Promoting Twenty-first-century Student Competencies: A Wellbeing Approach

ABSTRACT

In Australia and internationally, universities are preparing students for the twenty-first century through building the competencies fundamental for both social sustainability and wellbeing. However, there is little evidence on how these competencies can be fostered in curricula. This article presents the findings of a mixed-methods pilot of an Aboriginal wellbeing intervention that seeks to build such attributes when integrated into an undergraduate social work curriculum. A questionnaire incorporating the validated Growth and Empowerment Measure, the Australian Unity Personal Wellbeing Index, and open-ended qualitative questions was administrated to 64 first-year social work students before and after the intervention. Significant changes on both measures suggest that the intervention is highly relevant for student wellbeing, particularly for those who rated themselves as below the median at baseline. The qualitative findings highlight the relevance of the program for promoting social competencies that enable people to problem-solve and adapt in a complex world.

无论澳大利亚还是国际上的大学都尽力让学生适应二十一世纪，使他们具备致力于社会可持续和福祉的能力。不过，很少有证据表明这种能力可以通过学校课程而养成。本文介绍了一种用于原住民福利干预的、纳入本科社会工作课程的混合方法。64位社会工作一年级的同学在干预之前及之后完成了包括“实证增长及赋权量测量”、“澳大利亚单元个人福利指数”、开放定性问题的问卷。这些测量发现很大的变化，干预对于学生的幸福是高度相关的，尤其是对于自视在平均线之下的同学。这个项目对于提高人们解决、适应复杂环境的能力确有助益。

KEYWORDS:

• Wellbeing
• Student
• Aboriginal Wellbeing
• Intervention
• Education for Sustainability

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge and to thank the student study participants. They also acknowledge that TAFE SA holds the copyright for the Family Wellbeing program and thank them for their permission to use program resources.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.