The philosophy of educating the whole person, beyond core academics—is gaining steam in learning circles as schools struggle to improve student outcomes.The direction to move toward academic-centric or holistic learning is often determined by state governments and school district officials, but teachers are pivotal in implementing these policies. By pursuing a Master of Education in Education Policy and Leadership or a Master of Arts in Teaching, educators can learn how holistic learning and other teaching strategies can shape students’ futures.

Holistic Education is a comprehensive approach to teaching where educators seek to address the emotional, social, ethical, and academic needs of students in an integrated learning format.

The goal of Holistic Education is to cultivate a developing child’s physical, emotional, moral, psychological, and spiritual attributes. Holistic Education Models:

Experiential Learning: Schools focussed on experiential learning provide hands-on educational experiences.

Self-Guided Learning: In self-guided educational environments, teachers allow students to learn at their own pace in the style that best suits them. Low-stakes assessments are used to adjust the curriculum’s content and pace.

Community Schools: Teachers partner with community members to provide integrated support and expanded learning opportunities, including after-school and summer programmes.

Interdisciplinary Coursework: Schools are developing integrated programmes where interdisciplinary teachers collaborate on thematic courses, offering multiple perspectives on issues that often feature independent research, travel, fieldwork, and internships.

Holistic Education Strategies:

Strong Student-Teacher Relationships: Strong teacher-student bonds enhance performance and engagement, particularly benefitting at-risk students through a nurturing, safe environment.

Encouraging Self-Confidence: Teachers boost self-confidence by giving students many chances to understand information and share their understanding in different ways. Making lessons relevant to students' lives and focusing on real issues also helps in increasing motivation. 

Incorporating Emotional Reflection: To promote emotional reflection, teachers can incorporate moments for students to meditate or contemplate daily.

Benefits of Holistic Education:

Holistic education is based on a learning philosophy that brings several benefits to students, teachers, schools, and communities.

Improved Academic Achievement: Children’s brain capacities are increased when they feel physically and emotionally safe and connected to others, according to the Learning Policy Institute.

Enhanced Mental and Emotional Well-Being: In a supportive environment, where social and emotional learning is emphasised along with academics, students have a better chance of emerging with self-awareness, confidence, and a sense of social responsibility.

Increased Problem-Solving Ability: Students who are tasked with solving real-world problems that exist in their communities emerge with strong critical-thinking skills that will be helpful in any career they pursue in the future.

Reduced Impact of Inequities: By emphasising integrated learning concepts, the whole-child approach to education has been shown to reduce the psychological impact of issues such as violence, abuse, or poverty on academic achievement, according to the Learning Policy Institute.