The Curriculum of Giving
Giving
Giving is a powerful act that supports not only the recipient, but also the giver—deepening health, wellbeing, and connection.
It is, at its core, a builder of community.
Meaning
A common denominator for what people across the world say is meaningful in their lives relates to being something or someone for something other than just themselves.
Giving, in other words, is a pathway to meaningful living.
Education
If giving is linked to meaning, and meaning to greater wellbeing, where does this sit within our education systems?
How can we plan and teach a curriculum that truly transforms the way we relate to ourselves, others, communities, the environment, and the greater whole?
A Curriculum of Giving is first and foremost a way of being with each other versus just a collection of activities.
Thomas Nielsen & Jennifer Ma
Our Key Frameworks
The Ecology of Giving
Many of us think of giving as an overt act—donating to charity, volunteering our time, or helping someone in need. But giving is not only something we do; it is also a way of being in the world. It can be expressed through our attitudes, relationships, attention, and care for others and the natural environment.
The Ecology of Giving invites us to see giving as existing on a continuum, from the self (micro) to the whole (macro). It broadens our understanding of giving beyond individual acts to encompass the many ways we contribute to our own wellbeing, the lives of others, our communities, the natural environment, and the greater whole.
Giving to Self: Many often focus on giving to others while neglecting their own needs. By attending to our own wellbeing by giving to ourselves, we create the surplus from which we can give to others with greater presence, energy, and care. To help cultivate this practice of self-giving, we have developed two simple strategies: SELF CARE AIMS and STOP.
Giving to Others: Giving to others can involve giving to those closest to us, such as family and friends, to random acts of kindness to strangers. What matters most is not how often we give, but the quality of our presence when we do. The Five Portals is a strategy for deciding whether, when, and how to step in or give of yourself in a particular situation.
Giving to Communities: Giving to community may involve volunteering, contributing to local initiatives, or supporting global organisations working for positive change. Through these acts of giving, we expand both our generosity and our sense of connection to people beyond our immediate circles.
Giving to the Environment: The natural world plays a vital role in supporting our health and wellbeing, and caring for it has never been more important. Giving back to the environment can take many forms, from reducing waste and conserving energy to supporting local producers and advocating for environmental change.
Giving to the Whole: The ‘whole’ can mean different things to different people. It may be understood as humanity, the planet, the universe, etc. Whether grounded in spirituality, faith, or a secular, broader, secular sense of interconnectedness, giving to the ‘whole’ offers an opportunity to contribute to something larger than ourselves.
Recommended readings:
Nielsen, T. W., & Ma, J. S. (2018). Connecting Social and Natural Ecologies Through a Curriculum of Giving for Student Wellbeing and Engagement. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 34(3), 215–227. doi:10.1017/aee.2018.41
The Pedagogy of Giving
How do we help children and young people become generous and contributing citizens of the world?
The Pedagogy of Giving outlines six ways educators, parents, and caregivers can help children and young people learn about – and experience – the benefits of giving in classrooms, homes, and communities.
1. Exploration: Effective education involves both having a map and being an explorer. While a map provides direction, exploration allows students to discover understandings for themselves. Exploration is about creating opportunities for children and young people to actively engage in learning, gradually uncovering insights about giving through experience rather than having all learning outcomes presented from the outset.
2. Modelling: Children and young people will never have a more profound ‘curriculum’ than who you are as a person. As educators, parents, and caregivers, we model the understandings, skills, values, and dispositions we hope to see reflected in those under our care. Giving begins with example.
3. Explicit instruction: While modelling is foundational, it is not enough on its own. Social and environmental concern need to be intentionally taught and valued alongside the ‘traditional’ curriculum. Research suggests that educators who explicitly teach and plan for pro-social behaviour often spend less time managing conflict and behavioural issues later on.
4. Incidental learning: Some of the most meaningful learning occurs in unplanned moments. Incidental learning refers to those unexpected opportunities that arise through everyday situations, conversations, and experiences. These moments invite us to recognise what is most valuable in a given situation and use it as an opportunity to reinforce important aspects of learning.
5. Crisis management: Moments of crisis are often characterised by heightened stress, anxiety, or conflict. While such experiences are challenging, they can also provide powerful opportunities to put the principles of giving into practice and deepen relationships. These are the moments when our values are tested and when children and young people are most likely to see whether our actions align with what we teach.
6. Intent: Underlying all of these modes is a broader intention to foster social concern and cohesion. A genuine and consistent commitment to modelling, teaching, and creating opportunities for giving helps ensure that these values become woven into everyday educational practice rather than remaining occasional or isolated experiences.
As shown in the figure on the right, each mode usually takes up an amount of time that is analogous to the ascending shape of the triangle.
Recommended readings:
Nielsen, T. W., & Ma, J. S. (2023). Six Modes of Giving Pedagogy for Engagement and Wellbeing – for Teachers and Students. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 48 (2). https://doi.org/10.14221/1835-517X.5182
Giving as a common thread in wellbeing education
With so many approaches to wellbeing education, it can be hard to know what to prioritise.
As part of a broader meta-narrative review published in the Second International Research Handbook on Values Education and Student Wellbeing, we explored research — including findings from meta-analyses — across positive education, mindfulness education, social and emotional learning, service learning, environmental education, multicultural and global citizenship education, and values education.
Each offers something valuable. Rather than adding yet another approach, we can look beneath the labels to the principles that help make these approaches effective.
Our work highlights giving— as a potentially important common thread in what makes these approaches work.
This offers a simple way to think about wellbeing education: how can we create more opportunities for children to care, connect, and contribute to someone or something beyond themselves, in everyday life?
You can read more about this research here.
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