Emotional Well-Being and Its Relationship to Schools and Classrooms: A Critical Reflection

This article explores the research underpinning views of emotional well-being and its development in schools and classrooms. Research concerning the concepts of emotional intelligence, resilience and protective factors, mental health and young people and emotional regulation is examined and its implications interpreted. The author critically reviews the focus of interventions, the nature of the interventions and the strategies being adopted by policy-makers. She argues that there are dangers in solely adopting an individualistic programmatic approach and suggests that a wider emphasis on relationships, pedagogy and community building is central to the development of emotional well-being in young people.