EDF2028

Tanya Nguyen

The world we live in now is an extremely diverse place, with people coming from
countless backgrounds, religions, families and cultures. Where we fit in plays an
important role of how we see ourselves and how we want others to see us, especially
when were at school, as it contributes to not only our social and emotional wellbeing,
but to our overall health as well. Unamended since 1948, the World Health Organisation
(WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1948). In addition to this,
Donatelle (2004) has split health into six categories: physical, intellectual, social,
emotional, environmental and spiritual health. Our sense of belonging directly affects all
of these categories, and vice versa, which makes health education and the promotion of
inclusion in schools incredibly fundamental. It is important both teachers and students are
aware of belonging and health because it is something that one carries with them for their
whole lives, and a solid education from a young age will aid in the long run. In this essay,
I will address the challenges, motivators, barriers and facilitators of health education, in
relation to belonging and social and emotional wellbeing, in a primary setting, with
reference to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA),
the national curriculum, and national health priorities.
Challenges
The biggest challenge for both teachers and students, in regards to finding ones sense of
belonging, and thus, social and emotional wellbeing, is catering for differences in the
classroom. A difference refers to something that strays from the social norm, or what is
considered to be the norm by certain individuals or society. A difference can be a mental
health, physical health or behavioural problem, a different racial, religious or cultural
background, or socio-economical status. Even someones personality traits, hobbies and
interests can be classified as such. When this difference is recognised and ridiculed,
bullying may ensue. Bullying typically relates to aggressive behaviours (physical and
psychological) that are repeated over time to intentionally cause harm, and can refer to
direct (face-to-face encounters), indirect (social exclusion) or cyberbullying (which takes
place through ICT) (Neilsen-Hewett & Bussey, 2014). This can be catastrophic for
students as it affects all aspects of their health: socially, they can feel isolated;

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intellectually, their decisions may be undermined; spiritually, they may lose their purpose
in life and feel like their existence is a burden on others; emotionally, lowered self-esteem
and confidence can lead to drastic emotional reactions and responses, which may include,
but is not limited to, many mental health problems such as depression and anxiety;
physically, if one was bullied for their weight, starving ones self would influence ones
physical being; and environmentally; ones appreciation of the environment may change
due to peer pressure. From this, a childs sense of belonging is compromised, as they do
not feel safe or supported at school, which may lead to them being more unsuccessful in
their school work and behavioural problems. Schools are trying to combat the situation
by making students, teachers and parents more aware of the impacts of bullying. Not only
that, but ACARA has emphasised the importance of the situation by including health and
wellbeing priorities in the foundation-level curriculum. From prep, children are
encouraged and taught to identify and describe emotional responses people may
experience in different situations and recognise similarities and differences in
individuals and groups, and explore how these are celebrated and respected (ACARA,
2015). If this is achieved at a young age, then perhaps bullying will be reduced, social
and emotional wellbeing increased, and therefore, ones sense of belonging will have a
less chance of being threatened.
Motivators
Support is the biggest motivator a child can have. The best support comes from ones
family. Growing up in a positive environment, where one knows they are safe, secure and
supported, can do wonders for ones health and wellbeing. If ones parents are physically
healthy, their promotion of a healthy lifestyle will help their children to be physically
health as well. From a young age, parents encourage their children to explore the world
and find their own voices, as they know how social this world is - the earlier they start,
the more experience they will have to draw on when they are thrust into social
institutions such as childcare, kindergarten and school. Parents can also support their
children intellectually by allowing some form of choice and decision making - not only
does this expand on the childs intellectual health, but builds on their social and
emotional health as well, as they realise that their parents trust them. Parents, and older

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siblings, are an excellent influence on a childs environmental and spiritual health as well,
aiding in the process of finding ones identity and ultimately, belonging. However, what
happens when a childs home environment cannot provide this safe space and support for
them? Thats where teachers and schools come in. Even though schools are a place where
learning occurs, and teachers must teach the necessary lessons to meet the curriculums
expectations, Holden (2005) argues students health and wellbeing is an issue that they
must address first, as it is fundamental to them as learners (Holden, 2005). The
Australian government has attempted to support this, by requiring all students to
participate in at least two hours of compulsory physical activity per week. While this may
produce results in the physical health department, the government failed to neglect all the
other aspects of health, which is why it is important that teachers focus on it with their
students, to encourage growth and wellbeing, which ultimately lead to the feeling of
belonging. To support this growth further, one outcome students must achieve by the end
of year four is to examine how success, challenge and failure strengthen personal
identities (ACARA, 2015), which students can achieve with the support of their teachers
and peers. Friends support, too, are a great motivator for children. Danby et al (2012)
state that having friends is identified as a critical immediate benefit as well as offering
better long-term outcomes for school adjustment and social relationships. This social
support (usually) has a positive effect on childrens wellbeing, and makes them feel like
they belong.
Barriers
There are many barriers that prevent progress in terms of belonging and social and
emotional wellbeing. Firstly, helicopter-parents who cotton-wool their children.
Every parent wants to keep their children safe, but some parents take it one step further
and keep an eye on their children all the time. As a result of this, children spend less time
getting hurt, as in the last twenty years, child injuries have been reduced by half (Larsen,
2012) - but at what cost? Larsen (2012) suggests that children are missing out on
important skills because life is too safe and if we dont learn to judge risks when were
little, we might take big risks when were older. This links to our intellectual health, as
well as our social and emotional wellbeing. Furthermore, children who are not allowed to

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partake in activities due to parental fear may lack the social skills needed for life, and will
therefore lose their sense of belonging. Secondly, if a child has allergies, a medical
condition (whether it be mental, intellectual or physical), their ability to participate may
hinder their social and emotional wellbeing, for example, if a child is confined to a
wheelchair, they cant exactly run or play sport like the other children in their class,
leading to a sense of isolation. This may also lead to bullying, as discussed above.
Allergies or medical conditions are a barrier because they cant exactly be helped, but
perhaps as a teacher, one can learn to accommodate for these - do activities that include
the children who are not able to participate. Lastly, our culture and upbringing plays an
important part of our identity, which influences our sense of belonging. Culture shapes
and affects the way we act, the way we think, the way we feel, the way we see and
interpret things. This could be barrier to health education, as culture may come in the way
of what we are permitted to learn, or our particular views and values do not match
others. However, in exploring ones culture, this may be overcome. This is something
that is addressed in the curriculum - students at the end of year two are expected to
research [their] own heritage and cultural identities, and explore strategies to respect and
value diversity (ACARA, 2015).
Facilitators
According to Ebbeck, Yim & Lee (2014), play for children of all ages is central to their
sense of identity, confidence and overall wellbeing, and is therefore an excellent
facilitator for promoting and addressing health education. Play comes in many forms, and
has many benefits. There is free-play, which the decision is left to the child to decide
what they are going to do - this builds confidence, independence and if theyre playing
with others, social (and therefore emotional) skills; there is discovery (or play based)
learning in the classroom, which is assumed to be more educational as it is monitored
by a teacher - even in the constraints of a classroom, they can still engage in exploratory
play; and pretend play (whether supervised or unsupervised), which includes, but is not
limited to, role-playing - this helps children develop critical and analytical skills that
essential for finding and solving problems (Ebbeck, Yim & Lee, 2014). From play,
children learn to grow and develop all aspects of their health, and because most play is

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social, they learn the importance of inclusion as well. Furthermore, play enhances ones
emotions. According to Bergin & Bergin (2015), emotions have an effect on memory and
thought processes, with positive emotions [promoting] creativity, problem solving,
attention, and fast information processing, neutral or mild negative emotions [promoting]
detailed, analytic thought, but strong negative emotions [interfering] with thought. This
plays an important role in a childs social and emotional wellbeing because emotions can
influence a childs sense of belonging. Positive emotions tend to lead to a child feeling
more included and accepted, and negative emotions might lead to feelings of isolation
and withdrawal from a group, or person. It is therefore incredibly important that teachers
facilitate play in the classroom, and the playground, and that parents facilitate free play
at home during out of school hours, as play is usually associated with positive emotions.
Furthermore, through free play, children can become more creative and open-minded to
accept and include others, which will therefore help them to fulfil a curriculum outcome to investigate and reflect on how valuing diversity positively influences the wellbeing of
the community (ACARA, 2015) - although, they shouldnt strive to do so just to satisfy
the curriculum.
In conclusion, there are many challenges, motivators, barriers and facilitators when it
comes to health education that both teachers and students must keep in mind. As
everyone is different, some of these may have more effect on some than others, but there
is no denying that health and wellbeing is important to us all. Our backgrounds, families,
culture, hobbies, interests and relationships all influence some part of all aspects of our
health (social, emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual and intellectual), and plays an
important role in our social and emotional wellbeing, our sense of belonging and how we
actually see health education. It plays an even more important role in the lives of
children, who are growing up and developing a sense of self, with the aid of those around
them. Learning the right things (directly, or indirectly) in terms of their health and
wellbeing can attribute to their happiness and quality of life. Everything is interrelated
and everything affects and is affected by the other. This makes health and wellbeing one
of the most important things to be aware of, as without it, we would have no sense of
being, no idea where we belong, and from that, an inability to progress in this ever-

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changing world.

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Tanya Nguyen

References
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World Health Organisation as adopted by the International Health Conference.

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