Why holistic Education ...

There is a clear need for life-long learning for both personal well-being and economic prosperity. However there are many barriers to learning.

Equity

There are unacceptable differences in the outcomes of education for people from different social and cultural groups. We need an inclusive education system that provides learner centred education for everyone regardless of disadvantage. The education system needs to work collaboratively with the whole community to support the diverse needs of all students.

Relevance and Meaning

Not all students are fully engaged in current curricula. Too many students drop out, are absent or don't participate. Current education systems do not satisfy student needs for meaning, wholeness and fulfilment. A 'hidden curriculum' based on implicit mechanistic reductionistic 19^th century assumptions makes it very difficult to meet these needs.

Personal and Social Crisis

There is a deepening crisis of substance abuse, suicide, depression, homelessness and violence experienced by youth in many countries. Schools have an important role to play in addressing the needs of the whole-person. Enhancing resilience and interconnectedness among young people is recognised as a primary means of assisting youth in these areas.

…suicide prevention programmes suggested by the United Nations included… enhancing resilience, resourcefulness, respect and interconnectedness…

Background on Youth Suicide in Australia: National Youth Suicide Prevention Service

www.health.gov.au

Identity and Fulfilment

Many young people are having great difficulty finding a sense of identity and fulfilment - particularly through adolescence. Prevailing materialistic and consumer values make it difficult to find a sense of purpose or place, and this in turn makes resilience in the face of change problematic.

Compulsive or reckless activity, substance abuse, and empty sexuality can result from students trying to escape the pain of an inner emptiness. In the classroom this can manifest as lack of interest, lack of self-worth, lack of compassion, lack of self-discipline and lack of spirit.

Curriculum and teaching and learning strategies based on an implicit positivistic reductionistic19^th century world-view 'teach' fragmentation, isolation and purposelessness. This serves to exacerbate feelings of alienation and powerlessness that are believed to contribute to depression, substance abuse and suicide.

"Today's accounts of the development of the universe and the evolution of life are meaning filled narratives that convey a real sense of humans belonging to the universe."

(Swimme, Berry)