Vulnerability and Wellbeing in Educational Contexts
Summary
Vulnerability in educational settings refers to the susceptibility of students and educators to emotional, social and structural challenges that can impede learning and personal development. It encompasses the dynamic interplay between individual characteristics—such as socio-emotional skills, prior experiences of adversity and identity factors—and institutional practices, including school culture, support services and pedagogical approaches. Wellbeing, by contrast, is a positive state of mental, physical and social health that enables learners to engage fully with educational opportunities. Contemporary research emphasises that vulnerability and wellbeing are not mutually exclusive but exist along a continuum: recognising and addressing vulnerability can foster resilience and promote sustained wellbeing. Interventions range from classroom-based social-emotional learning programmes to institution-wide policies on compassionate assessment and inclusive pedagogy. Across diverse contexts—primary schools, secondary settings and higher education—scholars have highlighted the importance of relational trust, structural compassion and adaptive learning environments. Such efforts carry global significance, as educational communities worldwide seek to mitigate the mental health crisis in young people, combat systemic inequities and harness evidence-based strategies for nurturing emotional safety, academic engagement and a sense of belonging.
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Vulnerability and Wellbeing in Educational Contexts publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in vulnerability and wellbeing in educational contexts across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Vulnerability: A condition of increased sensitivity to emotional, social or structural stressors within educational environments.
Wellbeing: A holistic state of positive mental, physical and social health that enables effective learning and engagement.
Mitigating circumstances: Institutional provisions allowing adjustments to assessment or deadlines in response to students’ extenuating personal difficulties.
Therapeutic ethos: An educational rationale that frames teaching and support practices in terms of psychological care, often intersecting with neoliberal imperatives of self-management.
References
- The Impact of Mitigating Circumstances Procedures: Student Satisfaction, Wellbeing and Structural Compassion on the Campus. Education Sciences (2023).
- Mapping mental health and the UK university sector: Networks, markets, data. Critical Social Policy (2021).
- The Positivity Imperative in Youth Education as a Form of Cruel Optimism. Journal of Applied Youth Studies (2021).
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