Well-being, resilience and prosociality at school: new frontiers for teachers' professional development

Abstract

The uniqueness of the individual, the fragile conditions in which nowadays he/she lives, lead us to reflect on the essence of education. A growing dissatisfaction is emerging in schools, especially with regard to the complex teacher-student relationship, which is becoming increasingly problematic.  There is therefore a need to renew the professionalism of current and future teachers so that they are able to meet the new challenges of education. There is also a need for pedagogy to move towards new theoretical choices and teaching strategies capable of improving the quality of compulsory education. These changes are epitomized by the necessity of a transition from a conception of education as 'technicality' and 'notionism' to a conception of education as integral formation of students and promotion of well-being and resilience.  This is the conclusion of our reflection, supported by an exploratory survey conducted in Italy with 250 teachers of all school levels.