A review of the role of school-related factors in the promotion of student social and emotional wellbeing at post-primary level

In 2017, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in the Republic of Ireland introduced a universal social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention in the form of the NCCA wellbeing guidelines. These guidelines are aimed at facilitating the promotion of student wellbeing during the first three years of post-primary education. This paper will provide an overview of the NCCA wellbeing guidelines, while also establishing the educational context within which these guidelines have become necessary. While the introduction of these guidelines is arguably timely, little is known of the attitudes and perspectives that are held by the principal stakeholders, namely the educators, regarding these guidelines and the promotion of student wellbeing in general. This constitutes a significant gap in knowledge as the success (or otherwise) of the new wellbeing guidelines in Ireland may be in some way contingent upon teachers’ attitudes toward both the guidelines themselves, and their ability to deliver them. It will be proposed that research, which is currently being conducted, is necessary to further understand educators’ perspectives in this area in order to secure ‘whole-school’ implementation of the wellbeing guidelines and curricula.