Insights gleaned from a virtues-based post-COVID wellbeing initiative for KS3 students

A case study at an international school in Vietnam

Abstract

This case study examines a set of whole-class, virtues-based interventions with a cohort of KS3 students following the COVID-19 pandemic. The cohort was targeted due to perceived difficulties in readjusting to in-person lessons following several years of intermittent social isolation brought about by the pandemic at a critical point in the students’ social and emotional development. Interventions were selected to support them, addressing qualities such as empathy, kindness and respect, as well as skills such as living well with differences and expressing self-worth and self-image. This study sought to establish the extent to which targeted, intensive, whole-class interventions can support wellness and behaviour for learning in young adolescents following pandemic-related isolation. To this end, interviews with school staff and in-class observations were carried out, and school documentation was consulted, including behaviour and attendance records, as well as records of English grades before, during and after the pandemic lockdowns. Members of the cohort showed similar responses to pandemic lockdowns as did students in comparable contexts, including disengagement, lower attendance and poorer grades, and more pronounced negative effects for SEND students. School staff acknowledged a positive effect from the interventions, while also crediting the end of school closures and a return to relative normalcy as providing needed stability. Although findings are inconclusive as to the extent to which the initiative supported students, especially when considered in isolation from other variables, this study may serve as a useful base from which to explore further applications of virtues-based interventions for student wellness and behaviour.