Not all students are fully engaged in current curricula. Too many students drop out, are absent or don't participate. Current education systems do not satisfy student needs for meaning, wholeness and fulfilment. A 'hidden curriculum' based on implicit mechanistic reductionistic 19 th century assumptions makes it very difficult to meet these needs. There is a deepening crisis of substance abuse, suicide, depression, homelessness and violence experienced by youth in many countries.
Schools have an important role to play in addressing the needs of the whole-person.
Enhancing resilience and interconnectedness among young people is recognised as a primary means of assisting youth in these areas. Many young people are having great difficulty finding a sense of identity and fulfilment - particularly through adolescence. Prevailing materialistic and consumer values make it difficult to find a sense of purpose or place, and this in turn makes resilience in the face of change problematic. Compulsive or reckless activity, substance abuse, and empty sexuality can result from students trying to escape the pain of an inner emptiness. This serves to exacerbate feelings of alienation and powerlessness that are believed to contribute to depression, substance abuse and suicide.