Flourishing Through
FEW: A Case Study
I taught Hannah as an undergraduate student. Hannah, Jake (her future husband), and I had lunches together where I laughed so hard that my sides hurt. I performed Hannah and Jake’s wedding—my first and probably last attempt at those duties. Hannah was my master’s student and is now my PhD student. She has taught in public and Christian schools and now teaches undergraduate and graduate students with me.
We also conduct research together. Over the last two years, we have collected 52,000+ responses to our FEW (Feedback, Engagement, and Well-being) Survey from students and educators in five countries. She has produced over 900 reports for educators.
The hard part is that we haven’t set foot on many of the campuses receiving these reports. But we have spent significant time with some of the schools.
We just published a peer-reviewed case study in Teaching and Teacher Education about a school that has embraced the joy found in the struggle. The school has fundamentally changed the community it serves. The crime rate in the school’s neighborhood dropped by 43% the first year the school opened its doors. Its halls are filled with more than 2,000 students who are seen and loved.
In our study, we surveyed, interviewed, and observed teachers and students at the school to understand how they ensure FEW for each student. It will not surprise you that some teachers are better at this than others. Structured classrooms, relational trust, and student autonomy result in stronger reports of student FEW—all of which are building blocks of flourishing.
Flourishing should always be the goal of education.
Never has there been a better time to be in education and never has the work been harder or the need greater.
This is the best time to be in education because we know more about how people learn and have more tools to support that learning than at any point in history. Harvard and Baylor are conducting the largest study ever conducted of what it means to flourish across cultures and know that schools, churches, and communities are essential for flourishing. We might be able to be well on our own, but we cannot flourish without others.
This is the hardest time to be in education because so much is expected of schools with over half of parents holding schools responsible for their children’s mental health, students looking to uncertain employment futures due to AI disruption, and a world populated by people who seem to be unmoored from faith, hope, or love.
Into this gap, step Christian educators who know that our schools should be the most joyful places on earth.
Does that sound like your experience in schools? Would you describe them as joyful? Many students don’t.
Why?
Because they think if they are struggling, they are not well. They do not realize that often the depth of the struggle often determines the peak of our joy.
When educators invite students into productive struggle, ensuring that each student is well, engaged, and receiving feedback, schools become joyful places where the work is hard and joyful. That is what our case study school found.
But educators cannot do this on their own. We have to partner with families.
We need to help the families we serve understand this. Building on articles like the case study, The Happiness Crisis: How Adversity Can Build a More Joyful and Resilient Next Generation invites families into the process with educators. The book is for educators and parents because we need to be on the same page as we embrace adversity that leads to belonging and cultivates curiosity.
The leaders at the school in the case study understand this. How do we help others experience joy? If you happen to be in Waco, Texas on August 3, join 7,000 educators at Foster Pavilion as we launch the most joyful school year ever. If we don’t see you there, we will see you at the CESA Symposium in October!
I started with Hannah’s story because the case study we wrote is not just about a school. Case studies of joy are built on relationships with students like Hannah—students who become more of who they are created to be as they help us become more like our Creator.
Dr. Jonathan Eckert has spent his career helping students become more of who they are meant to be. Now the Copple Professor of Educational Leadership at Baylor University and executive director of the Baylor Center for School Leadership, he first taught and coached intermediate and middle grade students outside of Chicago and Nashville. After earning a doctorate at Vanderbilt University, he served in the U.S. Department of Education under both the Bush and Obama administrations and later prepared teachers at Wheaton College. He has spoken to thousands of educators around the world, and is the author of multiple books including The Happiness Crisis, Just Teaching, Leading Together, and The Novice Advantage, as well numerous other articles and books. Jon and his wife, Carolyn, have three kids. They are embracing Texas even if Jon still doesn’t own boots or a cowboy hat.