Schools Play a Vital Role in Promoting the Intellectual, Physical, Social, Emotional, moral,

Spiritual and Aesthetic Development and Wellbeing of Young Australians



[Schools Play a Vital Role in Promoting the Intellectual, Physical, Social, Emotional, moral,

Spiritual and Aesthetic Development and Wellbeing of Young Australians

Introduction

School is considered to be the best and the most secure place for children to learn. Various studies and research have been carried out in the context of school systems providing education from every aspect. Australia is known throughout the world because of its outstanding educational standards. These educational standards have been set after meticulous research based on the needs of personal well being of the students. Australia's best schooling frameworks are providing a direction and guidelines to the local school community for ensuring a safe and conducive environment for the students.

The last twenty years have been very crucial in the education history of Australia. The whole period was dedicated to formulating the Australian Curriculum. The effort made was the team work of the Australian Government, the state and territory.

Definition of Wellbeing

Different scholars have defined student wellbeing. Bornstein (2003) described it as, “Wellbeing is a flow of successful performance in the course of an individual's life assimilating mental, physical, social, and emotional developments that results in productive activities considered important in one's culture”. Witmer (1998) defined, “Wellbeing is a way of life that integrates mind, body and spirit to lead life more satisfyingly within the human and natural community”.

Role of the School in the Context of Student's Wellbeing

In the light of the above mentioned definition, the Australian government is making sure that its students' well being is fully taken care of, and the child is completely safe from any disrespectful behavior within the school. International standards have been studied to evaluate the level of Australian education in student wellbeing. Much improvement is being carried out in this field as education is the key factor in the progress of any nation (National Safe School Framework, revised 2011). Figure 1 shows the model for the role school in five different areas which ultimately brings student's wellbeing. If any one of the behaviors shown in the figure is missing, the objective of student's wellbeing will be difficult to achieve.

Figure 1: Source: http://www.positiveschools.com.au/2013/Notes/GGS%20Keynote%20Address

Student wellbeing cannot be studied in isolation from the wider school context (Leary, 2000). The report commissioned by MCEETYA (2004) proposed the model of student wellbeing. The report is a set of general principles which include:

Student wellbeing is always considered in relation to the school community.

Student wellbeing is measured as it is manifested in the five dimensions, which include physical, economic, psychological, cognitive, and social wellbeing.

Levels of student wellbeing are different and can be explained in the context of their manifestation in the particular dimension.

The above mentioned five dimensions cover the depth of the wellbeing field. These dimensions must be evaluated with respect to their contribution towards the child's overall growth in the school community (UNRC, 1989). These dimensions must be studied in details to bring ...