Educating the Whole Child

A positive school climate can be an effective counter to harassment, bullying, and other forms of social identity threat that many students experience. This blog explores how strong, trust-based relationships and other “whole child” strategies can facilitate a student’s sense of belonging. This improves learning, development, and wellness among students, especially for those who are harassed or marginalized because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual identity.

"Brain breaks" and other tools and strategies to promote students’ awareness of their emotions and help them to learn important self-regulation skills are part of Lakewood Elementary School’s comprehensive approach to integrating social and emotional learning alongside academic instruction. Throughout the school year, and especially in the first six weeks of school, teachers spend time directly teaching social-emotional skills using separate lessons. These strategies are then reinforced throughout the day and year.

Both students' learning and their overall health and well-being are improved when schools adopt "whole child" supports and practices. Multi-disciplinary research identifies four main ingredients of school success that allow us to care for and nurture the potential in all children: a positive school climate, productive instructional strategies, social-emotional development, and individualized supports. In this post, LPI Senior Researcher Lisa Flook identifies the steps schools and school systems can take to foster students’ social and emotional well-being.