Schools can support “the whole child” by providing an academic environment. By Tahir Mehmoo

In addition, schools may assist students develop in a number of other areas outside academics.

Today, our educational system places a heavy emphasis on imparting subject information, typically to be recalled and repeated in the exact manner it was acquired, rather than focusing on children's overall cognitive growth. This school's curriculum is heavily weighted toward instruction and testing in math, science, and reading.

Despite the importance of these courses, learning is much more than just memorising facts like mathematics or chemistry. There are many aspects of a child's development that are overlooked while focusing on just one aspect of a child's life. Moreover, children are multi-dimensional "whole" creatures whose growth is complicated and rich.

"Whole child" approaches are not just desirable but required for children to learn well, according to recent studies in neuroscience, developmental and learning sciences, education and sociology, and many other domains. Children's growth and learning are the subject of two major evaluations of the scientific literature:

        Consistently supportive relationships, responsive communication, and the role modelling of good actions all contribute to brain growth. As a result, the brain's capacity grows most completely when children and adolescents feel protected, connected, engaged, and challenged in their daily lives.

       All aspects of learning are intertwined. The mind is more susceptible to learning when it has a favourable connection with the instructor and positive feelings, such as curiosity and enthusiasm. People who experience negative emotions like worry and self-doubt are less able to acquire and digest information. Emotional intelligence and self-awareness can be learned by children as they grow up.

      When faced with adversity, such as poverty, food insecurity, abuse, or neglect, students experience toxic stress, which has an impact on their academic performance and conduct. Even the most traumatic events may be mitigated if adults are attentive, empathic, and culturally competent enough to comprehend and listen to children.

New initiatives at the Learning Policy Institute aimed to combine these scientific results to explore how schools might better foster the development of young children. For us, there are four key factors to school success: a healthy atmosphere, effective teaching methodologies, social-emotional development and tailored assistance. Here's what we've learned so far about the significance of these elements and how to put them into practise.

1.      Create an atmosphere that fosters a sense of belonging and mutual respect among staff, students, and their families.

A solid foundation for learning is laid by cultivating a healthy school atmosphere based on trusting connections. To be successful in school, students need a feeling of security and a sense of community. Teachers may get to know their pupils better with the help of these elements:

·        Smaller classes and schools.

·        Teaching the same kids for more than a year at a time.

·        Advisory sessions provide children a sense of belonging and give instructors a chance to regularly check in with them and their parents.

·        As a result, students' experiences are brought into the classroom and students are made to feel that their contributions are important.

·        Parents, teachers, and students all benefit from frequent face-to-face meetings.

·        Possibilities for cooperation and leadership among educators that improve trust.

When students are active in creating their own shared classroom standards that are displayed and often referred to, they are more likely to feel like they belong in the classroom community. To transmit high expectations and give enough assistance for all students, teachers might also attempt to show that they believe in their students' abilities. If a student has received mixed or negative messages about their ability from adults in the past, whether due to explicit or implicit biases, this is of particular importance.

Other methods of fostering a sense of belonging exist. Educators may get a better understanding of students' life outside of school by participating in student-led tours of the areas around their school. Collaboration and trust may be fostered via planning meetings that involve teachers from different disciplines and departments, as well as professional development that helps teachers improve their social-emotional abilities and well-being.

Positive school climates attempt to build stronger connections between professionals and kids and establish a feeling of safety and belonging, which are favourable to learning in the long run.

2.      Engaging and relevant teaching techniques that build students' capacity to control their own learning should be implemented.

Nearly half (47 percent) of students who dropped out of high school in 25 urban, suburban, and rural areas cited the lack of interest in the classroom as a key factor in their decision to leave school. These students said they were disinterested in school and reported feeling bored. Among those who continued in school, 81% stated that greater chances for real-world learning should be provided.

Students want to be able to learn about topics that are meaningful and relevant to them. When instruction draws on students' earlier experiences and scaffolds their learning, it helps them improve in their knowledge. Teachers, for example, might link math teachings to typical activity kids participate in, such as cooking, art, athletics, and other contexts.

As long as it's done well, inquiry-based learning may help kids become more motivated and more equipped to face the real world. For example, students at a high school chose to investigate how environmental pollution impacts the ocean and then devised a campaign to minimise trash and litter and improve recycling at the school. These projects teach essential problem-solving, organisational, and collaborative skills, and they have a real-world effect.

As a result of these assessments, students get an understanding of the process of learning and a drive to go farther in their understanding of the subject matter than just passing a test. Learning that is more "mastery-oriented" is seen to be more effective. Capstone projects—yearlong research projects that allow students a chance to learn about a topic of their choice and, more often than not, try to make a difference in their local community—are a good example of how certain institutions nurture student inquiry and revision abilities. After they've been thoroughly edited, these projects are often submitted to a committee composed of faculty members and other adults from outside the institution, just as a dissertation defence would be.

Additionally, student-led conferences, which provide a frequent forum for students to present their work to family, friends, and educators while also reflecting on their own progress and future objectives, help foster students' ownership of their education.

Effective teaching tactics, on the other hand, are everything but dull. They make learning relevant to students' daily lives and give them the confidence to put their newfound skills to work for them.

3.      Build students' social, emotional, and intellectual competency by teaching them the habits, skills, and attitudes they need to succeed.

In the United States, students report feeling anxious about their studies 80% of the time. Stressed pupils have a harder time adapting to their new educational environment. In fact, in just one school year, more than 11 million instructional days were wasted by students in public schools throughout the United States.

The use of restorative practises in schools, such as "circles" and peer mediation, helps students accept responsibility for their actions and repair the damage they have caused in their relationships. Students must recognise and value their roles and responsibilities in the community in order to implement a restorative strategy. Students' academic performance and graduation rates improve as a result of restorative practises, which enhance individual abilities and foster a better community.

4.      Develop a comprehensive system of school assistance that incorporates extracurricular activities and community involvement.

There are many youngsters who lack the financial and social resources necessary to participate in high-quality educational opportunities. It has been shown that the spending on "enrichment activities" for children like tutoring and extra-curricular activities by high-income parents has gone up 151% in recent decades, whilst the expenditure on same activities by low-income parents has only climbed 57%. The achievement gap between rich and poor kids widens as a result of these disparities.

As an increasing number of youngsters struggle with hardships including poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, academic setbacks or health care shortages, further assistance is required. Schools require a system of assistance that can be tailored to meet the needs of their students.

In the community schools concept, public schools collaborate with families and community groups to offer a well-rounded education and assistance for kids to succeed in school. Before and after school enrichment, such tutoring and academic help, and summer learning activities like art and sports camps, and long-distance visits to see college campuses are common. Immersion programmes are offered by certain schools in partnership with local businesses and university personnel, allowing students to learn from experts in a variety of fields, such as technology, cinema, and art.

To assist kids overcome any obstacles to learning, schools work together with community groups to provide mental health, physical health, and social services. These services are usually coordinated by a social worker or community liaison. In certain schools, trainees (such psychology students) are brought into the school as support workers by university programmes and health and mental health professionals.

As a whole-school approach to whole-child development, these sorts of assistance ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

These four components operate in concert to provide a solid foundation, and they reinforce one another in the real world. Success in education cannot be achieved in a piecemeal manner, according to extensive study There are several benefits to taking a holistic approach when it comes to child development.