Cumiskey, Elaine (2022) When the going gets tough: Promoting resilience and self-esteem through a cross-curricular approach in fourth class. Masters thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

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Abstract

When the Going Gets Tough: Promoting Resilience and Self-Esteem through Cross-Curricular Approaches in Fourth Class is an Action Research Project focusing on promoting resilience and self-esteem in an all-girls primary school. The topic ties in deeply with my own values of care, inclusion and respect and enabled me to develop an approach my class in the area of self-esteem and resilience. A programme was created from four components: specific SPHE lessons based on well-being, the Weaving Well-Being Programme, literature that relates to the themes of resilience, self-esteem and self-image, and activities and projects across the curriculum that focused on boosting self-esteem and resilience. The children were surveyed to assess their knowledge of key terms around self-esteem and resilience and an adapted Rosenberg Scale of Self-Esteem survey was used to assess their image of their own self-esteem. The surveys confirmed the need for explicit teaching of well-being in the classroom. The study found that specific SPHE / well-being lessons are a necessary first step to approach the explicit teaching of vocabulary, terms and tools in order to develop the children’s self-esteem and resilience and that resilience can be imparted to children. The cross-curricular approach allowed topics to be approached multiple times throughout the term and greater time to be allocated to self-esteem and resilience topics, and also opened the door for children of different abilities to benefit more from subjects such as art, drama and music. The Weaving Well-Being Programme with its portfolio of tools, provided a solid basis, specific vocabulary and a structured framework for the study. The children have become more confident in performing, have learned the language and tools to constructively deal with problems and have built stronger and more inclusive relationships. As a teacher, I too have grown. The design and implementation of the year’s programme have greatly assisted my own observation, listening, reflection and communication skills. Well-being, as a key factor in the teacher’s success with children, will be the foundation for my future classes on development of self-esteem and resilience.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Additional Information:	M.Ed. Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education
Keywords:	Promoting resilience; self-esteem; cross-curricular approach; fourth class;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education
Item ID:	17305
Depositing User:	IR eTheses
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2023 11:23
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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