Untangling the Threads of School Wellbeing: Underlying Assumptions and Axes of Normativity

TY - JOUR

T1 - Untangling the Threads of School Wellbeing: Underlying Assumptions and Axes of Normativity

AU - Primdahl, Nis Langer

AU - Simovska, Venka

PY - 2024/12

Y1 - 2024/12

N2 - At present, the concept of wellbeing in schools appears more muddled than ever, encompassing an even wider range of meanings, connotations and dimensions than when it first gained currency two decades ago. Drawing upon a systematic literature review on wellbeing in schools, this article conceptualises the normative tensions underpinning the understandings of wellbeing in schools and related critical discussions. Guided by the claim that educational notions of wellbeing are not neutral but always laden with values and interwoven with expansive ideas about what education in general, and school wellbeing in particular, should be and do, we analyse a range of conceptualisations by illuminating the underlying normative assumptions. Our argument is that the concept of wellbeing is not only shaped by but also subject to opposing forces and inherent tensions. We outline three ‘axes’ to highlight these central points of tension characterising the conceptualisations of wellbeing in the literature, thereby shedding light on the normative underpinnings. The three axes portray a spectrum of perspectives, moving from individual skills, competencies and affective states, through approaches that underscore the relational nature of wellbeing and the importance of interpersonal relationships, to more comprehensive conceptualisations that construe wellbeing as interconnected with aspects of the whole-school environment and broader societal dynamics. Our conceptual analyses suggest that parallel to the concept of subjectivity, wellbeing can be construed as either detached, value-neutral and decontextualised, or as enacted in specific social realms and co-created in the interplay between interpersonal interactions and socio-material dynamics.

AB - At present, the concept of wellbeing in schools appears more muddled than ever, encompassing an even wider range of meanings, connotations and dimensions than when it first gained currency two decades ago. Drawing upon a systematic literature review on wellbeing in schools, this article conceptualises the normative tensions underpinning the understandings of wellbeing in schools and related critical discussions. Guided by the claim that educational notions of wellbeing are not neutral but always laden with values and interwoven with expansive ideas about what education in general, and school wellbeing in particular, should be and do, we analyse a range of conceptualisations by illuminating the underlying normative assumptions. Our argument is that the concept of wellbeing is not only shaped by but also subject to opposing forces and inherent tensions. We outline three ‘axes’ to highlight these central points of tension characterising the conceptualisations of wellbeing in the literature, thereby shedding light on the normative underpinnings. The three axes portray a spectrum of perspectives, moving from individual skills, competencies and affective states, through approaches that underscore the relational nature of wellbeing and the importance of interpersonal relationships, to more comprehensive conceptualisations that construe wellbeing as interconnected with aspects of the whole-school environment and broader societal dynamics. Our conceptual analyses suggest that parallel to the concept of subjectivity, wellbeing can be construed as either detached, value-neutral and decontextualised, or as enacted in specific social realms and co-created in the interplay between interpersonal interactions and socio-material dynamics.

KW - conceptualisation

KW - normativity

KW - schools

KW - subjectivity

KW - wellbeing

KW - wellbeing in schools

KW - subjectification

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199484911&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/berj.4052

DO - 10.1002/berj.4052

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0141-1926

VL - 50

SP - 2799

EP - 2812

JO - British Educational Research Journal

JF - British Educational Research Journal

IS - 6

ER -