Time to reset?

As we head into 2025, Nick Chaddock asks whether some proper joined up thinking about school service programmes has the potential to transform student wellbeing.
The power of giving

The season of giving has passed us by once more. It does feel like it comes earlier each year. One thing is certain: humans have been gift-giving for millennia. It is deeply ingrained in our nature and transcends all cultures and societies. The positive emotions we experience during the festive season, when generosity abounds, are closely connected to the feelings of fulfilment we derive from serving others.

Indeed, many people devote themselves to volunteer work over the festive period for various reasons. When we serve others and feel a sense of purpose, it can alleviate our own anxieties and stress during a time that is not always a joyful holiday for everyone.  Simply by shifting our focus from self-interest to the needs of the most vulnerable in society, we can experience a profound sense of satisfaction and wellbeing at this time of the year.

Tracking

A substantial body of research now supports the numerous positive health benefits that service and volunteer work can provide. Many schools promote service learning as part of their educational ethos, but I wonder if service and volunteer work could play a significantly more prominent role in our pastoral care if it were properly monitored and tracked?

When our students engage in service work, they experience a release of serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin, a combination often referred to as the ‘helper’s high.’ This intrinsic sense of joy can contribute to lower blood pressure, increased self-esteem, and ultimately, the mitigation of negative emotions in our young people.

Oxytocin, a neuropeptide often called the ‘cuddle hormone,’ signals trust, safety, and connection in our students. Doesn’t this suggest that we should be incorporating more strategies to foster these feelings into our pastoral models?

Doing – not talking

In my 2022 article, ‘Action, Not Words,’ I emphasised that when it comes to wellbeing, our pupils require more experiential learning and fewer classroom-based discussions. They are becoming increasingly disengaged with the language of wellbeing. In some cases, they are perilously aware of the responses they must provide to avoid meaningful conversations and actions that could address their struggles.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) suggests that individuals possess three fundamental psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. When these needs are met, they facilitate psychological growth and development (Ryan & Deci, 2000). By identifying suitable service or volunteer roles for each student, we can effectively address all three SDT needs. I believe it is incumbent upon our extracurricular and pastoral leaders to collaborate in achieving this goal and to monitor participation as diligently as we do exercise, diet, or any other healthy behaviour we promote among our students.

Demand

According to the Volunteering Matters charity, only approximately 40% of 10-20-year-olds in the UK engage in service work to benefit others. However, their research suggests that this number could double if given the opportunity. In most international schools, we are well-positioned to facilitate widespread participation in service and volunteer work.

Going local

At NLCS Jeju, our exceptional Service and Community Coordinator has engaged the school with 12 distinct local charities. Mr. Gwangho Im has facilitated countless student involvements in a diverse range of initiatives, from beach clean-ups to orphanages, visits to elderly care facilities, and animal shelters since our opening in 2011. I believe his pastoral influence on our students’ wellbeing over the years has been huge.

Service, wellbeing and development planning

How can we build on these ideas? I believe the challenges facing schools in this area are threefold.

  1. Schools must invest time and effort to cultivate trusting relationships with surrounding communities and local charities they wish to partner with.
  2. Schools need to provide appropriate opportunities for students and maintain records of their service history throughout their time at the school as part of pastoral care support.
  3. Schools must ensure the implementation of rigorous Child Protection and Risk Assessment procedures to safeguard the wellbeing of all involved.

Looking at these uncomplicated – yet demanding – issues in a coordinated way, and then building a response into the whole-school development plan has the potential to have a major impact on wellbeing as a result of a fulfilling lived experience.

It’s really a question of joining up the dots.

Nick is from York in the UK and currently works at North London Collegiate School on Jeju island in South Korea where he teaches English and coordinates Outdoor Education & the International Award. 

All Community and Service images with kind permission from NLCS Jeju.