From Surviving to Thriving

Abstract

The chapter will examine the role schools play in the twenty-first century in developing more than student intellect. In order to prepare students for an increasingly interconnected world facing an uncertain future, schools are acknowledging the importance of student well-being as a prerequisite for learning and achievement. Terms such as character education, social and emotional learning, positive education, and values pedagogy have been used to describe educational frameworks that focus on developing students’ character strengths and values alongside academic outcomes. The common philosophy underlying these approaches is that optimal learning occurs in a safe, caring, and responsive school environment that actively fosters individual resiliency and strengthens interpersonal relations. In Australia, the Values in Actions Schools Project (VASP) was one such approach that aimed to enhance student resilience, well-being, and learning. This chapter describes the transformative effects that occurred when a cluster of catholic schools extended their existing implicit values-based educational ethos to include more explicit strategies for teaching and modeling values. Teacher, parent, and student reflections indicated that the initiative helped to create an environment in which children could grow and flourish, not just socially, emotionally and academically, but also morally and spiritually.