Social Support, Well-being, and Teacher Development

Description

This book uses social support as a central theme to provide a sound underpinning for guiding teachers to play more supportive roles in schools. It comprises a series of empirical studies that address the psychological processes involved in feeling supported and providing support, and which demonstrate how students’ and teachers’ well-being can be enhanced through learning and teaching in the classroom. The distinction between teachers who are caring mentors and those who simply impart knowledge has attracted considerable interest among researchers; however, in the twenty-first century education seems to be playing a more restricted role, due to the predominant focus on performance outcomes. This book addresses and identifies teachers’ expanding role in education. It describes various types of support that teachers can offer students, and which serve to enhance a range of learning outcomes. Further, it provides evidence suggesting that teachers’ commitment to learner development is a prerequisite for a satisfying teaching career, and that teachers’ knowledge, skills and ability to provide social support in the classroom form a pathway of professional learning that can take their teaching expertise to a higher level. Lastly, the book offers policymakers suggestions on how to rekindle social support in an increasingly globalised setting in which people are becoming more and more disconnected. Given its multidisciplinary approach, the book is a unique contribution within its subject area, and will be of interest to practitioners in education and beyond. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction (Bick-har LAM)....Pages 1-27 Understanding Social Support (Bick-har LAM)....Pages 29-83 Well-being, Psychological Adjustments and Effective Social Support Giving (Bick-har LAM)....Pages 85-133 Social Support, Student Outcomes and Teaching Strategies (Bick-har Lam)....Pages 135-192 Expert Teachers’ Social Support Behaviours—A Humanised Classroom Characterised by Productive Learning (Bick-har LAM)....Pages 193-239 Social Support Giving and Teacher Development (Bick-har LAM)....Pages 241-277 Constructing a Supportive Environment for Student Learning and Teacher Development (Bick-har LAM)....Pages 279-312