Ontario Budget supports HWDSB-Offord Centre Knowledge Network
HWDSB has a key role in the Ontario government’s plan to spend $49 million over three years to improve student well-being. This new funding was announced in the recent 2017 Ontario budget.
To foster a positive sense of self – and the success it brings – Ontario will fund the sharing of research-based practices to better support its goal of improving students’ well-being.
The province chose HWDSB and the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University to lead the knowledge network that will provide educators with the latest research on well-being.
“The focus of the knowledge network is to move evidence into practice,” said Don Buchanan, the knowledge network’s facilitator. “We have a lot of research about effective practices in the classroom and in schools, much of which never gets into the hands of teachers and educators.”
The Knowledge Network for Student Well-being (KNSWB) is a project of the Knowledge Network for Applied Educational Research (KNAER), and has promoted student well-being through its collaboration with School Mental Health ASSIST, PREVNet, the Social Planning Network of Ontario and Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition.
In their first knowledge mobilization product, HWDSB collaborated with the Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition to create an evidence-based summary for teachers examining the positive impact physical activity has on school engagement. This and other new resources are being shared through the Ontario Education Research Exchange.
“The budget is recognizing that there is a need for funding and development in student well-being, and that HWDSB and the Offord Centre are leading our efforts in this area,” Buchanan said.
Updated on Tuesday, May 09, 2017.