What is the theory underpinning wellbeing literacy?
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Narelle Lemon: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1396-5488
Abstract
Wellbeing literacy is defined as a capability to comprehend and compose wellbeing language across contexts, with the intention of using such language to maintain or improve the wellbeing of oneself, others or the world. This concept specifically addresses language-use rather than broader wellbeing applications. Given wellbeing’s expansive nature, wellbeing literacy spans multiple contexts and draws from diverse disciplines, lay conceptions and cultures. The concept emerged at the intersection of wellbeing and literacy. Language and literacy play fundamental roles in our individual and communal lives. Contemporary sociocultural perspectives have expanded literacy beyond traditional cognitive skills of reading and writing. Wellbeing literacy is grounded in constructivist epistemology (language shapes wellbeing realities) and contextualist assumptions (words have different meanings in different contexts), while being influenced by a capabilities approach (what one can be and do with language). The five-component capability model serves as a formal framework adaptable across contexts. As a “thick concept”, wellbeing literacy is simultaneously something we examine and value, functioning as both descriptive (explaining reality) and normative (informing ideals). This provides scientists with operational model to measure phenomena and explore whether wellbeing literacy moderates or mediates interventions. For practitioners, it offers an adaptable framework to guide, understand, and evaluate their practice.
Document Type
Book Chapter
Date of Publication
1-1-2025
Publication Title
Wellbeing Literacy Theory and Practice Through Multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Lenses
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
School of Education
RAS ID
84539
Copyright
subscription content
First Page
9
Last Page
18
Comments
Oades, L. G., Lemon, N., & Francis, J. (2025). What is the theory underpinning wellbeing literacy? In Wellbeing Literacy Theory and Practice Through Multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Lenses (pp. 9–18). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003644293-2