The Conscious Classroom
A Pathway to Mental Wellbeing and Ethical Leadership
Will be published approx. on 1. September 2026
176 pages
E-Book
978-1-040-60344-4 (ISBN)
Description
The Conscious Classroom draws on both the author's deep and comprehensive experience of schools, and the incredible work of educators who are helping students to develop greater critical and creative awareness in classrooms. This solutions-focused book offers a pathway to mental wellbeing and ethical leadership and will enable schools to nurture those aspects of character that enable students to have an awakened conscience, rooted in a clear understanding and living of values, such as dignity, compassion, integrity, justice, trust and harmony.
This work is actively informed by neuroscience and what is now known about how our brains best learn and describes how students can be more consciously aware in a process of developing the essential skill of self-leadership, which nourishes resilience, wellbeing and agency. Its central question for adults and students alike is, "Who do you choose to be in the world?" Neil gives a fascinating overview, explaining how his original ideas emerged as a teacher, headteacher and leader of school systems. He explains how values, reflective thinking and quality education are the keys to expanding consciousness, wellbeing and self-leadership. The book focuses on ten schools that demonstrate how they are creating conscious classrooms.
This essential book will help teachers to enhance the wellbeing and resilience of themselves and their students and give hope and a sense of renewed purpose to those who believe in the power of education for the general good of humanity.
This work is actively informed by neuroscience and what is now known about how our brains best learn and describes how students can be more consciously aware in a process of developing the essential skill of self-leadership, which nourishes resilience, wellbeing and agency. Its central question for adults and students alike is, "Who do you choose to be in the world?" Neil gives a fascinating overview, explaining how his original ideas emerged as a teacher, headteacher and leader of school systems. He explains how values, reflective thinking and quality education are the keys to expanding consciousness, wellbeing and self-leadership. The book focuses on ten schools that demonstrate how they are creating conscious classrooms.
This essential book will help teachers to enhance the wellbeing and resilience of themselves and their students and give hope and a sense of renewed purpose to those who believe in the power of education for the general good of humanity.
Reviews / Votes
"Having worked with Values-based Education for many years, as a long-term associate of VbE, I find The Conscious Classroom to be a definitive guide for the modern educator. Having introduced and embedded VbE, both in the trenches as a Headteacher and later as a Multi-Academy Trust leader, I have seen the transformative power of VbE in action.In our Trust, Values-based Education has been the place where we have found alignment with all our schools and the place where we continue to grow our collaboration. With first-hand experience of developing and deepening VbE in our classrooms, we have built a cohesive ethos across our group of schools where students develop the ethical intelligence and agency to navigate an AI-driven world. This book is not just theory; it is a roadmap to creating the harmony, resilience and wellbeing that our children - and our society - so desperately need."
Cori Bateman, Chief Executive Officer, Pioneer Learning Trust.
"I have known Neil for many years, and I can say this without hesitation. This book is the purest expression of who he is as a human being and as an educator. I have travelled the world with Neil, shared stages with him, sat in deep conversations late into the night, and watched him quietly transform rooms full of teachers and leaders, simply by the way he listens and speaks from the heart.
The Conscious Classroom is not a theory-heavy manifesto. It is a grounded, deeply human invitation to rethink what education is really for. Neil reminds us that schools are not just places to pass exams, but places where character, wisdom and ethical leadership are formed. His thinking feels urgently relevant in a world that often feels loud, polarised and disconnected.
This book will challenge you, reassure you and inspire you in equal measure. If you care about children, wellbeing and the future of humanity, this is essential reading."
Gavin McCormack, Award winning teacher, co-founder of Upschool.
"The Conscious Classroom is a visionary approach to education and leadership. Neil's insights offer a compassionate and practical pathway to nurturing ethical intelligence, equipping both educators and students with the tools needed to thrive in today's complex world. This book is an inspiring guide for anyone seeking to create lasting positive change in schools and beyond."
Dr Mark Williams, Neuroscience Professor, Keynote Speaker, Author.
"Here is an inspiring book which will help every leader to think, talk with others and act to develop their school... consciously. It provides a fund of good advice, examples of effective practice and an invitation to put children first in all we do."
Professor Mick Waters, Curriculum Expert.
"Dr Neil Hawkes' latest book, The Conscious Classroom, is an essential read for any teacher, educational leader or lawmaker. Neil Hawkes brings a lifetime of experience, built around teaching, leadership and research, to the wisdom found in the concept of ethical intelligence. Ethical intelligence is about a superior consciousness grounded in self-knowing and empathy, the veritable stuff of personal, social and moral wellbeing, according to the most recent neuroscientific insights. The concept presents as a challenge to the many systems of education worldwide currently disposed to instrumentalist aims and objectives, ones focussed on easily measurable goals of a basic consciousness that is fast becoming the domain of artificial intelligence. Ethical intelligence is about a truly human consciousness well beyond the bounds of AI. The book offers both the theory and multiple practical examples of how this can be achieved in the classroom, along with its many personal and social benefits."
Emeritus Professor Terence Lovat, The University of Newcastle, Australia, The University of Oxford, UK, The University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
1 Tables, black and white; 1 Line drawings, black and white; 16 Halftones, black and white; 17 Illustrations, black and white
ISBN-13
978-1-040-60344-4 (9781040603444)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 09/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€191.50
Not yet published
Book
approx. 09/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€25.00
Not yet published
Person
Neil Hawkes is a globally recognised educator, speaker, broadcaster, author and social commentator. He is a former Head Teacher and County Education Adviser in the UK and has influenced educational policy and practice worldwide. He is a popular TEDx presenter and a member of the V20 Task Group advising G20 leaders on values.
Content
1. Your ideal classroom 2. My journey to understanding how to enhance consciousness 3. THE GUIDE to creating a conscious school and classrooms 4. Enhancing consciousness in the classroom by PAUSE to Be (P2B) 5. Ten insights into what underpins a conscious classroom 6. The leadership of the school is committed to the holistic development of VbE 7. A comprehensive ethical vocabulary based on enhancing universal human values 8. Staff understand that they are role models for VbE 9. Reflective practices creating an Inner Curriculum 10. Explicit and implicit teaching about values shown by all staff across the curriculum 11. A focus on mental wellbeing and health, emphasising care and compassion 12. A quality learning environment and empowering curriculum, that gives a sense of safety and dignity 13. Excellent staff relationships, with each other, students and the community 14. Excellent behaviour and agency of students who live their values 15. Values-based Education being lived and celebrated in the school and community 16. A heartfelt message to the future
