Schools are organized spaces designed to facilitate learning. They may include classrooms specialized for certain subjects, cafeterias where students can get food, and all-purpose play fields called schoolyards.
Students are surrounded by hundreds of people their age, teaching them how to interact with others. They learn to understand diverse ideas and beliefs.
Academic Achievement
Academic achievement is the measure of a student or institution’s short and long term educational goals. It includes completing curricular benchmarks such as earning a bachelor’s degree, and also incorporates an individual’s intelligence level, learning styles and self-efficacy in school.
Students who feel safe, supported and engaged in their learning experience have a much higher rate of success in the classroom. This is especially true when educators model positive behaviors like being supportive, offering constructive feedback and respecting diversity.
With the national emphasis on high-stakes testing and education reform, a major focus is on increasing academic achievement across the country. This is a critical goal for school counselors, who play an important role in helping to raise student scores and provide support as needed. Research has shown that academic achievement is impacted by factors such as parental involvement and extracurricular activities. Other influencing variables include student resilience and engagement, as well as the quality of teachers and school leadership.
Social and Emotional Well-Being
Students need to develop their ability to recognize and manage their own emotions as well as empathize with others. These skills are essential to establishing healthy relationships in school and beyond.
School staff also need to feel supported and able to cope with the stress of the job, which can contribute to mental health issues. Teachers whose feelings of wellbeing are disrupted by the work environment may struggle to establish strong relationships with their students and support their learning.
Schools can support their own staff members’ wellbeing by fostering positive relationships, demonstrating care and empathy and providing opportunities for professional growth. They can also encourage staff to make healthy lifestyle choices through a combination of activities such as after-school yoga classes, stress-reduction exercises during staff meetings and renovated break rooms.
Physical Well-Being
School-based physical activity contributes to several components of health-related fitness: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and body composition. These activities also contribute to the prevention of many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disability and some cancers.
Sadly, state-mandated academic achievement testing has resulted in a shift of time from physical education and recess to classroom instruction. While these changes may improve test scores, they can undermine student well-being by depriving children of the opportunity for developmentally appropriate movement experiences and opportunities to build healthy habits.
Sedentary behavior increases the risk for depression and anxiety, as well as aggression and other high-risk behaviors. Research shows that frequent and varied opportunities for physical activity and reduced sedentary time, along with skill-related experiences, self-efficacy and social interactions that increase perceived social support can help prevent these declines in physical activity levels among adolescents. However, schools have little control over the many outside influences on youth’s mental health that can exacerbate or ameliorate negative effects of a lack of quality physical activity.
Continuing Your Education
Continuing education is the next step for those looking to expand their educational journey after earning a degree. It is often a way to explore new subjects for personal enrichment, while also pursuing professional development goals.
As the workplace continues to evolve, many careers require further training so employees can keep up with advances in their field. Continuing education can also give employees a reason to seek promotions or move into positions that are more impactful within their company.
Offering a variety of courses that are available on a flexible schedule appeals to nontraditional students who want to fit their education into their busy lives. Continuing education courses can be offered as standalone classes, or as part of a degree program. They can be delivered in person, through a virtual learning platform or at a seminar. Some continuing education programs may even offer certificates to entice students to apply. The definition of what constitutes a course under this category varies by institution, but it is important to consider the nontraditional student audience when developing and marketing these types of offerings.