Motivation outside in, inside out

It is time we paid less attention to the ingredients of Well-being and more attention to the process of being well. Rising interest in school based mental health initiatives, positive education and whole school well-being has resulted in a great deal of attention being paid to the perceived 'ingredients' of youth well-being and successful education. These key ingredients include key facets of social and emotional competency such as resiliency, kindness, character strengths, gratitude and mindfulness. Each 'ingredient' has been researched both in terms of its contribution to overall well-being, flourishing and learning outcomes, and as a desired aim of well-being program delivery. Overall, it seems that despite research findings clearly supporting the value of these component parts in contributing to well-being, evidence supporting the effectiveness of intervention programs is far less convincing. In fact, some academics have suggested that the majority of school based well-being programs are ineffective, or even counter-productive. For example, Professor Kathryn Ecclestone, from the University of Sheffield in the UK, has suggested that well-being is not something to be broken down and taught in component parts, but rather something that flows naturally as a byproduct of creating a rich and diverse learning environment (Ecclestone, K. Well-being programmes in schools might be doing children more harm than good. The Conversation, January 23 2015).