Mental well-being begins at school

General introduction

The main objective of the project "Mental well-being starts at school" is to develop an educational pathway on mental well-being tailored to the target group of young farmers and students in the various agricultural and horticultural disciplines in higher education. This project has now ended.

Research approach

Through co-creation with young farmers and students we translated the happiness triangle into an educational course tailored to this target group. The scientific knowledge from VIGL and ILVO was brought together and coordinated with the practical knowledge of farmers (Groene Kring, Jong ABS), the aid organisation Boeren op een Kruispunt (BoeK) and higher agricultural education (Odisee Hogeschool).

Relevance/Valorisation

A complete educational pathway has been developed, "seeds of happiness," which includes a guide for teachers with all the information to get started with mental well-being.  The educational pathway "Seeds of Happiness" consists of 3 parts.
1. Group sessions form the basis. During these sessions, participants gain knowledge and experience about the concept of mental well-being. The different building blocks of the happiness triangle form the guideline throughout the sessions. The participants discover the different building blocks of mental well-being and how you can take happiness into your own hands, even if you are temporarily out of balance.

2. Linked to each group session are group assignments bundled in a "seeding calendar". The purpose of this is to invite/encourage participants to get started seeding happiness as a group. 

3. The "seeding magazines" provide more background information that ties in with the sessions. There is a magazine for each part of the happiness triangle. There are tips, references, more exercises, links to audio and video clips, interviews, and more.

Funding provider(s)
Vlaamse Overheid Departement L&V