It goes without saying that there are a huge number of issues facing schools at the moment, not least the increasing mental health challenges among young people, which put extra pressure on teachers.
Some worry that, as a result, students aren’t learning the foundational skills of reading, writing and mathematics well enough. Meanwhile, the use of social media is disrupting the everyday routine of schools.
Students feel strongly about the global challenges of the future, such as climate change and artificial intelligence, but don’t find them discussed enough as part of their curriculum. Student engagement and attendance in schools have decreased to an alarming extent.
It is possible to find solutions for each of the above-mentioned problems - and there are many such initiatives worldwide.
But by approaching each one individually, we might be compounding the overall situation by fragmenting the reality of the school, teacher and student as a holistic entity. Could it be that all these challenges might be interconnected symptoms of a shared root cause?
A global crisis
Driven by factors including post-pandemic malaise, the climate crisis and increased time on social media, the current school-age generation is at the front line of a global crisis in mental vulnerability.
Young people are forced to confront obstacles as they strive to make headway personally and professionally in today’s world. But too often, they don’t have the resources required to cope. Young people sense a lack of control and agency, and an increasingly complex world justifies their fears.
We must face this global crisis soon, through intergenerational dialogue.
One solution is for national curricula to incorporate solutions at the primary school level for educators and students to substantively address issues around mental health, anxiety and emotional wellbeing. This includes addressing bigger questions of motivation, purpose, agency and identity.
Adults must leave time and space in the classroom for students to reflect and engage with what is meaningful to them. It is, after all, their future.
Learning happens in the interrelation between the learner and the world. When the world changes, as it is now, the relationship between the learner and the world also needs to change.
A University of Nottingham study, initiated in 2016, further demonstrates how a holistic pedagogical approach to curriculum design and inquiry-led methodology allows educators to develop an instructional experience for young people with wellbeing at its core.
We try to do something similar with the International Baccalaureate.
This basic idea is embedded in the pedagogical solutions from the beginning of the primary years programme. Big questions and concepts of who we are, where we are in place and time and what it means to be sharing the planet steer the focus on to the evolving world. An inquiry-based approach nurtures the curiosity, motivation and agency by teaching students to ask the right questions.
Having a flexible framework in primary education allows teachers to adapt content to students’ needs. An adaptable curricular structure also supports emotional intelligence in the classroom and invites students to express their feelings in more constructive ways.
Rethinking assessment
That flexibility translates to rethinking assessment too. It’s important to encourage ongoing assessment practices that enable a constant dialogue between the teacher and the student, supporting learning and creating a more nurturing school environment.
These are a few proposed solutions to address the mental health crisis among our students immediately. Academic results are enormously important, but we must prepare young people to enter a complex world with the confidence and emotional resilience they need to thrive.
Olli-Pekka Heinonen is the director-general of the International Baccalaureate
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