Description
How do students, educators, and schools flourish together--especially in an era of increasing pressure from standardized testing, growing challenges to student mental health and well-being, and frequent educator burnout? Many schools strive toward academic achievement as their primary marker of success, but this well-meaning approach can lead to a reductionist view in which students are too often seen as statistics rather than whole human beings. Teachers, school leaders, parents, and of course students know that flourishing is a much broader and more holistic aim for education. But what is to be done?
The goal of this book is to call Christian educators back to a better vision of flourishing within a robust theological framework, with the practical guidance necessary for implementation. To accomplish this, Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe take readers through an exploration of five essential domains identified through extensive empirical research--purpose, relationships, learning, resources, and well-being.
An ideal resource for professional development and strategic planning, Flourishing Together persistently adheres to the principle that "anything that is worth building cannot be built alone." Thus, the vision for flourishing here is one in which the school community is understood as an interconnected ecosystem, in which "each one's flourishing is dependent on their flourishing together." Accordingly, teachers and administrators will be inspired and equipped to reshape their schools as places where they--alongside their students--can flourish together in a community of abundant life.
Author: Lynn E. Swaner, Andy Wolfe
Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Published: 11/16/2021
Pages: 310
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9780802879578
ISBN10: 0802879578
BISAC Categories:
- Education | Philosophy, Theory & Social Aspects
- Religion | Christian Education | General
- Education | Professional Development
About the Author
Lynn E. Swaner serves as the chief strategy and innovation officer at the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), where she leads thought leadership and research initiatives including ACSI's signature Flourishing Schools Research. In her previous work as an education faculty member in higher education, she conducted research and published on well-being, adult learning, and student development.