Promoting student wellbeing and mental health through social and emotional learning

This chapter provides best-practice ways to create a learning community that is inclusive of all students, a community where students are valued and feel safe and supported. It explores why and how teachers should implement positive social and emotional learning practices that promote student wellbeing and mental health in the classroom and schoolwide. The Grattan Report highlighted that many Australian students are consistently disengaged, and it estimated that approximately 40 per cent of all students in Australian classrooms are unproductive in a given year. Fostering and documenting a student’s skills in the core social and emotional learning components can contribute to positive outcomes for a student’s academic achievement, mental health and school engagement. Schools can play a key role in providing students with the opportunity to gain greater social and emotional awareness through positive learning practices that promote student wellbeing and positive mental health in the classroom.