Webinar with Heather Matthews, Raewyn Davis,
Dr Amanda Denston and Prof Letitia Fickel
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Facilitators
Heather Matthews, Hornby Primary School, Christchurch
Raewyn Davis, Hornby High School, Christchurch
Dr Amanda Denston, Senior Research Fellow, University of Canterbury
Prof Letitia Fickel, Executive Dean, Faculty of Education, Health & Human Development, University of Canterbury (absent)
The wellbeing of our rangatahi is a notable priority of the New Zealand Government. Yet, New Zealand ranks 35th of 41 for child and adolescent well-being in developed countries (UNICEF, 2020), and ERO (2015) has reported that older primary aged students are not experiencing the desired outcomes for well-being. These outcomes are notably worse for Māori and Pasifika students, as well as those youth who experience social disadvantage.
However, teachers can make a difference in fostering student wellbeing through social-emotional learning (SEL). When teachers engage with SEL practices, both they and their students strengthen relationships that foster empathy, and deepen their understandings of identity, worldviews, and the role of emotions in learning.
In this webinar, kaiako and kairangahau in Christchurch share the learnings from our collaborative research, funded by the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI), around the creation of a culturally and linguistically sustainable framework for socio-emotional learning that supports well-being for rangatahi in Years 4 to 8.