Follow your Heart

This resource is written for primary and secondary school teachers, principals, librarians, and support staff to help them recognize, support, and foster the gifts and talents of the children in their school communities. It also addresses researchers and scholars in the field of co-production of knowledge by encouraging the development of an ecology of participation in emotional and ecological studies. The foundational idea of the book is that every child has multiple talents and therefore specific practical strategies need to be developed and implemented to effectively nurture such talents and gifts in a meaningful and mindful manner. This educator handbook provides professional development support, direction, and practical wisdom to bring more awareness of emotional literacy and multipotentiality into the learning environment while giving more autonomy and sense of empowerment to pupils. Strongly underpinned by the research and education experience of the authors, the resource also takes an accessible and practical “inclusive” approach to ways of working with children of all abilities in regular and specialized classrooms. The book follows a tripartite structure featuring (1) a fully illustrated story to give a visual representation of multipotentiality; (2) the methodological steps to the co-creation of the book and the theoretical concepts that support this teaching philosophy; and (3) an activity section with suggestions on how to implement emotional literacy and foster multiple talents in the classroom.