Re-framing 'behaviour' in schools: the role of recognition in improving student wellbeing

Contemporary approaches to managing student behaviour in schools increasingly seek to identify and support underlying social, emotional and learning issues. Inherent in this shift is acknowledgement of the inextricable links between behaviour and wellbeing. Arguably, the most effective approaches to behaviour management reflect key determinants of wellbeing such as positive relationships and a sense of belonging and connection. Nevertheless, behaviour (and by extension the child) continue to be positioned as the ‘problem’. Little critical consideration is given to whether and how school environments attend to the wellbeing needs of an increasingly diverse student body. In this chapter, we draw on findings from a large Australian Research Council (ARC) funded study on wellbeing in schools to explore the potential of a wellbeing lens in furthering understandings and practice around behaviour. Utilising recognition theory, we consider how a more critical approach to wellbeing in schools might concomitantly shape understandings and improve practice around behaviour.