After listening to Lee Brown’s interview on emotional health, I have been diving deeper into his six teachings on how to recover emotional health, both in and out of the classroom. I found this study, Aboriginal Perspectives on Social-Emotional Competence in Early Childhood, conducted through the University of Alberta. It looked at identifying the most important elements of healthy development for Aboriginal children, with a focus on social-emotional development. It mirrors some of Lee Brown’s points about how interconnected cultural wellness, emotional wellness, mental wellness, and social wellness are and how they make up the foundation of one’s identity. The study supports Brown’s claim that emotional skills are vital to success. Granted there are some critiques I would have regarding the study. For example, there were only 37 participants and I’d like to know more about the people conducting the study, are they Indigenous? Does the fact that they are women influence anything? Nevertheless, this study is jumping off point for diving deeper into exploring emotional competency.
-Sarah Stephenson