Children need to give on a daily basis. Many kids have everything they can point at - except daily opportunities to be something for others.

Yet there is increasing research evidence supporting the view that being something for others creates unparalleled wellbeing and resilience in students.

My work is dedicated to establishing philosophical and evidence-based foundations for creating more individual and communal wellbeing in educational settings.

Most of the rhetoric in education around the world is centered on ‘improving’ education via testing and measurement of academic standards.

I firmly believe that a revolution is needed. The revolution is about establishing in the wider public, including teacher education, a knowledge of what is already known in certain parts of the research community. Namely, that academic success is a by-product of a whole person approach to education (see e.g. Lovat et al. 2009, Values Education, Quality Teaching and Service Learning: A Troika for Effective Teaching and Teacher Education, at http://www.dbpublishing.net.au/ [1]).

My current research includes implementing what I have come to call a 'Curriculum of Giving' (see e.g. http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/Nielsen_Social_Educator.pd... [2]) and I am currently working with more than 20 schools and educational settings across Australia.

Feel free to contact me at Thomas.nielsen@canberra.edu.au [3] for further information or to invite me to your school, conference or professional setting to give a presentation or workshop on giving, values education and developing positive learning environments.

Best,
Thomas