeding in life as well as work, such as social and emotional skills, time management, communication, and networking skills. One unique benefit of the program was the highly motivating effect of the corporate role models that students sought to emulate. The Geelong Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia, is a whole-school model in which teachers and administrators seek to embed “positive education” and Seligman’s conception of signature strengths into all aspects of campus life, from academic courses to sports to music to the chapel. The school helps students to enact positive teachings offered by cognitive psychology. Both education in physical health as well as training in executive processes to develop, value, and prioritize goals can be important facets of social and emotional learning to facilitate the engagement and positive development of youth.

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  1. Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations College of Education, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

    David J. Shernoff

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Shernoff, D.J. (2013). Engagement Beyond the Core Academic Subjects. In: Optimal Learning Environments to Promote Student Engagement. Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7089-2_9

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