Wellbeing in teacher education. Theory, policies and practices.

Author(s):

Denis Francesconi(presenting / submitting)Massimiliano Tarozzi(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

08. Research on Health Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

08 SES 03 A, Perspectives on Professionals working with Health Education and Promotion in Schools

Paper Session

Time:

2015-09-08

17:15-18:45

Room:

108.Oktatóterem [C]

Chair:

Marjorita Sormunen

Contribution

Since the early nineties there has been a paradigm shift in human development theory, and a slow but steady increase of attention towards the interconnections between social, political and economic features (Nussbaum & Sen, 1993). This, among other factors, has brought about a concomitant increased interest on wellbeing and the quality of life. Accordingly, some have put under quest the validity power of the Gross National Product (GDP) to explain variations in the wealth and development of nations (Costanza et al., 2014), and several institutions have start developing new indicators to evaluate and consider also subjective wellbeing, equality and sustainability: OECD’s Better Life Initiative (OECD, 2013), Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission (Stiglitz, Sen, & Fitoussi, 2009), Quality of Life’s approach (Nussbaum & Sen, 1993), Subjective Wellbeing (Kahneman, Diener, & Schwarz, 2003), Ottawa Charter (WHO | The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986), Post-2015 Development Agenda (UN Economic and Social Council).

In this paper, we will specifically discuss the impact of this renovated notion of Wellbeing in teachers’ professional profile and in teacher education. In particular we will focus on the professional teachers’ competencies needed to facilitate and guide learning and development of wellbeing in schools. Our research questions are: how can we promote wellbeing in teacher education? Which examples and practices are already implemented? Which education policies have been put into practice for promoting wellbeing in teacher education at regional, national and European level? After presenting our theoretical framework, which consists in a phenomenological and embodied theory of education (Francesconi & Tarozzi 2012), we will discuss these questions referring to a recent research project carried out with the financial support of Caritro-Cassa di Risparmio di Trento e Rovereto and based on the collaboration between the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science at the University of Trento and the Department of Sciences for Quality of Life at the University of Bologna.

Method

We will present data from a research project entitled “Embodied Wellbeing in Teacher Education. A pedagogical model”, focusing first on a policies analysis that we have conducted at regional (Trentino Alto-Adige), national (Italy), international (OCSE) levels; we will mostly present data about the OECD’s Better Life Initiative, in consideration of the huge influence that this initiative has on local and national policies. Secondly, we will present an ongoing qualitative field study aiming at exploring the way in which pre-service and in-service education can impact the construction of competences, knowledge, abilities required to promote wellbeing in secondary schools and whether and to what extent these are embedded in the pedagogical perspective of future teachers. For the policies analysis, we adopted a policies analysis approach following Carol Bacchi (2009) with consistent modifications. Although interpretative methodologies have contributed to shifting the perspective from which a policy can be studied as a social construct rather than an objective response to a social problem, we paid special attention on how multi-data can be combined in meaningful ways for conceptual analysis: we used multiple sources of data, comprising pre-extant documents (e.g. policy texts) and data from the field (e.g. face-to-face interviews, observations). A more realistic approach is considered a key element also to critically address key phenomena like inequality, exploitation, oppression, discrimination etc. in their concrete social manifestations which are embedded in the very notion of wellbeing education. Finally, to inquire the second part of the study on teacher education practices, we employed semi-structured interviews, in-field observations, documental analysis, self-reports .

Expected Outcomes

The original goal of our project was in creating an effective model for wellbeing education in pre-service and in-service teacher education. In doing that, we moved toward a new theoretical approach that merges Embodiment and Education, which can offer new perspectives to health and wellbeing education. Following this approach, body and bodily experiences – not only a discourse on the body – are crucial elements in the process of wellbeing promotion. The main conclusions deriving from our policies analysis are: a) origin and modalities of the ongoing shift from merely economic and metrics indexes to more socio-economic ones able to consider ecological, social, ethical and event aesthetic dimension of wellbeing. b) The lack of a structured pedagogical analysis and contribution to this shift. c) The increasing attention to phenomenological dimension of wellbeing, so-called Subjective Wellbeing or Experienced Wellbeing. From our data on teacher education practices, we have: d) the need to clarify the difference between health education and wellbeing education: from medical to pedagogical discourse; e) lack of wellbeing promotion in teacher education programs: reasons and possible solutions; f) suggestions from an example of body-mind practice in teacher education: what teachers want and what they get. We believe that the entire educational community should gain awareness of the raising contemporary policies and movements about Quality of Life and Wellbeing, as well as their implications for educational science paradigms and educational practices. Indeed, it seems to be clear that these movements are slowly but constantly provoking a change, not always clearly visible from outside, in the political, economic and social policies of international institutions and national and local governments, and in their methods to measure and evaluate human development and wellbeing. We will promote a discussion about the repercussions of this turn within the educational policies, theories and practices.

References

Bacchi, C. L. (2009). Analysing policy: What's the problem represented to be? Frenchs Forest, N.S.W: Pearson. Costanza, R., Kubiszewski, I., Giovannini, E., Lovins, H., McGlade, J., Pickett, K. E., Wilkinson, R. (2014). Development: Time to leave GDP behind. Nature, 505(7483), 283–285. doi:10.1038/505283a Francesconi, D. & Tarozzi, M. (2012). Embodied Education: A Convergence of Phenomenological Pedagogy and Embodiment. In Studia phaenomenologica, 12: 263-88. Kahneman, D., Diener, E., & Schwarz, N. (Eds.). (2003). Well-Being: Foundations of Hedonic Psychology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation Publications. Nussbaum, M., & Sen, A. (Eds.). (1993). The Quality of Life. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/0198287976.001.0001/acprof-9780198287971 OECD. (2013). How’s Life? 2013. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/economics/how-s-life-2013_9789264201392-en#page1 Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J.-P. (2009). The measurement of economic performance and social progress revisited. Reflections and Overview. Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, Paris. Retrieved from http://www.ofce.sciences-po.fr/pdf/dtravail/WP2009-33.pdf Tarozzi M. (2008). Che cos’è la Grounded Theory. Milano: Carroci. UN Economic and Social Council. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/mdg.shtml Varela, F. J., Thompson, E. T., & Rosch, E. (1992). The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (New edition edition.). Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press. WHO | The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/

Author Information

Denis Francesconi (presenting / submitting)

University of Trento, Italy

Massimiliano Tarozzi (presenting)

Università di Bologna

RIMINI

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