Linda O’Toole

onderzoeker, Learning for Well-being Foundation

Linda O'Toole is verbonden aan de Universal Education Foundation en als zodanig ook gelieerd aan de Learning for Well-being Foundation in Brussel. The vision of UEF is ‘Learning for well-being’, which emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to education and of engaging children and young people in shaping their learning environments (e.g. in the education system, through media and ICTs and in the health system). The purpose of the Foundation is to inspire and engage people in making learning environments more conducive to the well-being of children and youth. UEF defines well-being as realizing one’s unique potential through physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social development … in relation to self, others, and the environment.

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At an early age I recognized, and was fascinated by, individual differences in people: specifically, their pacing, how they pay attention, the relative importance of story-telling, the amount of background information needed, and so forth. This fascination has been reflected in my life-long interest in noticing and describing the patterns through which people engage and process their inner and outer experiences, including how they select and express information. I refer to these patterns as “inner diversity” and I have come to believe that an understanding and capacity to work with our individual patterns of processing is foundational for a sense of wholeness and well-being, as well as our interactions with others. My professional work for more than thirty years has involved writing, training, and personal coaching in education, health care, and global corporations, with a focus on helping people integrate the cognitive, relational and sensory functions within a living system perspective. For the last eight years, I have helped develop the Learning for Well-being framework, finding a home within UEF for my approach to inner diversity, while I actively continue to explore new ideas and practices that can shift the awareness of those who implement them.