Enabling Self-Directed Academic and Personal Wellbeing Through Cognitive Education

Abstract

BackgroundThe international crisis of declining learner wellbeing exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic with its devastating effects on physical health and wellbeing, impels the prioritization of initiatives for specifically enabling academic and personal wellbeing among school learners to ensure autonomous functioning and flourishing in academic and daily life. Research emphasizes the role of self-directed action in fostering wellbeing. However, there is limited research evidence of how self-directed action among school learners could be advanced.AimWe explore the effectiveness of an intervention initiative that exposes teachers to foregrounding Cognitive Education – the explicit and purposeful teaching of thinking skills and dispositions to learners that would advance self-regulated action - to establish the latent potential of the intervention for assisting learners to develop self-regulating abilities that progressively inspires increased self-directed action.MethodWe illuminate the qualitative outcomes of an exploratory pilot study with a heterogeneous group of willing in-service teachers from two public primary schools (n = 12), one private primary school (n = 3), and one pre-school (n = 2) in South Africa who received exposure to an 80-h intervention that comprised seven study units. The article delineates the experiences of the teachers concerning their participation in the intervention as reflected in their written reflections, as well as their perceptions about the value of the intervention probed with semi-structured one-on-one interviews after completion of the intervention.ResultsThe findings revealed that exposure to the intervention holds benefits for equipping teachers with teaching strategies to create classroom conditions that nurture the development of thinking skills and dispositions that are important for self-regulating, and ultimately self-directing academic and personal wellbeing.ConclusionCognitive Education is a form of strengths-based education that can play an indispensable role in enabling self-directed academic and personal wellbeing among school learners.

The happy learner: Effects of academic boredom, burnout, and engagement

“…It will also be good to help learners understand their responsibility in emotional regulation and encourage teachers to be receptive to feedback on lessons, tests, and other educational tools. This will allow the learner to feel more in control, thus enhancing learning outcomes and development ( Van Tonder et al, 2022 ). This will lead to minimizing boredom and maximizing the academic achievement of the learner.…”

Predicting student-teacher self-directed learning using intrinsic and extrinsic factors: a Theory of Planned Behavior adoption

“…On another level, various studies have voiced their concerns for student well-being due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa, Van Tonder et al (2022) felt the need to establish a learner-self-directed academic and personal well-being program as an education priority. Moreover, the authors stated that exposure to an intervention process holds benefits for equipping teachers with teaching strategies that enable classroom conditions that support the development of students’ self-regulated thinking skills and self-directing academic and personal well-being.…”

Fostering Self-Directed Praxis in Student Teachers: Investigating the Advantages of a Pedagogical Intervention for Augmenting Autonomy

“…Students with good mental habits can balance knowledge, attitudes, and skills and develop mature and intellectual personalities. These habits are essential for effective teaching and learning and can enhance the educational journey for both teachers and learners (Van Tonder, Kloppers & Grosser, 2022). The researchers assume that if pre-service teachers commit to practising these habits regularly, they could become more skilled at self-directing and self-managing their learning efforts without needing external guidance.…”