“A strong sense of wellbeing enables students to explore, experiment and actively engage in their learning environment with confidence and optimism.”
The Department of Education Tasmania, as part of the state’s Wellbeing Strategy, engaged all Government school students from Years 4 to 12 in 2019 in its inaugural Student Wellbeing Survey. The survey results identify some strengths of students, both on a state level and in each school’s individual report. Schools in Tasmania are continuing to reflect on these results and how to build on these positive aspects of wellbeing.
The Survey is structured around the six wellbeing domains, developed by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) which shape the Strategy.
As with student survey tools used in other Australian states and territories, the Tasmanian Survey and its associated report aim to provide data, and to engage all stakeholders in greater understanding of wellbeing, so that future planning will further enable young people’s growth.
Some of the most notable strengths that Tasmanian students identified in the data are their sense of peer belonging (in Years 4-12, 82 % of students reported this as either High or Medium), and friendship and intimacy (88% of Year 4-12 students reported this as either High or Medium). The work of Peer Support Australia is founded on the important role that young people play for each other in providing help and advice. Hence it is significant that young people in Tasmania have such a strong sense of these positive connections, and it is a fertile basis on which schools can continue to develop their wellbeing approaches.
In conversations with us, schools in Tasmania have also shared some of the challenges and issues which the data has suggested about their students, and discussed their ideas about how they are responding to these.
We’re looking forward to continuing to work with communities in Tasmania as part of schools’ strategies to enhance resilience, support students in developing emotional regulation and improve school climate.
