Informed by the most up-to-date research from around the world, as well as examples of good practice, this handbook analyzes values education in the context of a range of school-based measures associated with student wellbeing. These include social, emotional, moral and spiritual growth - elements that seem to be present where intellectual advancement and academic achievement are being maximized. This text comes as 'values education' widens in scope from being concerned with morality, ethics, civics and citizenship to a broader definition synonymous with a holistic approach to education in general. This expanded purview is frequently described as pedagogy relating to 'values' and 'wellbeing'.
This contemporary understanding of values education, or values and wellbeing pedagogy, fits well with recent neuroscience research. This has shown that notions of cognition, or intellect, are far more intertwined with social and emotional growth than earlier educational paradigms have allowed for. In other words, the best laid plans about the technical aspects of pedagogy are bound to fail unless the growth of the whole person - social, emotional, moral, spiritual and intellectual, is the pedagogical target. Teachers and educationalists will find that this handbook provides evidence, culled from both research and practice, of the beneficial effects of such a 'values and wellbeing' pedagogy.
From the reviews:
"The sheer size of this collection of 55 chapters ? suggests that the editors have attempted to fully examine why personal well-being should remain a central focus of any educational enterprise. ? Developmental and educational psychologists who are currently designing 'new' contextualized theories of student functioning could benefit from a reciprocal form of consideration and learn from the expertise of educators. ? explored the pedagogical balance of the book by classifying the chapters according to their adherence to the tenets of four common pedagogical lenses." (Theresa A. Thorkildsen, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 56 (30), July, 2011)
