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September 2019

Demoralisation, Best Practices, and the Moral Centre of Teaching

Posted on 23 September 2019 by Dr Kevin Smith

What’s lost when teaching is stripped of its moral core? Building on Doris Santoro’s concept of demoralisation, this post explores how the language of “best practices” can erode teachers’ ethical agency. It asks what it would take to re-centre education on the moral purposes that give teaching its soul.

From the Front Step: Schools, Suicide Prevention, and the Search for Belonging

From the Front Step: Schools, Suicide Prevention, and the Search for Belonging

Posted on 9 September 2019 by Dr Kevin Smith

How can schools become places where every pupil feels seen, valued and supported? Combining personal reflection with research on pupil well-being in Wales, this post explores the urgent need for school-wide approaches to suicide prevention. It calls on educators to recognise warning signs, challenge stigma and create environments where no young person feels alone on the front step.