The Well-being of Students Should Be a Component of Their Education

The well-being of students should be a component of their education, according to the meta-analysis published in Frontiers entitled “Trends of Active Learning in Higher Education and Students’ Well-being: A Literature Review.” According to the meta-analysis, this topic should be included in the curricular reforms of all countries.

On January 1, 2016, the United Nations resolution entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” entered into force, aiming to build an equitable and universal world. The authors highlight goals three and four: “ensuring a healthy life and promoting well-being for all ages and ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, respectively.” Due to the pandemic, these goals are far from being achieved as the digital, educational, and social divide has widened, aggravating socioeconomic disparities and even forcing those most affected to drop out of school. That is why, for the authors, the well-being of students has become a priority.

The meta-analysis found limited academic references on how well-being can become a successful element of education, yet found that curricular adjustments have been made to integrate well-being issues in Australia, England, New Zealand, and Scotland. Beyond putting students in active learning that makes them read, write, discuss, solve problems, analyze, synthesize and evaluate, they must think about what they are doing. Also, they must observe their emotions, attitudes, and values ​​when they get involved in projects beyond the classroom to work with the community. The purpose is that students “need to see the learning process as a constructive process that brings together people from all over the world.”

Collaboration among all is, for the analysis, the way to respond to the challenges that the world currently faces, such as “preservation of the environment, poverty, socially inclusive and fair development, smart and sustainable cities, mutual respect and the generation of new knowledge to provide sustainable solutions to social problems.” In addition, it helps the new generations adapt to different circumstances and people, contributing to the integration of society. But what does active learning have to do with well-being?

Active learning and social-emotional well-being

The authors reviewed literature focusing on active learning methodologies in higher education to see if they support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They searched the Web of Science and Scopus and journals that exclusively published reviews or are essential in the field. of higher education, resulting in six studies: Akinla et al., 2018; van der Zanden et al., 2018; Kötter et al., 2019; Theelen et al., 2019; Thorburn, 2020; Agasisti and Soncin, 2021.

Among the six publications, the authors argue that many students are stressed about transferring to higher education, their expectations of college and how their performance will be evaluated, and what it means to be successful in college in general. This last point is divided into students’ academic performance, critical thinking skills, and social-emotional well-being.

Akinla et al. investigated how to reduce the stress of starting college medical students; having close peer tutors could help them with the transition, help them grow professionally and personally, and preserve their well-being. In addition, it is an active learning resource since it promotes offering social and academic assistance to the newly admitted university community. This is supported by van der Zanden et al., who describe that participation helped students’ social integration and adjustment rather than their general feelings of adjustment.

The effects of the pandemic on the well-being of the student community

The most recent report of the meta-analysis of Tommaso and Soncin (2021) touches on the pandemic and how it makes well-being a crucial concern for higher education. They say institutions have made significant technology investments to prepare classrooms for remote learning. This represented a myriad of complex challenges but showed that “the fundamental objectives of the faculties had to be the students, not the method itself.” They emphasize relationships because they give “meaning to the educational experiences of students, as well as to the process through which research and innovation are developed.” Among the challenges, a study by Defeyter et al. (2021) discussed how several students showed low levels of mental well-being during the pandemic. Students did not trust that their universities or government would perform well in the face of the situation, which impacted their mental well-being since it conveyed a sense of insecurity and discomfort.

To truly achieve the goals of well-being in education, there must be an emphasis on educators, students, institutions, and government and a broader concept of academic achievement. All of this is to provide teachers with greater professional autonomy and more comprehensive learning experiences for their students. Promoting the student’s mental and emotional well-being improves her self-esteem and her life by providing emotional balance and coping with feelings of depression or isolation. Higher education must offer active learning where students have autonomy and the ability to decide while cooperating with others, including their community. The authors explain that “learning with these approaches would reduce the discomfort caused by isolation (or even loneliness) and the ambiguity of the situation since they are transformed into a contextualized and self-responsible learning process that takes into account the skills and restrictions of each individual.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda aspires to universal literacy and equitable and universal access to quality education at all levels, health and social protection, and where physical, mental, and social well-being are ensured. However, the meta-analysis shows a particular alignment or lack of interest on the part of the scientific community and the institutions themselves. Investment in research on active learning and student well-being, especially in countries that are socially disadvantaged or suffer from a more significant digital divide, is needed to more broadly interpret well-being and how to meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Recently, the importance of focusing on the student’s well-being has been seen. As the authors say, “everyone considers that well-being should be emphasized as a component of education.”

 Translation by Daniel Wetta

Paulette Delgado

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0