Journal of School and Educational Psychology
Vol. 2 No. 2 (2022)
Embedding well-being into school: a case study of positive education before and during covid-19 lockdowns.
- Anne Johnstone
Journal of School and Educational Psychology , Vol. 2 No. 2 (2022), 10 October 2022 , Page 60-77 https://doi.org/10.47602/josep.v2i2.15 Published: 26-04-2022
- View Article
For more than a decade, the field of positive education has amassed growing evidence that school-based well-being interventions support and boost the mental health of students. Outcomes such as hope, subjective well-being, life satisfaction, pro-social behavior, school engagement and academic grades have all been shown to significantly increase following positive education interventions. While the growing science has created confidence about the outcomes that can be attained through a positive education approach, significantly less scientific attention has been given to the processes that schools employ to embed a positive education approach. In other words, the field has provided information about what positive education can lead to but has published comparatively little on how positive education becomes infused into schools. The aim of the current qualitative paper is to provide a descriptive case study of one school’s positive education approach before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A single-case study design was used to conduct a detailed description of how one school has embedded a positive education approach using the SEARCH framework which contains six pathways to well-being: strengths, emotional management, attention and awareness, relationships, coping, and habits and goals. Descriptions are provided for how SEARCH was embedded during on-campus learning before COVID-19 and how it was utilized during two periods of distance learning during the global pandemic. Results from the current study suggest that having a positive education framework, training all staff, having both student and staff well-being initiatives and cultivating a common language for positive education are core processes that create a sustained and adaptive culture of wellbeing. We hope that this case study inspires schools to use student well-being as a prevention tool in good times and as a crisis management tool in times of adversity.
- Well-being, positive education, student mental health, positive psychology, remote learning, case study, COVID-19, pandemic
How to Cite
- Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
Action for Happiness (n.d.). 10 keys to happier living. https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys .
Alexander, G. (2006). Behavioural coaching—the GROW model. In J. Passmore (Ed.), Excellence in coaching: The industry guide (2nd ed., pp. 83-93). Kogan Page.
Algoe, S. B., & Haidt, J. (2009). Witnessing excellence in action: the “other-praising” emotions of elevation, gratitude, and admiration. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(2), 105-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760802650519
Anselmi, L., Fleitlich-Bilyk, B., Menezes, A.M., Araujo, C.L., & Rohde, L.A. (2010). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a Brazilian birth cohort of 11-year-olds. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45(1), 135-142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0052-2
Asanov, I., Flores, F., McKenzie, D., Mensmann, M., & Schulte, M. (2021). Remote learning, time-use, and mental health of Ecuadorian high-school students during the COVID-19 quarantine. World Development, 138, Article 105225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105225
Biswas-Diener, R., Kashdan, T. B., & Minhas, G. (2011). A dynamic approach to psychological strength development and intervention. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(2), 106-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2010.545429
Bono, G., Reil, K., & Hescox, J. (2020). Stress and well-being in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Can grit and gratitude help? International Journal of Wellbeing, 10(3), 39-57. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v10i3.1331
Burke, J., & Arslan, G. (2020). Positive education and positive school psychology during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 4(2), 137-139. https://doi.org/10.47602/jpsp.v4i2.243
Chodkiewicz, A. R., & Boyle, C. (2017). Positive psychology school‐based interventions: A reflection on current success and future directions. Review of Education, 5(1), 60-86. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3080
Creemers, B.P.M., and Tillema, H.H. (1987). The classroom as a social/emotional environment. The Journal of Classroom Interaction 23(2), 1-7. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23869253
Costello, E. J., Copeland, W., & Angold, A. (2011). Trends in psychopathology across the adolescent years: What changes when children become adolescents, and when adolescents become adults? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(10), 1015-1025. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02446.x
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of school‐based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
Frigerio, A., Rucci, P., Goodman, R., Ammaniti, M., Carlet, O., Cavolina, P., De Girolamo, G., Lenti, C., Lucarelli, L., Mani, E., Martinuzzi, A., Micali, N., Milone, A., Morosini, P., Muratori, F., Nardocci, F., Pastore, V., Polidori, G., Tullini, A.,…Molteni, M. (2009). Prevalence and correlates of mental disorders among adolescents in Italy: The PrISMA study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 18(4), 217-226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-0720-x
Garbe, A., Ogurlu, U., Logan, N., & and Cook, P. (2020). COVID-19 and remote learning: experiences of parents with children during the pandemic. American Journal of Qualitative Research December, 4(3), 45-65. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8471
Given, L. M. (2008). The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods. SAGE Publications.
Happiness Day (2021). Happiness for all, forever. https://happinessday.org/
Hartnell-Young, E. (2020). Reimagining school education. In E. Dawson & J. McCalman (Eds.), “What happens next?”: Reconstructing Australia after COVID-19. Melbourne University Press.
Hawke, L., Barbic, S., Voineskos, A., Szatmari, P., Cleverley, K., Hayes, E., Relihan, J., Daley, M., Courtney, D., Cheung, A., Darnay, K., & Henderson, J. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 on youth mental health, substance use, and well-being: A rapid survey of clinical and community samples. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 65(10), 701-709. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743720940562
Hefferon, K., Ashfield, A., Waters, L., & Synard, J. (2017). Understanding optimal human functioning: The “call for qual” in exploring human flourishing and well-being. Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(3), 211-219, https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1225120
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey replication. JAMA Psychiatry, 62, 593-602. http://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593
Lee, J. (2020). Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19. The Lancet: Child & Adolescent Health, 4(6), 421. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30109-7
Lomas, T., Waters, L., Williams, P., Oades, L., & Kern, M.L. (2020). Third wave positive psychology: broadening towards complexity. Journal of Positive Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1805501
Marques de Miranda, D., da Silva Athanasio, B., Sena Oliveira, A. C., & Simoes-e-Silva, A. C. (2020). How is COVID-19 pandemic impacting mental health of children and adolescents? International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 51, Article 101845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101845
Masonbrink, A. R., & Hurley, E. (2020). Advocating for children during the COVID-19 school closures. Pediatrics, 146(3), Article e20201440. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-1440
Maynard, B., Solis, M., Miller, V., & Brendel, K (2017). Mindfulness-based interventions for improving cognition, academic achievement, behavior and socio-emotional functioning of primary and secondary students. Campbell Collaboration, 13(1), 1-144. https://doi.org/10.4073/CSR.2017.5
Medical Xpress (2020, July 10). Analysing the mental well-being of adolescents and young adults during COVID-19. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-analysing-mental-well-being-adolescents-young.html
Mind (2020, June). The mental health emergency: How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted our mental health? https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/5929/the-mental-health-emergency_a4_final.pdf
Murphy, M., Nevill, A., Neville, C., Biddle, S., & Hardman, A. (2002). Accumulating brisk walking for fitness, cardiovascular risk, and psychological health. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, 34(9), 1468-1474. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200209000-00011
Nearchou, F., Flin, C., Niland, R., Subramaniam, S.S., & Hennessy, E. (2020). Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on mental health outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(22), 8479. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228479
Orygen. (2020, May 7). COVID-19 impact likely to lead to increased rates of suicide and mental illness. https://www.orygen.org.au/About/News-And-Events/2020/COVID-19-impact-likely-to-lead-to-increased-rates
Owens, R., & Waters, L. (2020). What does positive psychology tell us about early intervention with children and adolescents? A review of the impact of PPIs with young people. Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(5), 588-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1789706
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press.
Polanczyk, G.V., Salum, G.A., Sugaya, L.S., Caye, A., & Rohde, L.A. (2015). Annual research review: A meta‐analysis of the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56, 345-365. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12381
Proctor, C., Tsukayama, E., Wood, A. M., Maltby, J., Eades, J. F., & Linley, P. A. (2011). Strengths gym: The impact of a character strengths-based intervention on the life satisfaction and wellbeing of adolescents. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(5), 377-388. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2011.594079
Rashid, T., & McGrath, R. E. (2020). Strengths-based actions to enhance well-being in the time of COVID-19. International Journal of Wellbeing, 10(4), 113-132. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v10i4.1441
RU OK? (n.d.). Are they really ok? Ask them today. https://www.ruok.org.au/join-r-u-ok-day
Rusk, R. D., & Waters, L. (2015). A psycho-social system approach to wellbeing: Empirically deriving the five pathways of positive functioning. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10(2), 141-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.920409
Seligman, M., Ernst, R., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkin, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35, 293-311. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902934563
Shankland, R., & Rosset, E. (2017). Review of brief school-based positive psychological interventions: a taster for teachers and educators. Educational Psychology Review, 29, 363-392. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9357-3
Schinke, S.P., Schilling, R.F., and Snow, W.H. (1987). Stress management with adolescents at the junior high transition: an outcome evaluation of coping skills intervention. Journal of Human Stress 13(1), 16-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/0097840x.1987.9936790
Shoshani, A., Steinmetz, S., & Kanat-Maymon, Y. (2016). Effects of the Maytiv positive psychology school program on early adolescents’ well-being, engagement, and achievement. Journal of School Psychology, 57, 73-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2016.05.003
Simons, H. (2009). Case study research in practice. SAGE Publications.
Slemp, G., Kern, M., Chin, T., Soukous, C., Loton, D., Oades, L., Vella-Brodrick, D., & Waters, L. (2017). Positive education in Australia. In E. Frydenberg, A. Martin & R. Collie (Eds), Social emotional learning in the Australasian context (pp. 101-122). Springer.
Snyder, R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4) 249-275. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1304_01
Stark, A. M., White, A. E., Rotter, N. S., & Basu, A. (2020). Shifting from survival to supporting resilience in children and families in the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for informing U.S. mental health priorities. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(S1), S133-S135. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000781
Taber, K. (2013). Classroom-based research and evidence-based practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Thomas, G. (2010). Doing case study: abduction not induction; phronesis not theory. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(7), 575-82.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2015). Reinterpreting and protecting the four pillars of education. In UNESCO (Ed.), Rethinking education: towards a global common good? (pp. 39-40). https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000232555/PDF/232555eng.pdf.multi
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2020a). “Living in limbo”: The views and experiences of young people in Australia at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and national response. https://www.unicef.org.au/Upload/UNICEF/Media/Documents/UNICEF-COVID-19-Living-in-Limbo-2020.pdf
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2020b). Education: From disruption to recovery. https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse
VIA Institute on Character (2021). Bring your strengths to life & live more fully. https://www.viacharacter.org/
Waters, L. (2011). A review of school-based positive psychology interventions. Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 28(2), 75-90. https://doi.org/10.1375/aedp.28.2.75
Waters, L (2015). Why Positive Education? Teaching and Learning Network, 22(3), 16-19.
Waters, L. (2017a). Progressing positive education and creating Visible Wellbeing. In S. Donaldson & M. Rao (Eds.), Scientific advances in positive psychology (pp. 229-256). Praeger Publishing.
Waters, L. (2017b, March 18–March 20). Searching for wellbeing in schools: Linking science with practice [Paper presentation]. Positive Education Schools Association Conference, Sydney, Australia.
Waters, L. (2019). Searching for wellbeing in schools: A new framework to guide the science of positive education. Journal of Educational Psychological Research, 1(2), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.33140/jepr.01.02.02
Waters, L. (2021). Positive education pedagogy: Shifting teacher mindsets, practice and language to make wellbeing visible in classrooms. In M. Kern & M. Wehmeyer (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of positive education (pp. 137-164). Palgrave Macmillan.
Waters, L., Algoe, S. B., Dutton, J., Emmons, R., Fredrickson, B. L., Heaphy, E., Moskowitz, J. T., Neff, K., Niemiec, R., Pury, C., & Steger, M. (2021). Positive psychology in a pandemic: buffering, bolstering, and building mental health. The Journal of Positive Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2021.1871945
Waters, L., Allen, K.-A., & Arslan, G. (2021). Stress-related growth in adolescents returning to school after COVID-19 school closure. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 643443. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643443
Waters, L., Barsky, A., Ridd, A., & Allen, K. (2015). Contemplative education: a systematic, evidence-based review of the effect of meditation interventions in schools. Educational Psychology Review, 27(1), 103-134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-014-9258-2
Waters, L., Cameron, K., Nelson-Coffey, S.K., Crone., D.L., Kern, M.L., Lomas, T., Oades, L., Owens, R.L., Pawelski, J.O., Rashid, T., Warren, M.A., White, M.A., & Williams, P. (202). Collective wellbeing and posttraumatic growth during COVID-19: How positive psychology can help families, schools, workplaces and marginalized communities. The Journal of Positive Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2021.1940251
Waters, L., & Loton, D. (2019). SEARCH: a meta-framework and review of the field of positive education. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 4, 1-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-019-00017-4
Waters, L., Sun, J., Rusk, R., Cotton, A., & Arch, A. (2017). Positive education: Visible wellbeing and the five domains of positive functioning. In M. Slade, L. Oades & A. Jarden (Eds.), Wellbeing, recovery and mental health (pp. 245-264). Cambridge University Press.
Wood, W., & Rünger, D. (2016). Psychology of habit. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 289-314. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033417
World Health Organization. (2013). Mental health action care plan 2013-2030. https://www.who.int/mental_health/action_plan_2013/en/
World Health Organization. (2020). Helping children cope with stress during the 2019 n-CoV outbreak. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/helping-children-cope-with-stress-print.pdf?sfvrsn=f3a063ff_2
World Health Organization, & United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2021). Making every school a health-promoting school: global standards and indicators. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/341907/9789240025059-eng.pdf
Yang, D., Tu, C.-C., & Dai, X. (2020). The effect of the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic on college students in Wuhan. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(S1), S6-S14. http://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000930
Yeasmin, S., Banik, R., Hossain, S., Hossain, M. N., Mahumud, R., Salma, N., & Hossain, M. M. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study. Children and Youth Services Review, 117, Article 105277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105277
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Yuan, Y. (2021). Mindfulness training on the resilience of adolescents under the COVID-19 epidemic: A latent growth curve analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 172, Article 110560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110560
YouthInsight. (2020, March 23). COVID-19 (coronavirus): Youth understanding and sentiment. https://youthinsight.com.au/news/covid-19-coronavirus-youth-understanding-and-sentiment/#iLightbox [gallery13383]/0
Zhou, S.-J., Zhang, L.-G., Wang, L.-L., Guo, Z.-C., Wang, J.-Q., Chen, J.-C., Liu, M., Chen, X., & Chen, J.-X. (2020). Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychological health problems in Chinese adolescents during the outbreak of COVID-19. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(6), 749-758. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01541-4
- Abstract Viewed : 3372 times
- PDF Downloaded : 1462 times
Download Statastics
- Google Plus
IMAGES
VIDEO