Wellbeing - A Pedagogical Praxis for the Radical Reform of Secondary Education in Australia

This thesis explores the topic, Wellbeing: a pedagogical praxis for the radical reform of secondary education. Key researchers such as Freire, and Robinson, expose the inextricable link between politics and education, and advocate for pedagogical practices that promote wellbeing. Traditionalist educators such as Donnelly, and Wiltshire uphold standardised testing and ‘high stakes’ competition such as NAPLAN and the HSC. Connell and Teinken present the neo-liberal influence on secondary education in Australia. I find that the current the policies uphold neoliberal ideologies. The case study analysis in chapter five, explores Big Picture Education, and demonstrates the extent to which it challenges the neoliberal banking version of education, and claims to offer a range of alternative pedagogical practices that foster and support well-being. I explore this through critical pedagogy and find that, student centred learning and co-investigatory relationships are paramount to politically shifting the current educational paradigm to better support student wellbeing, which is not adequately addressed for most Australian students. Wellbeing, when addressed effectively, has a positive impact of student wellbeing on mental health, cognitive development, and academic achievements. I developed the analysis through my experience, observations, and reflections, as a secondary educator in mainstream and alternative settings, which enable an autoethnographic approach, and the methodological framework for this research encapsulates a range of Indigenous, and feminist research methodologies. I find that the current the policies uphold neoliberal ideologies evident in language, practices such as the ‘banking’ model, standardised testing and high stakes competition, do not support student wellbeing. A recent survey revealed that ‘70% of students surveyed rated their mental health as poor or fair’ (Headspace, 2019). This is alarming! This paper recommends alternative pedagogical practices as a solution to successfully embedding wellbeing, that can and should be incorporated into educational systems and practices, to support our students more effectively.