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New research series on student well-being in challenging times

This blog highlights a new research series, which features practical guidance to foster student well-being in IB schools.

New research series on student well-being in challenging times

Supporting student well-being in challenging times

In recent years, a noticeable return has occurred in the global education discourse towards a more humanistic approach to student learning goals. Many schools are placing greater emphasis on student well-being, growth and fulfilment in addition to traditional academic learning.

Given the challenging times we are in, well-being is more important than ever.

As a result, the IB has launched a research series offering evidence-based policies and practices to support student well-being in IB programmes and schools. The series consists of a set of papers that provide information on what the IB is doing to support wellbeing, evidence from other international wellbeing initiatives as well as examples of best practice from IB schools. The focus in the research papers will be on evidence of effectiveness and the practicality of initiatives.

Who is the research for?

If you are an IB teacher or principal and student well-being is a current concern in your context, the research papers will help you to understand more about what student well-being entails and will provide practical guidance on how to enact a well-being policy in your school. Even if you are already doing a lot in your school to support student well-being, the policy papers will help to confirm and build on the approaches and practices that you already use. In both cases, we hope the papers will inspire a deeper engagement with well-being policy and practice.

Well-being paper series

The first paper in the series defines well-being and related concepts using the most recent scientific literature, and provides easily understood and accessible explanations for practitioner use. The paper also dispels some common myths related to well-being, and offers guidance on creating a well-being policy that addresses the needs of your specific school and context.

The second paper looks at the main challenges as well as opportunities and possible strategies to support schools during COVID-19. Specifically, the paper focuses on three of the most common challenges that schools face: dealing with fear and anxiety, managing the feeling of being behind, and dealing with uncertainty. To address these challenges, the paper presents a set of guiding principles and evidence-based strategies to support student wellbeing during the transition period.

And coming soon … a paper on well-being and virtual learning.

All IB research can be found at ibo.org/research. Have questions? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us at [email protected].

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