Abstract
Digital technology in its various forms is a significant component of our working environment and lifestyles. However, there is a broad difference between using digital technologies in everyday life and employing them in formal education. Digital technologies have largely untapped potential for improving education and fostering students’ well-being and inclusion at school. To bring this to fruition, systemic and coordinated actions involving the whole school community are called for. To help schools exploit the full range of opportunities digital technologies offer for learning, the European Commission has designed and implemented a self-reflection tool called SELFIE (Self-reflection on Effective Learning by Fostering Innovation through Educational Technology). Based on the DigCompOrg conceptual framework, SELFIE encompasses key aspects for effectively integrating digital technologies in school policies and practices. The present study investigates how SELFIE can also support the school community to self-reflect about students’ well-being and inclusion. In Italy, the SELFIE online questionnaire has been completed by 24,715 students, 5,690 teachers, and 1,507 school leaders, for a total of 31,912 users from 201 schools (at primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary levels) located in 10 different regions. The complementary data we have collected regarding student well-being and inclusion highlight significant differences in the perceptions on this issue reported by students, teachers, and school leaders. These findings have important implications for facilitating successful practices within the whole school community in order to promote students’ well-being and inclusion using educational technologies, as well as for planning future actions following a systemic approach.
Highlights
Student Well-Being and Inclusion in SchoolsOver the past decade, there has been growing interest in students’ well-being, in relation to how it may impact on their learning, and at policy level, examining whether and how education systems that prioritize student well-being foster positive and fulfilling life experience (Pollard and Lee, 2003)
The main objective of this study is to investigate students’ well-being and inclusion through technologies within school communities, by analyzing the perception that students, teachers, and school leaders express regarding practices deployed inside the school contexts
For all groups, the three scores related to the answers to items focused on students’ well-being showed reasonable correlations with the three scores related to answers to the items focused on inclusion
Summary
Student Well-Being and Inclusion in SchoolsOver the past decade, there has been growing interest in students’ well-being, in relation to how it may impact on their learning, and at policy level, examining whether and how education systems that prioritize student well-being foster positive and fulfilling life experience (Pollard and Lee, 2003). The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) defines well-being as the quality of students’ life, focusing on their psychological, cognitive, social, and physical capabilities. It distinguishes between various dimensions of well-being, including life as a whole, self-related well-being, school-related well-being, and well-being out of school (OECD, 2019). Investigations that Govorova et al (2020) conducted in 35 countries within the OECD examined the range and impact on learner well-being of different factors present in learning settings; they examined measures educational institutions can take to improve learners’ perceived sense of well-being. The authors stress the need for schools to adopt a more holistic approach and to ensure that daily educational activities take adequate account of student well-being, especially regarding the social, psychological, and emotional dimensions of the student experience
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