In the United States, the prevailing view of health, including the design of the U.S. healthcare system, has historically posited that to improve health one must focus on better understanding what causes poor health or disease. This emphasis on disease reduction or risk prevention, also known as a pathogenic approach to health. This article…

In response to the growing awareness of trauma and its impact on student learning, schools across the country are implementing trauma-sensitive practices. Authors Maia Cucchiara and Mary Beth Hays describe an approach to trauma sensitivity in schools: the creation of restoration rooms, spaces designed to help students (and adults) return to a…

The release of the 2024 SHAPE America National Health Education Standards provides an updated take on the learning standards used to teach students how to become healthy and well. In this revision, the standards emphasize both individual and collective health and well-being; greater inclusion of strengths, assets, and opportunities to practice and…

Schools have a key role to play in promoting healthy wellbeing and in teaching the skills important in protecting against mental illness. However, navigating the array of wellbeing practices, initiatives, and programs with a view to deciding which of these are appropriate in any school setting is a challenge. Although current best practice is to…

Abstract Schools and centres for education are increasingly positioned as playing a vital role in the promotion of young people's mental health and well-being. Drawing on the example of Ireland's reformed Junior Cycle curriculum (ages 12-15), we ask if the curriculum is the best means of nurturing positive mental health and well-being in schools.

School attendance is essential for academic success. Significant loss of learning time due to chronic absenteeism critically impacts academic attainment and places students at risk for school dropout and potentially negative lifelong effects on health, education, employment opportunities, and financial stability. To resolve chronic absenteeism, it…

This article encourages teacher educators to focus their work on healing and well-being in response to the array of precarities in the world. Framing this work is a driving question inspired by the current political moment and articles in this issue of "Teacher Education Quarterly": How can teacher educators promote well-being and…

Experiential learning is a pedagogical tool that aligns with the mission of family and consumer sciences (FCS) university programs because it emphasizes the role of formal education in the development of individuals, family members, and global citizens (Brooks & Simpson, 2014). College students benefit from experiential learning and…

While youth sports can come with numerous mental health benefits, there can also be some risks. Understanding mental health in the context of youth sports involves recognizing the psychological pressures and challenges unique to this environment. This article describes a coaching model that coaches can use to teach coping strategies and…

Faculty can play a critical role in supporting college health professionals' efforts to enhance student health and well-being. However, many college health practitioners have expressed concerns about how to effectively engage faculty. This article, written by current faculty who are all former college health professionals, aims to bridge this gap.…

This narrative explores outdoor learning for post-secondary students, the myriad health benefits of nature experience, and the importance of engaging with the more-than-human world. Some comparisons are drawn between indoor- and outdoor-based learning, and the affordances the latter offers for place-based wonder, emergent learning, and the…

The U.S. approach to the health of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is fraught with paradox. The health of this population has been of longstanding concern, yet we understand their health less well than many other groups. The U.S. spends much more per person on the well-being of people with IDD compared to the general…

There is a critical need to address educator health and well-being, yet only an average of 31% of schools offer workplace health and wellness promotion programs. As part of the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace -- a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Center of Excellence for Total Worker Health®…

Over the past 25 years Forest School in the UK has been growing in popularity as part of a wider resurgence of interest in outdoor learning. A key driver behind this recurrence of interest has been a growing concern over the lack of child exposure to outdoor experiences and with the natural world and their ensuing nature-deficit disorder. This…

Student counselling centres are struggling to meet the demand for mental health services, which has intensified in recent years. This challenge calls for innovative ways to address the mental health needs of students. During the COVID-19 pandemic the peer helpers at Emthonjeni Student Wellness at Nelson Mandela University facilitated innovative…