The SEW-Arts Framework: Wellbeing Factors

In a previous project, young people who participated in arts programs (and their parents) were asked what they needed to feel good about themselves, and how the arts helped them develop social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB).

We identified two main themes from all the comments: Being Myself and Connecting with Others.

Commentaries explaining what young people needed to be themselves or connect with others were organised into sub-themes and became known as the Wellbeing Factors. A Framework was then developed around the specific Wellbeing Factors to help TAs intentionally focus on SEWB through the arts.

The chosen Wellbeing Factors are:

• Theoretically feasible to impact a young person’s SEWB (for example, can be translated onto the various levels of influence on the Social-Ecological model)
• Potentially responsive to already existing and evidence-based SEWB interventions, within an arts education context.
• Informed by, and translatable, to the themes extracted from the workshops and focus groups conducted with Western Australian (WA) arts organisations, teachers, parents, and arts students in the Building Social and Emotional Wellbeing through the Arts research project.
• Presentable in a way to empower students with the language and skills to promote their own SEWB.

With the help of a psychologist/artist, Wellbeing Factors were expanded to include explanations, evidence-based key messages, and questions to prompt: discussion with young people and parents, teacher reflection, and young people’s SEWB development.

Steps taken to build the SEW–Arts Wellbeing Factors included:

The key areas are: