In the Words of the Dalai Lama…

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A Positive Vision for Positive Action 

After choosing to focus on flourishing for my Cohort 21 Action Plan, I decided to pursue this same topic in a graduate course that I began at the end of January. I devoted a fair bit of time during the month of February to research. I set out to learn about positive education, and how flourishing can be cultivated in school communities. Referencing everything from good ol’ books to Web 2.0 technologies, I slowly began to build my understanding.

I compiled my research findings into an inquiry-based paper that presents an emerging response to the question: “What is flourishing and how can school leaders cultivate flourishing?”

I’ve summarized some key research findings (as well as a few great resources) in a SparkNotes version of my paper, here:

What is positive psychology?

This relatively new discipline is unlike traditional psychology in that it focuses on “…the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive” (University of Pennsylvania, 2014, para. 2). Rather than studying what is wrong with patients, positive psychologists seek to understand and capitalize on what is right with their patients (Standela, 2012). Positive psychologists believe that “…strength is as important as weakness, and that it is just as important to build on the best things in life, as to repair the worst” (Standela, 2012).

What is positive education?

Positive education is the application of positive psychology to schooling. It is an approach to teaching and learning that, “…brings together the science of positive psychology with best practice teaching to encourage and support individuals, schools and communities to flourish” (Geelong Grammar School, n.d., What is Positive Education section).

It is a holistic model of education that seeks to provide students with the skills and attitudes required for them to achieve well-being (Seligman, Ernst, Gillham, Reivich & Linkins, 2009 and Geelong Grammar School, n.d., What is Positive Education section).

What is flourishing?

There is not one definitive definition for flourishing; however, Huppert and So developed an operational definition of the term in order to conduct a study on flourishing populations across Europe. Flourishing requires an individual to possess three core features – positive emotions, engagement and meaning – and three of six additional features – self-esteem, optimism, resilience, vitality, self-determination, and/or positive relationships (Huppert and So, 2011, p. 844-845).

Why should schools pursue flourishing?

The body of literature on positive education suggests that are three important reasons that flourishing should be pursued in schools.

Firstly, research indicates that depression is much more prevalent in today’s world, and that it is affecting people at increasingly earlier ages: “depression rates today are ten times higher than they were in 1960. Every year, the age threshold of unhappiness sinks lower… Fifty years ago, the mean onset age of depression was 29.5 years old. Today, it is almost exactly half that: 14.5 years old” (Anchor, 2010, p.8).

Secondly – and not surprisingly, given the current depression trends – increases in happiness have been minimal over the last half-century: “…average individual and average national happiness…has not remotely kept up with improvement in the world. Happiness has gone up only spottily, if at all” (Seligman et al., 2009, p. 294).

Thirdly, students who flourish are more likely to experience greater achievement in school (Seligman, 2011, p. 80 & Achor, 2010, p. 44). It is commonly held that hard work leads to success, which in turn leads to happiness. Achor (2010) posits, however, that this formula is “…broken because it is backward” (p. 3). He argues that the human brain actually performs substantially better at positive than it does at negative, neutral or stressed: “positive emotions flood our brains with dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that not only make us feel good, but dial up the learning centers of our brains to higher levels” (Achor, 2010, p. 44). The result is a greater aptitude for problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity, and higher energy levels (Seligman, 2011, p. 80 & Achor, 2010, p. 44).

(I’ve posted this TedTalk before, but it’s too good not to share again)!

What are some strategies for that can be used to promote flourishing?

Check out Good Think Inc.’s “Action Steps” for some excellent strategies that you can start integrating into your classroom NOW!

Reflections 

If there is one thing I have taken away from this research, it is this: There is no stronger edifice than positive psychology for the development of the youth mind.

Years from now, when scholars look back on the educational reform that was brought about in the 21st century, let it be one that increased children’s happiness and well-being; let this generation’s educators leave a legacy of flourishing.

On to Action Plan Phase 2: Develop a Toolkit for Flourishing!

 

References

Anchor, S. (2010). The happiness advantage: The seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance at work. New York: Crown Publishing Group.

Huppert, F.A., & So, T.T.C. (2013). Flourishing across Europe: Application of a new conceptual framework for defining well-being. Social Indicators Research, 110(3), 837-861. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/

Geelong Grammar School. (n.d.) Positive Education Retrieved from https://www.ggs.vic.edu.au/School/Positive-Education/About-Us/About-Us

Good Think Inc. (2014). Improve productivity and success with five “positivity” habits. Retrieved from http://goodthinkinc.com/wharton-work-nano-tool-1-positivity-habits/

Standela. (2012, October 10). What is positive psychology? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qJvS8v0TTI

Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Atria Paperback.

Seligman, M.E.P., Ernst, R.M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293-311. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/

University of Pennsylvania. (2014). Positive psychology center. Retrieved from http://www.positivepsychology.org/

6 thoughts on “In the Words of the Dalai Lama…

  1. Thanks for this very thoughtful post. I love how you’ve positioned positive education as the foundation for this new educational movement. I am sure that @dneville and @ckirsh would agree too.

    It has certainly made me think about the disposition and approach that we are trying to foster in our students. It is an approach that prepares them for the future, and after reading your post and some of your links, I can’t help but think of some of the research that I’ve been doing into this…

    Dr. Yong Zhou (@YongZhaoUO ) is a thought leader in Ed., and I would highly recommend his 2012 book “World Class Learners”. While he doesn’t touch on mindfullness or positive education directly, he does talk about a shift in how we prepare students. It really brings together a few of the themes of recent blog posts from @brenthurley @lmcbeth @mramon and @ddoucet of Educator as Designer, Student as creator. I love this idea, and if we begin to work in positive education within this paradigm, it seems like a great step forward for student learning and student flourishing!

    Thanks for a thought provoking morning read!
    garth.

    1. Thanks, Garth!

      Yes – I really do believe that positive education needs to be the foundation. If students are flourishing, all the other key objectives of education will follow.

      Thanks for pointing me to Dr. Yong Zhou – I am now following him on Twitter, and I look forward to learning from his work.

      I will also be sure to check out the recent blog posts from these Cohort 21ers! While I’m on to Phase 2 of my action plan, Phase 1 (the research) will never really end!

  2. Allison,
    Thanks for this awesome post with so many great resources! I love the video introduction to Positive Psychology and I’m going to share it with my advisees, who are practicing mindfulness. In particular, I found the piece about “flow” to be interesting. We often talk about “engagement” in our classrooms, but I think what we are really looking for is flow. For our students to be lost in the activity they are doing that they forget about time. When that happens, it’s magic!

    If you haven’t already read any of Gabrielle Oettingen’s work, she wrote a book called “Rethinking Positive Thinking” and developed an app to help individuals get past those perceived road blocks when setting goals. It’s called WOOPing: http://www.woopmylife.org/.

    I agree with @gnichols about with work of Dr. Zhou. We went to see him speak last year at Hillfield and it was great. You should also connect with @dneville, who is exploring mindfulness in his classroom, and read posts by @cschindler, who is exploring the idea of how to measure growth in students. Finally, I think that @laurann might benefit from reading your posts, as she is exploring the idea of helping students to find their “raison d’etre” in the classroom.

    Happy Spring!
    Les

    1. Thank you, Les : )

      Yes, I loved learning about “flow”! It certainly is magic when it happens. Every student (and teacher …and person, for that matter), needs to find and recognize those passions that allow them to flow.

      I haven’t read Gabrielle Oettingen’s work, but I will be sure to check it out. As I said to Garth above, there’s still lots of research to be done (it’s never really done), even though I’ve moved on from the research phase of my plan. I look forward to continuing to build my knowledge and understanding in this field. It’s exciting!

  3. Allison, this is fantastic stuff! Positive education is something that all schools need to focus on. Thanks for sharing so much great thinking on a truly worthwhile topic. I can’t wait for the toolkit!! 🙂

    1. Thanks, Danny! And thank you for your help in getting me thinking more about positive education at our last F2F. Before chatting with you, I was beginning to have doubts about whether or not I wanted to continue down this path – but I’m glad that I stuck with it!

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