Middle School Teachers' Perspectives of How Service Learning Projects Contribute to Student Well-Being
Keywords:
Well-being, service learning projects , voice and empowerment, experiential learningAbstract
The purpose of this study is to explore how teacher-practitioners in a Canadian middle school perceive students’ experiences of well-being in student-led service learning projects (SLP). Through semi-structured interviews, we explore five school practitioners’ accounts that describe how SLPs contributed to student relating and student functioning in a well-being context. The themes and phenomena identified in this study demonstrate how well-being can be deliberately integrated within curricular aspects of schooling, and how student well-being is enhanced/enriched when practitioners include it as an aim. We conclude that although students may encounter discomfort in the planning and implementation of SLPs, these can also provide authentic opportunities to develop student voice and autonomy, which in turn can make education more meaningful to them.
References
Allison, P., Gray, S., Sproule, J., Nash, C., Martindale, R., & Wang, J. (2015). Exploring contributions of project-based learning to health and wellbeing in secondary education. Improving Schools, 18(3), 207–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480215599298
Atkinson, E. (2000). In defence of ideas, or why ‘what works’ is not enough. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 21(3), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/713655359
Bagattini, M., & Macleod, C. (2014). Introduction. In A. Bagattini & C. Macleod (Eds.), Children’s well-being: Indicators and research: Vol. 9. The nature of children’s well-being: Theory and practice (pp. ix–xviii). Springer Dordrecht.
Ben-Arieh, A. (2008). The child indicators movement: Past, present, and future. Child Indicators Research, 1, 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-007-9003-1
Bentz, V. M., & Shapiro, J. J. (1998). Mindful inquiry in social research. SAGE Publications.
Betzler, M. M. (2015). Enhancing the capacity for autonomy: What parents owe their children to make their lives go well. In A. Bagattini & C. Macleod (Eds.), Children’s well-being: Indicators and research: Vol. 9. The nature of children’s well-being: Theory and practice (pp. 65–84). Springer Dordrecht.
Bonati, M. L. (2018). Collaborative planning: Cooking up an inclusive service-learning project. Education and Treatment of Children, 41(1), 139–151. https://doi.org/10.1353/etc.2018.0005
Brighouse, H., Ladd, H. F., Loeb, S., & Swift, A. (2016). Educational goods and values: A framework for decision makers. Theory and Research in Education, 14(1), 3–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878515620887
Brighouse, H., Ladd, H. F., Loeb, S., & Swift, A. (2018). Educational goods: Values, evidence and decision-making. University of Chicago Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1996). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education (5th ed.). Routledge.
Creswell, J. (2015). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (5th ed.). Pearson-Merrill Prentice Hall.
Crisp, R. (2016). Well-being. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2016 ed.). Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2016/entries/well-being/
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Schneider, B. (2000). Becoming adult: How teenagers prepare for the world of work. Basic Books.
Dumas, C. (2002). Community-based service-learning: Does it have a role in management education? International Journal of Value-Based Management, 15, 249–264. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020198225165
Fair, C. D., & Delaplane, E. (2015). “It is good to spend time with older adults. You can teach them; they can teach you”: Second grade students reflect on intergenerational service learning. Early Childhood Education Journal, 43(1), 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-014-0634-9
Falkenberg, T. (2019). Framing human well-being and well-becoming: An integrated systems approach (Well-being in Schools Paper Series 2). Well-being and Well-becoming in Schools. https://wellbeinginschools.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/WBIS-Paper-No-2-Falkenberg-2019-2.pdf
Fenwick, T. (2009). Responsibility, complexity science and education: Dilemmas and uncertain responses. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 28(2), 101–118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-008-9099-x
Gheaus, A. (2018). Children’s vulnerability and the legitimate authority over children. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 35(S1), 60–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12262
Gheaus, A., Calder, G., & Wispelaere, J. (Eds.). (2019). The Routledge handbook of the philosophy of childhood and children. Routledge.
Gilman, R., Huebner, E. S., & Furlong, M. J. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook of positive psychology in schools. Routledge.
Guest, G., & MacQueen, K. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook for team-based qualitative research. Altamira.
Holdsworth, R. (2000). Schools that create real roles of value for young people. Prospects, 30(3), 349–362. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02754058
Huby, G., Robertson, A., Cresswell, K., Crowe, S., Avery, A., & Sheikh. A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(1), Article 100. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-11-100
Hui, E. K. P., & Tsang, S. K. M. (2012). Self-determination as a psychological and positive youth development construct. The Scientific World Journal, 2012, Article 759358–7. https://doi.org/10.1100/2012/759358
Keyes, C., & Simoes, E. (2012). To flourish or not: Positive mental health and all-cause mortality. American Journal of Public Health, 102(11), 2164–2172. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300918
Lopez, S. (2011). Schools could be the happiest places on earth. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(4), 72–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171109300419
Macleod, C. (2018). Just schools and good childhoods: Non-preparatory dimensions of educational justice. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 35(S1), 76–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12227
Magnusson, E., & Krepski, H. (in press). Three theories of well-being and their implications for school education. In T. Falkenberg (Ed.), Well-being and well-becoming in schools: Conceptualizing, contextualizing, and curricularizing. University of Toronto Press.
Max-Neef, M. (1991). Human scale development: Conception, application and further reflections. The Apex Press.
Montgomery, S. E., Miller, W., Foss, P., Tallakson, D., & Howard, M. (2017). Banners for Books: “Mighty-hearted” kindergartners take action through arts-based service learning. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-015-0765-7
Moore, K. A., Lippman, L., & Brown, B. (2004). Indicators of child well-being: The promise for positive youth development. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591(1), 125–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716203260103
Mullin, A. (2007). Children, autonomy, and care. Journal of Social Philosophy, 38(4), 536–553. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9833.2007.00397.x
Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/147787850910431
Nussbaum, M. C. (2011). Creating capabilities: The human development approach. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2009). Doing better for children. www.oecd.org/els/social/childwellbeing
Osberg, D., & Biesta, G. (Eds.). (2010). Complexity theory and the politics of education. Sense.
Parfit, D. (1984). Reasons and Persons. Clarendon Press.
Percy-Smith, B., & Thomas, N. P. (2010). A handbook of children and young people’s participation: Perspectives from theory and practice. Routledge.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2002). An overview of self-determination theory: An organismic-dialectical perspective. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 3–33). University of Rochester Press.
Seligman, M. (2011). Flourish: A new understanding of happiness and well-being — and how to achieve them. Nicholas Brealey Pub.
Seligman, M., Ernst, R. M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902934563
Soutter, A. K. (2011). What can we learn about wellbeing in school? Journal of Student Wellbeing, 5(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.21913/JSW.v5i1.729
Soutter, A. K., Gilmore, A., & O’Steen, B. (2011). How do high school youths’ educational experiences relate to well-being? Towards a trans-disciplinary conceptualization. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(4), 591–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-010-9219-5
Soutter, A. K., O’Steen, B., & Gilmore, A. (2012). Wellbeing in the New Zealand curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44(1), 111–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2011.620175
Soutter, A. K., O’Steen, B., & Gilmore, A. (2014). The student well-being model: A conceptual framework for the development of student well-being indicators. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 19(4), 496–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2012.754362
Sumner, A. (2010). Child poverty, well‐being and agency: What does a ‘3‐D well‐being’ approach contribute? Journal of International Development, 22(8), 1064–1075. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1746
Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837–851. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410383121
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. (2007). Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries (Innocenti Report Cards Series, No. 7). United Nations Children’s Fund. https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc7_eng.pdf
United Nations. (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
Van Ryzin, M. J., Gravely, A. A., & Roseth, C. J. (2007). Autonomy, belongingness, and engagement in school as contributors to adolescent psychological well-being. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9257-4
Wehmeyer, M. L. (2005). Self-determination and individuals with severe disabilities: Re-examining meanings and misinterpretations. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 30(3), 113–120. https://doi.org/10.2511/rpsd.30.3.113
White, M., & Waters, L. (Eds.). (2015). Evidence-based approaches in positive education: Implementing a strategic framework for well-being in schools. Springer Dordrecht.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 McGill Journal of Education / Revue des sciences de l'éducation de McGill
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Those wishing to reproduce all or part of any material published on this website are asked to email mje.education@mcgill.ca for permission and to acknowledge the McGill Journal of Education as the original source.
Authors must transfer copyright of their article to MJE. Authors may use all or parts of their work in any future publication with the article's origin in MJE acknowledged in the customary manner.
A copy of our standard form may be requested from mje.education@mcgill.ca
