Wellbeing before Learning

Flourishing students, flourishing schools

Monday 27 February 2012
Adelaide Convention Centre
South Australia
Registration from 8:30am
Conference begins 9:00am – 5:00pm 

Keynote speaker:
Dr Martin Seligman, Adelaide Thinker in Residence

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Download the full program

Keynote Presentation
Dr Martin Seligman, Adelaide Thinker in Residence

Positive Education applies the principles of Positive Psychology to schools. Can we teach young people how to have more wellbeing in their lives in addition to the traditional goal of doing well at work?

Morning Breakout Session 1 - Hall E
Whole of School Approach to Positive Psychology: how do you do it?

Chair: Garry Costello, Head of Schools, Department of Education and Child Development

Successful schools and early childhood services understand the importance of the work that they do all day every day to strengthen the wellbeing of children and young people. They are able to show how they attend to wellbeing in every aspect of their work.  In this session, educational leaders will describe where and why they began, where they are now and where they hope to be in the future. They will share what they have learned along the way.

Morning Breakout Session – Breakout Room 1

A Shared Preventative Approach: health and education services working together
Chair: Mark Diamond, Executive Manager, Mental Health Unit, SA Health

We seek to safeguard the psychological and physical wellbeing of children and young people through prevention and treatment strategies spanning the health, education and family support sectors and involving government, non-government and private agencies and practitioners. 

After decades of progress and improvement, the psychological and physical wellbeing of children and young people is declining. In this session, panel members consider the timely question - how can health and education services work together on the common goal of enhancing the wellbeing of children, young people and families? 

Morning Breakout Session – Breakout Room 2

Sharing power: who gets to define what wellbeing really means?
Chair: David Kelly, Deputy CEO, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI)

When we talk about the use of positive psychology in schools, what power do students have and to what degree do young people get to shape the program and influence the decisions that affect their lives?

In this session, we will hear young people talk about their experiences of being in schools with a culture that intentionally fosters wellbeing.  Their views are counterpointed with the experience of senior educators, who will outline the mechanisms that school communities use to empower young people and the challenges associated with sharing power in traditional school environments.

Plenary Session – Hall E

Keith Bartley, Chief Executive, Department for Education and Child Development

Flourishing lives: Young people in conversation with Keith Bartley

Keith Bartley has 35 years experience in education as a teacher, leader and policy maker, with a strong record as a reformer. He commenced as Chief Executive for the Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) in May 2011. He is a passionate believer in public education and its importance in shaping the lives of young people, as well as valuing teachers and early childhood practitioners and their key role in preparing young people for successful lives. Prior to taking up his position as Chief Executive of DECD, Mr Bartley was head of the General Teaching Council for England. He was also the county of Oxfordshire’s first Director for Children, Young People and Families, and provided expertise to the UK government in a number of advisory capacities, contributing to the development of educational and regulatory policy. Keith moved from the UK to South Australia to take up his role as Chief Executive of DECD where he will build on the reforms being undertaken in South Australian public education to ensure that children, students and their families gain the greatest possible benefit from public schooling in this state.

Afternoon Breakout Session – Hall E

Classroom reality: Positive Psychology in practice

Chair: Margot Foster, Program Manager, Teaching for Effective Learning, Department of Education and Child Development

What do educators need to know about the relationship between wellbeing and educational achievement? How can teachers apply this understanding in their interactions with the children and young people that they teach? What needs to happen, both inside and outside the classroom?

Afternoon Breakout Session – Breakout Room 1

Positive education’s role in training for future employment

Chair: Michelle McQuaid, Executive Director for Human Capital, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia

How well are young people prepared for the psychological challenges and opportunities of the modern workplace? Do we need skills for work or skills for wellbeing? Are we driving this “either or” when really we need both? What must schools, universities, training institutions, unions, and employers know and do as they prepare young people for productive and rewarding careers in a flourishing economy?

Afternoon Breakout Session – Breakout Room 2

Metrics of Wellbeing

Chair: Ben Temperly, Executive Director, Policy Directorate, Department for Education and Child Development

Traditionally, education systems use literacy and numeracy tests and attendance rates to assess the educational performance of students. Child protection systems use rates of notification of adverse events to assess success, and child health systems use rates of illness. A growing body of evidence suggests that children’s wellbeing is at least as important as these traditional measures, but how do we measure the wellbeing of children and young people? How can we to construct a consistent and reliable approach to measuring the wellbeing of children from early childhood to the end of schooling?