Advocating for Whole Child Development? Start and End with the Basics
Michael Ward is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and a member of the Measuring What Matters Learning Partnership which the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child (GC-DWC) chairs. In June 2020, Michael joined the GC-DWC’s Communications Associate, Anna Hart, for an interview on the link between Whole Child Development (WCD) and academic achievement. The following article is based on this interview.
To tell a story convincingly, you have to present compelling and strong evidence: it’s persuasive writing 101. Present your thesis, cite evidence, articulate compelling analysis, and repeat. Without strong evidence, an argument can quickly turn into an unconvincing personal opinion. You may have the most eloquent and pathos-driven argument out there, but to your toughest and most logical critics, it will merely be seen by them as just another opinion and create minimal buy-in; evidence, therefore, is at the core of any sustainable and impactful argument.
A whole child approach to education (Whole Child Development or WCD for short) is defined by policies, practices, and relationships that ensure each child, in each school, in each community, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. This approach is categorized by attention to the multi-dimensional aspects of a child’s growth and development such as cognitive skills, social and emotional learning (SEL), physical health, mental health, language, identity, and values.
