Le bien-être des élèves et leur réussite scolaire et extrascolaire dépendent de leur capacité à utiliser leurs compétences pour une culture de la démocratie.


Comme le bien-être comporte de nombreuses facettes, l'amélioration du bien-être des élèves à l'école exige une approche scolaire globale, impliquant à la fois les enseignants et les parents.

Les écoles devraient dispenser des cours axés sur l'utilisation responsable d'Internet, la nécessité d'adopter un mode de vie sain et les moyens de prévenir ou de traiter les problèmes de santé, en collaboration avec les personnes concernées, y compris les services sanitaires et sociaux, les autorités locales et les organisations de la société civile.

 

Faits & chiffres

Environ 60 % des élèves indiquent être très tendus quand ils étudient.[1]

Un peu plus de 60 % de filles et 40 % de garçons se disent très angoissés avant un contrôle, même s’ils se sont bien préparés.[2]

Plus de 70% des parents déclarent qu’ils choisiraient d’envoyer leurs enfants dans un établissement scolaire dont les résultats aux examens sont inférieurs à la moyenne si leurs enfants y sont heureux.[3]

Qu’entend-on par bien-être ?

Le bien-être désigne un état général de bonne santé et d’épanouissement. Il englobe la santé physique et mentale, la sécurité physique et affective ainsi qu’un sentiment d’appartenance, de raison d’être, d’accomplissement et de réussite.

Le bien-être est un vaste concept qui recouvre une variété d’aptitudes physiques et psychologiques. On distingue cinq grands types de bien-être :

  • Le bien-être émotionnel – aptitude à faire preuve de résilience, à gérer ses émotions et à ressentir des émotions sources de sentiments positifs
  • Le bien-être physique – aptitude à améliorer le fonctionnement de son corps grâce à une alimentation saine et à une activité physique régulière
  • Le bien-être social – aptitude à communiquer, à nouer des relations satisfaisantes avec les autres et à créer son propre réseau de soutien affectif
  • Le bien-être au travail – aptitude à défendre ses intérêts, ses convictions et ses valeurs afin de donner un sens à sa vie, d’être heureux et de s’enrichir sur le plan professionnel
  • Le bien-être sociétal – aptitude à participer activement à une communauté ou à une culture.

Le bien-être général dépend dans une certaine mesure de l’ensemble de ces facteurs[4].

« Avoir un sens et un but est essentiel au sentiment de bien-être d’une personne. Le bien-être ne se résume pas qu’au bonheur et le succès va bien au-delà de la réussite à un examen[5]».

En quoi le bien-être à l’école est-il important ?

Le bien-être à l’école est important, car les écoles ont un rôle essentiel à jouer pour aider les élèves à faire des choix de vie sains et à comprendre l’influence de leurs choix sur leur santé et leur bien-être. L’enfance et l’adolescence sont des périodes déterminantes pour le développement d’attitudes durables qui auront une incidence sur le bien-être personnel et les choix de vie. Les compétences sociales et émotionnelles ainsi que les connaissances et les comportements que les jeunes acquièrent en classe leur permettent de développer leur résilience et déterminent la façon dont ils géreront leur santé physique et mentale tout au long de leur vie.

L’école est le lieu où les élèves ont accès à des informations fiables et apprennent à appréhender au mieux les choix qui s’offrent à eux. Elle est aussi le lieu où les élèves acquièrent les compétences intellectuelles nécessaires pour mener une réflexion critique sur ces choix et sur l’influence que la société exerce sur eux, s’agissant notamment de l’influence des pairs, de la publicité, des réseaux sociaux, de la famille et des valeurs culturelles.

Bien-être et réussite scolaire sont étroitement corrélés : le bien-être est en effet une condition préalable indispensable à la réussite et la réussite est essentielle au bien-être. L’activité physique améliore l’apprentissage et la concentration. Des relations solides et sûres donnent aux élèves les ressources émotionnelles nécessaires pour sortir de leur « zone de confort » intellectuel et découvrir de nouvelles idées et façons de penser, ce qui est fondamental pour la réussite scolaire.

Le bien-être est également important pour le développement de compétences démocratiques essentielles. Les émotions positives développent la flexibilité et l’adaptabilité, l’ouverture aux autres cultures et croyances, le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle et la largeur d’esprit, compétences qui sont toutes au cœur du Cadre de référence des compétences pour une culture de la démocratie du Conseil de l’Europe

Quelles sont les difficultés qui se posent ?

Le bien-être revêt de multiples facettes et c’est un aspect dont il importe de tenir compte si l’on veut le promouvoir à l’école. Il existe différents types de bien-être et il convient de contribuer dans une certaine mesure à chacun d’eux pour créer un sentiment général de bien-être chez une personne. Aussi n’est-il pas possible d’améliorer le bien-être des élèves à l’école par des interventions ou des initiatives isolées. Il faut plutôt développer une « culture » du bien-être à l’échelle de l’école et mobiliser l’ensemble du personnel, enseignant et autre, ce qui peut être difficile à réaliser.

La promotion du bien-être peut parfois sembler incompatible avec les autres priorités de l’école, comme le niveau scolaire. Des attentes déraisonnables, un rythme soutenu de contrôles ou une importance excessive accordée aux résultats scolaires peuvent en effet nuire au bien-être des élèves.

Bien souvent, les établissements scolaires ne sont pas libres d’apporter les changements qui favoriseraient le plus le bien-être des élèves. Ils n’ont par exemple parfois qu’un droit de regard limité sur les examens et contrôles formels, le contenu des programmes, la durée de la journée d’école ou l’environnement physique de l’école.

Ils n’ont pas non plus de prise sur les nombreux facteurs extrascolaires qui influent sur le bien-être des élèves. Ce qui se passe à la maison et en famille, dans la collectivité ou sur les réseaux sociaux peut avoir autant, sinon plus, d’influence sur le bien-être des élèves que tout ce qui se passe à l’école.

Enfin, il est d’autant plus difficile pour les élèves de développer un sentiment de bien-être lorsque le personnel de l’école lui-même n’éprouve pas ce sentiment. Le bien-être au travail est fortement lié au stress. Le stress au travail est lié à la charge de travail, à la qualité des relations professionnelles, au degré d’autonomie, à la clarté des rôles de chacun, à l’existence d’un soutien et à la possibilité de participer aux changements qui ont une incidence sur la vie professionnelle. Un niveau élevé de stress peut générer une démotivation, une insatisfaction au travail et des problèmes de santé physique et mentale, ce qui peut se répercuter sur le bien-être des élèves.

Que peuvent faire les écoles ?

Pour œuvrer au bien-être de leurs élèves, les écoles doivent tout d’abord aider chaque élève à se sentir reconnu et considéré comme une personne à part entière et faire en sorte que la scolarité ait un sens et un but pour eux. Elles peuvent pour ce faire prendre plusieurs mesures à petite échelle qui, cumulées les unes aux autres, exerceront une très forte influence sur le sentiment de bien-être des élèves. Elles peuvent notamment :

  • donner la possibilité à tous les membres de la communauté scolaire de participer véritablement à la prise de décision à l’école, par exemple, en organisant des consultations, des enquêtes d’opinion et des référendums, en élisant des représentants de classe, en constituant des parlements d’élèves, des groupes de réflexion, en organisant des séances de rétroaction en classe sur les activités pédagogiques et en donnant la possibilité aux élèves de choisir des enseignements et des méthodes pédagogiques ;
  • créer un environnement accueillant où chacun à l’école se sente soutenu et en confiance, en proposant des activités constructives, par exemple, des clubs, des sociétés, des groupes d’intérêts et des associations où les élèves peuvent aborder les questions qui les concernent, notamment la santé ;
  • prendre des mesures pour réduire l’anxiété des élèves liée aux examens et aux contrôles en introduisant des formes d’évaluation moins stressantes (évaluations formatives, évaluations par les pairs par exemple) et en associant les élèves à l’identification de leurs propres besoins en la matière ;
  • recourir à des méthodes pédagogiques propices à la création d’un climat positif en classe et au bien-être (par exemple, apprentissage coopératif, méthodes axées sur l’élève, autogestion du temps, activités extérieures) ;
  • ménager dans le programme des possibilités d’évoquer les questions de bien-être avec les élèves (par exemple concernant une alimentation saine, l’activité physique, la consommation de substances, les relations positives) ;
  • intégrer la citoyenneté démocratique et l’éducation à la compréhension interculturelle dans différentes matières scolaires et activités extrascolaires, par exemple l’ouverture à d’autres cultures en éducation religieuse, la connaissance et la compréhension critique des droits de l’homme en sciences sociales, l’empathie en littérature ;
  • introduire des méthodes de gestion des conflits et des approches du harcèlement mises en œuvre par les élèves eux-mêmes (par exemple, médiation par les pairs, justice réparatrice) ;
  • améliorer l’environnement physique de l’école afin qu’il soit plus convivial pour les élèves (par exemple, nouveau mobilier et nouveaux aménagements, espaces moquettés, couleurs adaptées, toilettes sécurisées, espaces récréatifs) ;
  • encourager une alimentation plus saine en proposant un choix d’aliments sains à la cantine scolaire, par exemple en évitant les aliments trop sucrés et trop salés et les graisses saturées ;
  • travailler en collaboration avec les parents pour améliorer les résultats et la motivation des élèves, sur des questions comme une alimentation saine, une utilisation sûre d’internet et la communication entre la maison et l’école.

Les initiatives individuelles de ce genre peuvent être fédérées au niveau de l’école au moyen d’un processus d’élaboration des politiques qui place le bien-être au cœur des préoccupations de l’établissement. Il faut pour cela s’intéresser aux effets potentiels des nouvelles politiques sur le bien-être de chacun – élèves, enseignants et autres personnels. La promotion du bien-être des élèves à l’école et la protection de la santé et du bien-être des enseignants et des autres personnels de l’école ne vont pas l’une sans l’autre.
 

[1] OECD (2017). Résultats du PISA 2015 (Volume III), p.40. Le bien-être des élèves. Paris, France

[2] Ibid.

[3] Cowburn & Blow, ‘Wise up - Prioritising wellbeing in schools’

[4] Psychology Today, Janvier 2019.

[5] Hargreaves & Shirley (2018), ‘Well-being and Success. Opposites that need to attract’.

  Ressources pour améliorer le bien-être à l'école

Retour Primary school Osnovna Šola Gornja Radgona

Address: Prežihova 1, 9250 Gornja Radgona

Country: Slovenia

 School website

Project: "Students writing their own school constitution"

 Working language during the project:

  • Slovenian
     

 Themes of the Council of Europe campaign “FREE to SPEAK, SAFE to LEARN - Democratic Schools for All” covered:

  • Making children’s and students’ voices heard
  • Improving well-being at school

 Competences from the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC) addressed and where / how they were integrated:

  • Knowledge and critical understanding of the world: politics, law, human rights
    • Through the process of writing their class or school constitution, students learn about the content of a constitution, its meaning for citizens, and its role in a democracy.
  • Valuing democracy
    • Through the process of writing their class or school constitution, students learn about valuing democracy and put into action those key principles of democracy that establish rules for life in a democratic society. By doing so, they develop a better understanding of the role of the Constitution for creating and sustaining democracy, increase their competences in democratic decision-making.

 Target group age range:

  • 11 - 15

 Level of education:

  • Primary education
  • Lower secondary education

Short description of the project:

Citizens do not always fully understand the meaning and role of the state’s constitution -- one of the key elements of democracy -- because they don’t recognize it as a summary of founding principles, rules and values of democracy, which regulates the functioning of a democratic state and the life of its citizens. It is a founding document in which citizens can learn about their rights, the state structure and functioning, constitutionality and laws, etc. To address this problem, we motivated the students and teachers of our primary school to write a constitution for their class or school.

In order to present and simplify more complex articles in the constitution, we used an illustrated version of a constitution: Constitution in Comics. The main characters, Miha and Maja, present selected articles of the state constitution in a clear and simple way, through examples using everyday situations. During this stage, students learn about the structure and functioning of the government, human rights, basic principles of the democratic decision-making process… They gain an insight into the content, complexity and importance of the document for a democratic State.

In the next step, students compared elements of the State Constitution with procedures used in the school. In this activity, the teacher used questions to direct students to compare and contrast State structure and school structure, State symbols and school symbols, the national anthem and school anthem, the official language of the State and of the school, children's (students') rights and responsibilities, laws in the State and rules in the school, and procedures to change the State Constitution and school Constitution. This activity helped students identify the key elements that should be included in their own class or school Constitution.

During the next activity, students studied documents about Slovenian laws that regulate the Constitution, as well as articles on education that were discussed in the previous activity. Teachers guided students and, when needed, helped them search for corresponding documents (acts and rules on education, school rules, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Act on Founding the School Institution, rules on students' rights and obligations in primary school, a syllabus for the subject of citizen and homeland education and ethics, etc.).

For the next activity, students were divided into working groups. During this time, the working groups narrowed their study to just one field or one clause of the constitution, choosing from general articles, human rights, state structure, constitutionality and lawfulness, or constitutional changes. They read once more the selected articles from the State Constitution and studied the documents that regulate these topics in the school process. They suggested and prepared articles for their class or school constitution. In this activity, the teacher reminded students to bear in mind that their articles had to be based on democratic principles, that they should be aligned with human and children's rights, and that they should be applied equally to all students. Working groups drafted the articles and sent them to the whole project group for adoption.

The draft articles were then revised by all project participants, who had the opportunity to suggest and discuss possible changes. Finally, they voted on the articles. If the majority of the present students voted for the article, it was adopted. The article could be rejected with the possibility to amend it by sending it back to the working group, after which it could be resubmitted for approval. At this stage, the objective was for students to learn and put into practice the key principles of democracy by setting up democratic rules or articles for the group, while modelling democracy during the exercise. They also realized the need to establish the rules one needs for life in a democratic society.

Next, the group wrote the preamble to the Constitution. The students read the preamble as a group, discussed it with the teacher, and learned about the meaning of its content. On the basis of what they read and the discussion, the group prepared a draft of the preamble, in which they stated reasons for writing the school or class constitution and listed its authors.

During the final step, students made decisions about the articles that were previously rejected, rewritten by the group and then sent back for approval. At that point, the class Constitution came into force as an internal document valid for all participants of the school process.
 

 Aims/objectives

  • Through the process of writing their class or school Constitution, students learn about the content of a Constitution, its meaning for citizens, and its role in a democracy.
  • They also learn about and put into action those key principles of democracy that establish rules for life in a democratic society.
     

 Expected results/outcomes

  • Students develop a better understanding of the importance of a State Constitution in creating and sustaining democracy, increase their competences in democratic decision-making, and realise the importance of including human rights in the document.
     

 Changes

  • The final school Constitution was the result of a project through which students, teachers, parents and representatives of the local community could search for information about general provisions of the school, school rules, students' rights and obligations, rights and obligations of other participants in school processes, and the school structure. The impact of the project and the school Constitution was positive. All participants of the school process accepted the Constitution.

  • The evaluation of the project was carried out in a survey. Project participants and users of the constitution evaluated the content’s appropriateness, everyday usage and role in developing education for democratic citizenship and human rights. The evaluation of the survey showed that the important articles – which were included in the school constitution – are easier to use when they can be found in just one document, as opposed to many different documents. 82% of the student respondents consider the school constitution as very useful in everyday school life. The evaluation can be further carried out on a daily basis by observing the students' behaviour in relation to their promotion of democratic values and human rights, insofar as they live by the articles and values they included in the school Constitution.
     

 Challenges you face(d)

  • At the time of writing the constitution, we faced several challenges and barriers. One of the challenges was to present the complex content of the State Constitution, its meaning, and its role to students of this age group. Fortunately, not long before the project, an illustrated State Constitution was published, which made it much easier for students to relate to the document. Students explored the role and meaning of the State Constitution through the process of writing their own Constitution and by accepting and promoting the rules and principles upon which the documents are founded.

  • Another challenge was the need to focus only on the most important documents, among the many that regulate school processes, and to search for possible connections with the State Constitution. At this stage, students needed to be motivated to tackle the large number of documents and information. It was a challenge to incorporate a variety of ways to write and approve articles on democratic principles, since through the very process of writing the constitution, the students developed and internalized the principles and values.

  • Composing the text of the constitution regarding children's (students') rights was also a challenge because the students did not fully understand the importance of ensuring equal rights for all. By focusing on their rights, the students often forgot the imminent connection of their rights to their duties. It was necessary to explain and present the history and content of the most important international documents in relation to human and children’s rights. The aim is to learn the importance of the documents and enable subsequent acceptance of human and children's rights, not only for their own benefit but the benefit of the whole group.
     

 Time-frame of the project:

  • One school year
     

 Council of Europe materials on citizenship and human rights education used while preparing or implementing your practice:

  • Living Democracy - manuals for teachers
  • Democratic governance of schools
  • Compass
  • Compasito
  • Human Rights and Democracy Start with Us – Charter for All

Projets des écoles sur ce thème

Retour Istituto di Istruzione Superiore Statale “Caterina Caniana”

Address: Via Polaresco 19, 24126 Bergamo.

Country: Italy

 School website

Project: “Bullying is not a game”

Working language during the project:

  • Italian
     

Themes of the Council of Europe campaign “FREE to SPEAK, SAFE to LEARN - Democratic Schools for All” covered:

  • Preventing violence and bullying
  • Tackling discrimination
  • Improving well-being at school
     

Competences from the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC) addressed and where / how they were integrated:

  • Valuing human dignity and human rights
    Respect, human rights and fundamental freedoms were the focus of conferences and school activities. Linguistic, history and law lessons focused on themes such as equal dignity, cultural differences, status, abilities. Students understood how important it is to defend those who might be disempowered and disadvantaged within the community.
  • Responsibility
    Thanks to targeted law lessons, students understood their duties and obligations and how they ought to act in relation to a particular situation, based on a value or set of values. They also understood the consequences of personal decisions and actions.
  • Co-operation skills
    In technical and vocational subjects, students organised the design work in order to create different outputs. They cooperated with others in a reciprocal and coordinated manner, identifying roles, tasks, a time-schedule and setting group goals.
     

Target group age range:

  • 15 - 19
     

Level of education:

  • Upper secondary education

Short description of the project:

Over the years Istituto Caniana has paid a great deal of attention to many of the themes that are part of The Free To Speak Safe To Learn campaign. Some of the most relevant features and driving forces in our vision of the school are: spreading democratic culture among students, promoting self-expression, social inclusion and active citizenship.

Among all the different projects that take their inspiration from these guidelines the “Bullying is Not a Game” project touches on different aspects of the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture. The project also implements the recent national school curricula guidelines in terms of civic education and social responsibility. Indeed, all these values, known as “Citizenship and Constitutional law” are now compulsory in the Italian Secondary school system, becoming an integral part of the final exam.

The project explores these subjects:

  • Preventing violence, bullying and cyberbullying.
  • Human rights violations.
  • Making society a better place; free from violence and abuse.

Within the framework of this project the whole-school works at different levels (depending on the school year) on an anti-bullying, human rights programme, which promotes a learning environment where no violence is allowed. The project not only aims to make students aware of the problem, recognise it and act effectively against this kind of human rights violation but, with a domino effect, aims to spread knowledge of the democratic values in everyday life, within the family, the local community, making society a better place with no abuse or violence.

These themes are mainly directed at the younger students (1st, 2nd and 3rd year) as recent studies show that children aged between 11 and 17 are at the center of the problem (although the most critical period is between 11 and 13). The phenomenon occurs in school or in a virtual environment. But a bullying culture can develop in any context in which humans interact with each other, from the home to the workplace.

The project started with an online questionnaire addressed to all students, which produced some interesting statistics, supported with comments from the students on the phenomenon of bullying as it was personally experienced by them.

Over the course of two years, the project has seen a full programme of conferences, seminars and activities involving a large number of students and teachers.

The project has been developed thanks to the teachers (whom integrated their curricula programme) but also with the help of experts who held conferences and events to talk about the topic. Some of the most important have been:

Conference “Bullismo, cyber bullismo e molestie” held by a team of journalists from the national newspaper “Corriere della Sera”. The conference gave space also to a lively Q&A time with the students’ questions to the journalists.

Conference held by a lawyer and volunteer of the Bergamo UNICEF Committee. The conference inquired into the meaning of the terms "bullying" and "cyberbullying" (with practical examples) to reveal the civil and criminal consequences resulting from these acts.

Students attended the play “Banna il Bullo” (Ban the Bully), a show which broaches the issues of bullying and cyberbullying paying particular attention to the psychological and emotional dynamics involving parents and children.

Some classes (third year) took part in the “Inter-force Citizenship and Legality Education” project. It was a training activity promoted by the Vittime del Dovere Association, the State Police and the Territorial School Department. During the second part of the conference pupils could interact freely with the police officers about the issue.

Students got great results in different contests about bullying and cyberbullying and an internal exhibition showcasing their work was set up in the school’s hall and corridors.
 

Aims/objectives

  • Preventing violence and bullying.
  • Awareness of the bullying and cyber bullying phenomenon.
  • Tackling discrimination.
  • Knowledge and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
  • Improving well-being at school.
  • Critical thinking and reflection on the complexity of the contemporary world.
  • Correct use of digital technologies and social media.
  • Identification of dangerous situations online and offline.
  • Team work skills: designing a multimedia product on the subject, implementing it through visual and communication tools, sharing ideas with the group and presenting the project to a wider audience.
     

Expected results/outcomes

  • Students respect, protect and become promoters of the human rights
  • Students promote social responsibility identifying and taking action against episodes of bullying they undergo or witness.
  • Students improve their communication skills
  • Student improve their digital and technological skills
  • Students improve their ability to analyse issues and come up with solutions.
  • Students improve their cooperative learning and team-work skills
  • Multimedia outcome: video, digital animation, posters and T-shirts on the subject.
  • Online campaign through the school’s Facebook page and website and during the final school year show which takes place in a theatre.
  • Essays on the subject

Students ranked in the first place within the "Best Multimedia Works" category in the “Progetto Educazione alla Cittadinanza e alla Legalità” (launched by “Vittime del Dovere Association”) with the digital animation "Cyberbullying and cyberstalking: get to understand them to defend yourself" and with the following aims: "the messages of the individual graphics are original and they visually convey clear concepts". This video is permanently hosted on the homepage of school’s website.

Caniana Institute's commitment to the project was further recognised the the award of a special bronze medal by the Lombardy Regional Council for the largest number and the quality of work produced on cyberbullying and cyberstalking theme.

Students took part in the national competition “Scollègati dal bullismo” launched by the Ministry of Public Education. Their anti-bullying campaign got great results, and was selected at regional level by the USR Lombardia and sent over to the Ministry of Public Education to compete for the national stage of the contest.

Students took part in the video contest project “No Bullies be Friends”: kids simulated bullying situations in order to produce a short film. The activity helped them understand so much better the consequences of bullying on victims.

On the 7th February 2018 and 2019 our school joined the celebrations of “The National Day of Action against Bullying and Cyberbullying”, setting up an exhibition in the school. The exhibition showcases the students’ work which focuses on the main features of the problem. The exhibition was the results of the students’ analysis of the materials featured on different sites selected by the teachers and the free brain-storming that followed all activities and conferences. Students of the Graphic Design course made posters, videos and digital animations showcasing striking headlines and photographs, while students from the Fashion Design course made some really impactful T-shirts with No Bulls logos.
 

Changes

  • Students adopt core human rights values in their every-day-life.
  • Increased awareness of the students of bullying symptoms, online and offline.
  • Teachers, parents and students take part together in the bullying prevention and intervention.
  • Improvement on problem solving and team-work skills
  • Visual and informative material was produced and remains a permanent source of knowledge and social condemnation of the phenomenon.
  • Improvement in cooperation between the school and other stakeholders such as the State Police, the Territorial School Department, different Associations, Journalists, media and other institutions.
     

Challenges you faced

  • very tight time schedule to organise some of the activities
  • introduction of new elements and skills in the school year curricula programme
  • designing the project exhibition and making it happen
     

Time-frame of the project:

School years 2017/18 and 2018/19 - the project is still ongoing.
 

Council of Europe materials on citizenship and human rights education used while preparing or implementing your practice:

  • Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture
  • Living Democracy - manuals for teachers
  • Compasito
  • Multimedia Material (ex. video “Beat Bullying”, series of cartoons “Democracy and Human Rights at School”, video “Corporal punishment at school: how two parents decided to change things”)
  • Other: Law books, Italian Constitution, different online sources.
Voir également