Shanker Self-Reg® in Research & Postsecondary

The transition to postsecondary education and young adulthood can bring enormous change. The world that our young adults are entering into is drastically different from the one we grew up in. It is filled with new expectations, relationships, and responsibilities, but also constantly changing technology, economic uncertainty, and new exposure to societal challenges, all presented at the speed of the Wi-Fi connection on our smartphones. No wonder there is growing concern about the well-being of our postsecondary students and young adults.

Shanker Self-Reg® offers a way to explore how stress, brain-body state, energy, learning, relationships, mental health, and well-being are interconnected. For postsecondary students and young adults, it can open up a different way of understanding their own stress, capacity, and changing needs by exploring stressors in the five domains: Biological, Emotion, Cognitive, Social, and Prosocial, and how they impact one another. Practicing Self-Reg can help foster healthier relationships, better learning, and an overall less anxious outlook on life. For faculty, educators, and postsecondary institutions, Self-Reg offers another lens for thinking about the conditions that support learning, development, belonging, and student well-being. It is a toolset and philosophy not only for scaffolding a more engaged and adaptable student body, but also for better preparing students for the challenges of the real world.

This work also has important connections to research. Stuart Shanker’s interdisciplinary work draws from neuroscience, neurobiology, developmental psychology, physiology, philosophy, education, and other fields, opening up questions and possibilities for researchers interested in stress, self-regulation, development, learning, behaviour, relationships, and human flourishing.

These aren’t separate conversations. Research continues to deepen our understanding of stress and human development, which means that Shanker Self-Reg® is a constantly evolving, dynamic system. Simply put, what we learn from people and practice advances how we understand and support postsecondary students and young adults through the learning transition, and every day we are presented with exciting new questions worth exploring.