Considerations on Conducting Research on Wellness in the Context of the Learning Environment

Abstract

The learning environment (LE) provides a context for many educational phenomena, of which wellness and burnout are particularly important. The LE can be thought of as consisting of a psychosocial dimension of personal, social, and organizational factors and a sociomaterial dimension that consists of spatial and technical factors. The interplay between elements of the LE and wellness of the participants is complex and only partially understood, requiring further research. Using this multidimensional model to describe and to plan to deliberately modify the learning environment can foster more rigorous and meaningful research evidence about the interaction of wellness and the LE. This article highlights four key considerations that scholars of wellness should consider when exploring the impact of the LE or designing interventions to modify the environment. These include 1) a thoughtful definition and theoretical conceptualization of the LE, 2) clarity about the study variables that are essential to the study question(s), 3) thoughtful and appropriate measurement of those variables, and 4) a study design that balances quality with feasibility. We provide a practical illustration of how these considerations can be applied in studies exploring the intersection of wellness and the LE.