Conference Agenda

Finnish welfare state model is often characterized as ideal in terms of its universal basic services and social security benefits. In recent decades, however, universalistic welfare state model has been taken greater steps towards neoliberal idealization that emphasize efficiency and competitiveness, similarly altering the relationship between the state and citizenship. Hence, when destabilizing the traditional welfare structure, it has been particularly important to support individuals to take a greater responsibility of their life and behavior (Heiskala & Kantola 2010; Kananen 2012). Brunila and Ylöstalo (2020) have previously pointed that neoliberalization of Finnish welfare state is strongly linked to the rise of the therapeutic welfare policies, characterized as increasing intentions to activate, train and support individuals for he needs of labor market. Therapeutic culture refers here to a wider social change, where psychologizing discourses have spread into schools and families, institutions, and everyday life of individuals with profound effects on identity, personal and cultural discourses (Nehring et al 2015).

This presentation builds on an article in which I look at education for young people as a manifestation of therapeutic culture. By youth education I mean different kind of short-term trainings and mentoring programs that are targeted to young people deemed to be in challenging life situations. Common objective in these trainings is to remove psychological barriers that would otherwise prevent for participating in traditional education or working life (Mäkelä 2018; Mertanen et al 2020). In this sense, it is perhaps not surprising that therapeutic ideas and practices have become common and rather unquestioned in youth education aims as improving self-esteem, individual strength and capacity, happiness, and positivity via the psy-oriented vocabulary of mental health, emotions, and anxieties (Brunila 2020). Especially techniques adopted from broader therapy cultures, such as cognitive-behavioural therapies, are increasingly applied to education of young people as forms of coaching and mentoring.

In this paper, I focus on youth education in Finland as an emblematic manifestation of therapeutic culture by discursively analyzing training materials of two cases-studies. The first case is a worldwide resilience building programme targeting young people at risk of social exclusion, implemented in Finland and internationally. The second one is a psychological flexibility coaching in Finland in the context of national-wide youth guidance centers aiming towards increasing young people’s employability. Trainings were selected as they both draw back from the basic principles of third wave cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) framework focusing on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (such as thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes) and their associated behaviors to improve emotional regulation and develop personal coping strategies (Hayes and Hofmann, 2021; Kahl, Winter, Schweiger 2012). In both trainings, the techniques adopted from CBT promise the subject a better understanding of the self and possibility to become liberated from cognitive distortions and believes delimiting the possibilities to live life in its’ fullest. I wanted to examine these objectives further and detect how do these trainings delimit the rules of self formation. Inspired by Michael Foucault’s (1986) theoretical work on ‘technologies of the self’, I ask how do these trainings set rules for the subject’s self-transformation?

When being in class, learning, or having a test, pupils may feel a wide range of emotions. These emotions play an important role in learning, influencing learning behavior and performance. Learning can be defined as both a cognitive and affective process. During this process, any activity the pupil is engaged in, and any interaction with others, is likely to trigger one or several emotions (Orlova, Ebiner & Genoud, 2015). Therefore, many studies have been conducted to understand the role of emotions, both positive and negative, in school and particularly when learning. They have shown that the induction of pleasant emotions can, under certain conditions, improve learning by increasing pupils' interest as well as their involvement in the task they have to do. On the contrary, the induction of unpleasant emotions can delay, constrain learning, by decreasing pupils' interest and attention during learning (e.g., Cuisinier, Sanguin-Bruckert, Bruckert, & Clavel, 2010; Espinosa, 2018; Tornare, Cuisinier, Czajkowski & Pons, 2017 ). These results must take into consideration pupils' initial abilities and the type of tasks they are given (Tornare, Cuisinier, Czajkowski & Pons, 2017). Furthermore, a student "with a deficit in his understanding of emotions" would be "less available" for learning (Lafortune, Doudin, Pons & Hancock, 2004, p. 9, our translation).

However, few researches have focused on how these emotions experienced by a pupil remain in his memory (called autobiographical memory) and are likely to play a role in his current and future learning activities and processes. According to the control-value theory of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006), one’s affective memories of prior learning influence his expectancy of success or failure and his intrinsic learning task value. Our memories can be either consciously activated when we share them or activated automatically, without being aware of it. A stimulus from our environment can bring back to our mind certain memories and their contents, including emotions (Conway, 2005). Besides, studies have shown that the conscious or unconscious activation of memory can influence short-term psychological well-being. Recalling a negative autobiographical memory can negatively affect mental well-being whereas positive effects can be seen when recalling a positive memory (Philippe & Bernard-Desrosiers, 2017).

At school, for example, we could use this memory to help pupils recall certain positive affective memories of learning, "to reactivate knowledge" by "reiterating the same solicitation and the same positive emotions with the pupil " as during the encoding of the initial learning (Delannoy et Lorant-Royer, 2007, p. 70). So far, most research on pupils’ emotions has been conducted in Mathematics, regarding -mostly- anxiety; while studies in other disciplines or regarding other emotions are rather scarce.

Supported by a comprehensive approach, our doctoral research -conducted in France- investigates affective memories of learning situations in two school subjects: Mathematics and French. To what extent do pupils' affective memories of learning influence the emotions they experience in class? To what extent do affective memories participate in the pupils’ school experience and their identity construction as pupils?

The updated Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020, came into effect in April 2021. The Scottish Government (2020) recognises that schools do not hold sole responsibility in shaping the choices of children and young people but do play a key role in supporting healthier dietary choices. Cotton et al (2020) consider teachers as key agents in promoting health and nutrition within schools. The SG's health promotion guidance for schools states that ‘there should be flexibility to allow teachers to promote aspects of health and wellbeing in a holistic way and to make innovative provision within food and health education which addresses current circumstances and meets pupils’ changing needs’ (SG, 2020:14). As part of incorporating these updated guidelines into an integrated masters Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme it seemed fitting to explore preservice teacher’s understanding of this guidance and of food and nutrition education as well as their perceived role in supporting pupils’ with health promoting behaviours.

Health justice is an individual’s moral entitlement to develop a capability to be healthy. Health as ‘meta-capability’ goes beyond the health care provision so that social architecture facilitates a healthy life to allow individuals to flourish (Venkatapuram, 2011). Sen (2001) posits that freedom should be the driver for development and that political frameworks should not define human goals and what is required for human dignity. Walker and Unterhalter (2007) note that although all individuals may be provided with the same information/ knowledge it does not necessarily result in the same educational outcomes for all. Therefore individuals should have opportunities/ freedoms to behave and live in a way they chose to- not just access to resources but an ability to purposefully utilise resources and gain from them in a meaningful way. Race (2006) describes reflection as a process to deepen learning and this process can be used to facilitate and enrich learning dialogues, where teachers and learners can identify what has been achieved and what development is required. According to Nussbaum (2011), if an organisation or system values human flourishing it will address ten core capabilities. Nussbaum's capabilities approach has been used as a theoretical framework for this study in which wellbeing is considered in terms of capabilities and functionings to explore how educators do and could support learners to ‘fulfil one's potential as a human being’ (Nussbaum, 2011). This research explores the question: what are preservice teachers’ understanding of food and nutrition education and their role in supporting pupils’ capabilities in adopting health promoting behaviours? This empirical research study was guided by an interpretivist paradigm based on what Guba and Lincoln (1994:107) describe as ‘epistemological assumptions’ in which knowledge is built through the qualitative study of participants' individual views and lived realities. It focuses on the perceptions and experiences of ITE students from the Master of Education Programme with Primary Teaching Qualification in the University of Glasgow (hereafter, UofG). Although this study took place in one ITE institution in Scotland, it is also relevant for other ITE educators in the UK, Europe and other global countries that have responsibility for supporting preservice teachers to understand their role in providing effective support in schools for pupils to develop health promoting behaviours through effective food and nutrition education. This study can also be used in developing health and wellbeing career long professional learning experiences for teachers.

Schools are most successful when they respond to the academic, social and emotional needs of students. The wellbeing principles influence not only the content of the curriculum, but also how teachers structure their teaching and learning and the opportunities they create for children to practice socialisation. Teachers are therefore key agents in delivering the wellbeing agenda. In this research, we present teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of a novel socioemotional learning programme utilising puppetry and storytelling. Specifically, we examined teachers’ perceived benefits of the programme to the children, the impact of the programme on their own knowledge and self-efficacy, and the evaluation of the programme as a professional development tool.

Health and wellbeing education has been recognised as a priority globally, with national and local initiatives promoting and embedding socioemotional learning (SEL) across the curricula (European Commission, 2018; UNESCO, 2021). There is unequivocal evidence that health and wellbeing education and education outcomes are synergistic (Bonell et al., 2014). SEL not only promotes individual wellbeing and reduces mental health difficulties, but is also positively related with school success, school attitudes, behaviours, and learning outcomes, ultimately preparing children for the challenges of the outside world and equipping them with skills and tools for engaged citizenship (European Commission, 2021). Schools have been recognised as key contexts for prompting health and wellbeing, as they offer a platform and safe space for socialisation and the development of key social and emotional competencies. However, little is known about how well-equipped and well-supported teachers feel in delivering the wellbeing education agenda.

Since health and wellbeing education is fundamental for equipping learners for the challenges of the modern world and for realising equity and social justice, it is imperative that key stakeholders – teachers – are also equipped with skills and feel confident in teaching health and wellbeing, as well as feel supported in responding to the diverse needs of learners. Evidence from the literature, suggest significant gaps in professional development opportunities for teachers, in the areas of health and wellbeing education (Byrne et al., 2018; Otten et al., 2022). Confidence in the topic is often cited as a main barrier and challenge: teachers’ understanding of the value of health and wellbeing is crucial for a sustained impact. Professional development initiatives that promote health and wellbeing literacy amongst teachers, prove most effective and successful when contextualised, modelled and delivered in a collaborative, adaptive way (Otten et al., 2022). Supportive environment, climate of care, commitment from the leadership and a school ethos are also cited among the key factors influencing teachers identity as health and wellbeing promoters (Byrne et al., 2018; Spratt, 2016).

This research examined teachers’ experiences with and perspectives on an SEL programme utilising the power of puppetry and storytelling, focusing specifically on their evaluation of the programme as a teacher development tool. We focus on exploring the impact of the programme on teachers’ self-efficacy and the classroom environment. Teachers’ self-efficacy, which plays a significant role in their practice, influences their resilience, persistence and motivation (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007), and is found to rely on both internal factors (e.g. knowledge, values, confidence) and environmental factors (community, leadership support). It is therefore imperative to evaluate the SEL intervention, with respect to these areas.