Academia Is No Longer Enough

By Her Royal Highness, Princess Noor Bint Asem of Jordan

Chairwoman and Founder of Kyan Foundation, Her Royal Highness, Princess Noor Bint Asem of Jordan, discusses the opportunity Covid-19 has presented for educators and parents across the UAE to evaluate the way we educate future generations. With children going back to physical classrooms, she argues in favour of the implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL) to become an intrinsic part of the education system across the UAE.

As we move forward into an unpredictable world, at Kyan, we believe the implementation of well-being through social-emotional learning is a necessity in the classroom. With 1.5 billion students out of school and hundreds of millions learning solely online, the pandemic has reshaped schools as we know them. The idea of education and what learning looks like should evolve to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s minds.

The current education paradigm lacks the life skills necessary to equip children with the ability to embrace who they are and develop their innate skills. Nonetheless, these are skills that can be taught. Growing up and discovering that our education moulded a great part of our personalities, determining how we related to ourselves and the world, my sisters and I wanted to create something that allowed for introspection, self-improvement and self-discovery that can be practised both at home and at school. I wish I was taught how to self-reflect, understand and accept my unique self from a younger age.

Kyan’s intention is to re-design our life journey focusing on comprehensive development, starting at home and extending to schools. Kyan programmes are facilitated by our own professional, qualified practitioners certified in Positive Psychology, Mindfulness, NeuroEducation and Emotional Intelligence, fields in which I have been active since 2011.

Martin Seligman encapsulates the principals of the change for which we are advocating when he said: “The premise of positive psychology is that well-being can be defined, measured and taught. Well-being includes positive emotions, intense engagement, good relationships, meaning and accomplishment (PERMA). Questionnaires can measure it. Trainers can teach it. Achieving it not only makes people more fulfilled but makes corporations more productive, soldiers more resilient, students more engaged, and marriages happier.”

At Kyan, our Essence-Led Education is focused on introducing comprehensive development to schools where life skills and well-being are an integral part of the curriculum. As an advocate of change in existing education curriculums, I believe now is the time to implement Social and Emotional Learning as a core part of all curriculums in the region. Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

SEL is a key part of all education and human development. Through this learning process, students can acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to create and maintain a healthy identity, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals. Including this element of SEL in our education system should be the direct result of co-creation between educators, parents and the community. This will lead to establishing learning environments and experiences which will demonstrate trusting, collaborative relationships, rigorous, meaningful curriculum instruction, and ongoing evaluation. More than two decades of research has demonstrated education promoting SEL gets results. Findings come from multiple fields and sources, including improved academic performance with an eleven-percentile point gain on academics, decreases in anxiety with improved attitudes about self, others and school, overall health, increased employment rates and the prevention of youth problem behaviours.

There is already global support for the implementation of SEL within curriculums. A survey of 762 educators from 15 countries by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) found 80% of educators believe positive emotions are critical for academic success, and emotional well-being is crucial for developing foundational literacies and communication skills. According to the 2018 Social and Emotional Learning Report from McGraw-Hill Education Morning Consult, as many as 81% of parents believe SEL is just as important as academic learning.

Six of the top ten skills identified by the World Economic Forum (WEF) involve social and emotional competence. In another survey by, the WEF, 92% of executives believe skills such as problemsolving and communication are equal to, or more important than, technical skills. Global giants such as Google are prioritising SEL because the whole world is moving toward mental well-being, and it should be a mandatory part of our school system, not a privilege. We can no longer exclude work on personal development from schools.

Transformative change is fundamental for individuals and education systems to grow and evolve in meaningful ways. A key component of this is the ability to reflect on existing curriculum models and modifying anything which does not support the individual or the facility’s growth. While this process is not easy, with the right level of motivation and tools, it is possible. As many of us begin a new chapter in going back to classrooms, now is the time to reflect and bring a new dimension to learning, taking this global phenomenon as a platform for change. When the storm of the pandemic passes, schools should be revolutionised by this experience, or they may revert back to what they know. But the world in which they will exist will demand more. Education may be slow to change, but the post-coronavirus society will demand it.

80%

OF EDUCATORS

believe positive emotions are critical for academic success

92%

OF EXECUTIVES

believe skills such as problem-solving and communication are equal to, or more important than, technical skills

THE POWER OF REFLECTIVE PRACTICE IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

“I DON’T HAVE TIME TO THINK!” How often do we hear these words from our educational leaders? Principals and SLT are constantly under pressure to meet the ever-changing regulations of Covid demands, the relentless streams of data that flow from every corner of the school and the ferocious flow of student concerns.

Recently a YouGov survey, as part of the Teacher Well-being Index, found that over half of teachers in the UK say their mental health has declined significantly during the Covid pandemic revealing a profession feeling unsupported and unappreciated (EducationSupport.org.uk, 2021). USA Today (Jan, 2021) reported widespread concerns headlining that “teacher’s mental health suffers in ways they’ve never experienced”. The Bastion, in 2020, reported the hidden threat to teachers across India, with mental health declining during the pandemic – there is little time to take a breath, pause and reflect but it is something that we need to do, it is essential.

SO, WHAT IS REFLECTIVE PRACTICE?

Reflective practice is ‘learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and practice’ (Finlay, 2008)

It is the act of periodically stepping back to ponder the meaning of what has recently transpired in our schools, our teams and our environment. It privileges the process of inquiry leading to an understanding of actions and experiences that may have been overlooked in the process of change.

Reflection is a basic part of teaching and learning and of whole school development. It aims to make you more aware of your own professional knowledge and action by ‘challenging assumptions of everyday practice and critically evaluating practitioners’ own responses to practice situations’ (Finlay, 2008).

Associated with learning dialogues, or communities of practice; it is the exchange of social political and emotional data. It is opening discussion with your team in a safe environment of trusting peers to address premises and assumptions behind our educational leadership and practice. These learning dialogues are concerned with creating mutual caring relationships to eliminate blocks to operational effectiveness.

How can schools foster reflective practice? Just as a teacher uses reflective practice in class to self-appraise, we can expand this to a whole school macro level where staff are engaging in professional learning dialogues.

There are strategies that a school can endorse to encourage the use of reflective practice. According to Joseph Raelin, author of Work Based Learning, there are five key elements which support reflective practice.

Reflective actions; lead by even one person can stimulate reflective action in others. Journaling, learning histories or learning forums are a good way to start.

Building communities; encourage teachers and leaders to network around common topics or areas of interest. Encourage sharing and testing of ideas, facilitate this through setting up meeting spaces and allowing time, in the day, for teachers to come together.

Process improvement; reinforce the value of learning from experience, highlight the value of quality improvement approaches.

Learning teams; create supportive task teams to work on meaningful action learning projects. For example, ask a group of teachers to pilot a trial such as flexible seating, facilitating them to work together in testing and trialing and reflecting on their challenges and success.

Culture of learning; senior managers have a particularly important role in modeling learning dialogues, where everyone feels confident to challenge ideas, discuss pitfalls and requirements.

How can we, as leaders model this culture of learning and reflective practice?

Through open enquiry and free discussion, testing and uncovering possibilities in school practice. Speaking with teachers and staff to stimulate discussion, find and characterise a collective voice of discourse. Sharing our own doubts about our practice and allowing for vulnerability as a leader. Voicing passion and demonstrating our own excitement. Probe and enquire with all staff, ask about their assumptions, reasons and consequences

Be present, listen actively, be inquisitive and be vulnerable. Being vulnerable, as an educational leader, builds group cohesion and affiliation. By engaging reflective practice in a school we can support teachers and leaders in growing and improving their own practice in a meaningful and structured way.

“Reflective practice enables the practitioner to ‘remove’ themselves from the immediacy of being directly involved in the decision or action and to put their actions into a ‘context’ that provides a fuller appreciation of all the circumstances that led to that decision or action.”(Baker, Cathcart, & Peach, 2017).

As an educational leader, facilitating structured time, where teachers and school leaders can take a breath, self-appraise and reflect, we can promote calm and well-being. Approach challenges in a collective manner and accept pitfalls and failures as learning opportunities.

Reflective practice is a powerful tool and one that can be implemented relatively easily – if we just take the time -take a breath, step back and be in the moment of learning.

TEACH

PRACTICE

REFLECTIVE CYCLE

SELF ASSESS

CONSIDER

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WEBSITES THAT CAN GUIDE YOU ON REFLECTIVE PRACTICE FROM A MICRO TEACHING LEVEL TO A MACRO WHOLE SCHOOL LEVEL. “Reflective practice enables the practitioner to ‘remove’ themselves from the immediacy of being directly involved in the decision or action and to put their actions into a ‘context’ that provides a fuller appreciation of all the circumstances that led to that decision or action.”

Catherine is the Head of Student Services

for Bloom Education in the UAE, she also hosts a fortnightly Inclusion & Well-being Forum for practitioners, sharing practice and knowledge from Singapore to Ireland. She is a teacher, psychologist and engineer and is passionate about combining practice from all three areas to develop effective leadership strategies in educational organisations. She is a regular conference speaker and media contributor and always keen to share freely and connect like-minded practitioners.