Sustainable Well-Being in Education

Teodora Mandrea

doi:10.63734/JNFDE.02.01.003

Authors

Teodora Mandrea “Stefan Procopiu” High School, Vaslui, Romania Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63734/JNFDE.02.01.003

Keywords:

Education for sustainability , Student well-being, Environmental awareness , Collaborative learning

Abstract

Sustainability is no longer a distant ideal but a responsibility that requires daily observation. It is shaping the way we live and develop, drawing our attention to the fact that we need balance in our rapid progress and ambitions.

Sustainability should begin in early education if we aim at building a future without exhausting not only what we already have, but also without borrowing from the next generations. Social equity and environmental care, two of the sustainability principles, need to connect with personal well-being in order to create a whole system allowing people to lead a satisfactory existence along with the planet.

Unfortunately, the educational systems are currently under pressure, students and teachers face increasing workloads, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, burnout. What education needs now is sustainable well-being: an approach that supports mental, emotional, physical, social, and environmental health for both students and educators. It is important to observe that sustainable well-being implies that students’ and teachers’ well-being are inseparable. A teacher that suffers from burnout cannot sustainably teach learners. In turn, overstressed students add emotional and disciplinary pressure on their educators. The system functions like in a chain reaction: when one part suffers, the whole is affected.

How can schools help people without exhausting them? This article explores what sustainable well-being means in educational settings, why it matters globally, and how students, teachers, and institutions can cultivate it together.

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