Concerned about contributing to the support and well-being of school staff members who ensure the development and success of students, the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and the Integrated University Health and Social Services of Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec (CIUSSS MCQ) are launching the Laboratory for Optimal Well-being in Education (LABOE)This new platform, accessible to www.uqtr.ca/laboewill become an essential tool in this period when problems in the education sector are multiplying.
Produced in partnership with the five school service centres of Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec, as well as private educational institutions and the English-speaking network, LABOE is a crossroads of information and tools that are easily accessible, credible and adapted to the context of work in a school environment. It brings together a collection of tools intended for the development of positive mental health, the optimisation of well-being at work and the improvement of essential psychosocial conditions for teaching staff. Podcasts, video clips and discussion plans used to build environments conducive to well-being are part of the inventory of tools specifically developed to meet the increasingly urgent needs of teaching staff.
“Providing students with a stimulating, healthy environment that is conducive to success requires much more than teaching skills for education professionals. Our education system is undergoing major changes and the workforce is being severely affected. That is why we have developed a platform that is entirely focused on them, with a range of tools that will meet their needs,” explains Nancy Goyette, professor at the Department of Educational Sciences at UQTR and specialist in educational well-being in an educational environment.
If the project is primarily aimed at teachers and school staff, Adel Omar Dahmane has no doubt that LABOE will bring positive benefits to all young people who go to school. “Improving psychosocial conditions in an educational environment is key to ensuring the well-being of all school staff, but also that of students in order to promote their educational success. In this sense, we are very proud to participate in this immense project which, I am sure, will quickly be taken up by educational circles outside our region”, confirms the interim vice-rector of studies and training of UQTR.
Reference framework for the Épanouir project
The LABOE project was made possible thanks to an investment of $218,000 spread over two years from the Épanouir project of the Ministry of Health and Social Security, D announcedD Marie-Josée Godi, Director of Public Health and Population Responsibility of the CIUSSS MCQ. “It was essential for us to work with UQTR and school communities, to carry out training, health promotion and prevention actions among school staff and young people, with the aim of helping them develop their personal and social skills. The aim is also to make their living environment healthy, safe and caring, in order to promote their positive mental health.”
A kindness that pays off
The worrying rates of absenteeism among school staff due to burnout and mental health problems, as well as the high rate of early school leaving among young teachers, demonstrate the urgency of action to improve the health care and working conditions of education professionals.
“The teaching profession is, in my opinion, the most beautiful in the world, but it comes with many challenges that can lead to loss of motivation, exhaustion or even abandonment. LABOE offers us a range of essential tools to help us fulfil our mission while preserving our well-being and that of our students. Such a platform is long overdue. I intend to use it regularly and I invite my colleagues to use it for their own use as well,” confides Jérôme Grenier, physical education and health teacher at the École Sainte-Famille in Plessisville.
“By investing in the well-being of our staff, we directly contribute to creating an educational environment that is conducive to the development and involvement of all. This concern is all the more important in light of the staff retention issues currently facing Quebec,” adds M.me Sylvie Sauvageau, Coordinator of Additional Services at the Educational Services of the Riveraine School Service Center.
The project’s initiators want the entire education sector to quickly adopt the platform. Content will be added to the site gradually, and visitors can now subscribe to the LABOE newsletter to stay informed about new developments. In addition, according to researcher Nancy Goyette, an English version could be produced in a second phase of the project.
Information and interview coordination
Jean-François Hinse – Communications Advisor
Media Relations Manager
Department of Communications and Alumni Relations – UQTR
Cell. : 819 244-4119
Email: jean-francois.hinse@uqtr.ca