Discourses of Wellbeing in Scottish Policy

Abstract

Scotland has a very well developed policy in which ‘health and wellbeing’ is articulated as a cross curricular theme, and the responsibility of all teachers. This provides a very good opportunity to analyse policy discourses in some detail. Examinations of the key documents in Scotland’s extensive ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ reveals that discourses of wellbeing emanating from other professional and academic groups have migrated into Scottish education policy, overshadowing a more educational discourse of wellbeing as flourishing. Using the discursive themes discussed in Chap. 4, wellbeing is mainly characterised in terms of social and emotional literacy, linked to a discourse of care. The discourse of physical health promotion is also present, although less prominent. The discourse of sustainability within the context of wellbeing is a quieter theme in the documents although, this is an emerging discourse that will no doubt become more prominent. Although the discourse of flourishing through leading a valuable life is very quiet in these papers, there is a glimmer of hope that there is space in ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ for this interpretation.