Applying learning from positive psychology’s evolution to create flourishing school communities
Written by: Jenny Swift
9 min read
Jenny Swift, Light Up Edu-Leadership, France
Introduction
The evolution of positive psychology highlights the importance of schools going beyond wellbeing curricula that teach children how to practise mindfulness or gratitude, or staff programmes that focus on developing personal wellbeing through managing stress or increasing resilience. It signposts to the need for a more nuanced, multi-layered approach to wellbeing in schools. In order to have a sustainable and meaningful impact on the wellbeing of school communities, any approach should incorporate these individual interventions or curricula alongside a culture and pedagogy purposefully designed with wellbeing in mind.
This article will explore how positive psychology has evolved and highlight some of the key research findings applicable to the curriculum, pedagogy and culture of school wellbeing initiatives.
What is positive psychology and how has it evolved?
In 1998, Martin Seligman promoted the shift in attention of psych
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