Flourishing Student – 2nd edition

Fabienne Vailes is an expert on emotional and mental well-being within the education sector.As an educational expert with almost 25 years’ experience in the sector, Fabienne is on a mission to change the face of education – embedding well-being into the curriculum to create an environment where both students and staff flourish and develop the mental agility and resilience to succeed both academically and in the workplace.Fabienne has extensive experience of teaching across all age groups (from nursery to primary, secondary, FE and HE as well as adult learners). She is currently Language Director at the University of Bristol, specializing in Intercultural Competence and Communication. She has an unusually wide appreciation of the issues facing learners (and teachers) at all levels.

The Flourishing Student is an excellent tool for those in higher education who seek to understand the students of today, learn how best to encourage them, and help them succeed in a university setting.

• Table of ContentsIntroductionWelcome to The Flourishing StudentWhat is the aim of this book?Why a book on mental health?Why a book on HE in particular?What is this book about?Who is this book for?How to use this bookPART I – GAINING UNDERSTANDING AND CLARITYChapter 1 – Setting the scene – The current state of student mental health in the UK’s Higher EducationThe general pictureWhat about student health?Why are students reporting getting increasingly stressed?The issues with our language uses of the words ‘mental health’Mental health – a definitionThe confusing impact of multiple negative modifiersWhy so much negativity?The language we use mattersThe danger of labelling oneself and othersThe difference between behaviour and identityBecoming aware of the stigma around mental healthThe rise of mental health awarenessWellbeing and the rise of the concept of embedding wellbeing in the curriculumChapter 2 – Time for clarity and understanding – a real need for mental health literacyThe different stages of mental health and why it mattersWhat’s the difference between a disorder and a normal stress response?Clarification – for whom are the interventions in this book suggested?The stress response – what happens in our bodyThe stress response – an issue in the 21st century?Why stress is good for usThe stress vulnerability modelThe stress bucketFactors of influence on mental health – biological (genetics) and environmental (epigenetics), cultural and socialThe good news – neuroplasticity – our capacity for changeWhat does it mean for the HE sector?Important final points to considerPART II – THE IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONChapter 3 – Time for a new model?Emotional, cognitive, physical, social, spiritual health – always kept separateWhat if they are all a ‘continuum’ – Corey Keyes’s model as an exemplarThe mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in lifeWhat is a flourishing student versus a languishing individual?WHO’s definition of health and link with the new concept of ‘flourishing student’Chapter 4 – A new model based on students’ storiesThe flourishing student modelThe university as a gardenThe environmentThe rootsThe stemLife and academic skillsThe head of the flowerEmotional healthCognitive healthPhysical healthSocial healthSpiritual healthOpennessCuriosityFlexibilityResilienceLanguageHow we communicatePART III – THE TUTOR’S OWN TOOLBOXChapter 5 – It all starts with you – the flourishing tutorHow is your mental/physical/social/emotional/spiritual health doing?Your role – not in isolation but part of a wholeHow to create a community instead of an ‘institution’ which fosters resilience, diversity and student voicesChapter 6 – Your skillsListening skills and empathyTimeConfidentialityKnow your limits – what to say, not to sayBoundaries, boundaries, boundaries – do you know where to refer your students?Guiding rather than leadingCan you recognize what is going on with your tutees?Chapter 7 – How to bridge the student’s skill gapsConscious incompetence versus unconscious competenceHow to bridge the gap between knowledgeLetting go of our own labels/bias – how do you define students’ success?The 5 elements that foster wellbeingChapter 8 What next?UnderstandingAwarenessA toolboxThe need for a systemic approachMental Health charter and whole university approachA potential model? Appreciative InquiryFrom one colleague to anotherSharing with othersReferencesIndex