In many jurisdictions school leaders are being placed under increased accountability and stress, which then affects their ability to address the real issue of education À improving students' learning. Flow Theory, developed by the HungarianÀAmerican psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, has a high degree of relevance to the issue of the way modern school leaders carry out their roles. A purposive sample of school leaders (N = 8) was interviewed about their Flow experiences, in both in-school and out-of-school situations. The nine dimensions of Flow (Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi, 1999) were used as a conceptual guide in the e-interviews. Each of the school leaders gave powerful descriptions of their memorable out-of-school deep-Flow experiences, but their in-school experiences of Flow appeared to have far less impact. The data analysis showed that with this sample of school leaders only four of Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi's nine dimensions of Flow were identifiable in their in-school experiences. The misfit of Csikszentmihalyi's dimensions of Flow is important, and needs re-interrogation in future research. Importantly, the moral dimension of the school leaders' job was identified by the respondents as the most important facilitator of Flow in both public and private schools, and this may provide the key to improved school leader resilience and motivation.
Abstract:In this contribution the authors will explore the relationship between the school learning environment and positive psychological experience and theory. Specific attention will be addressed to flow, classroom experiences and optimal learning environments reported by scholars of education. The research reported in this chapter examined associations between flow and characteristics of both students and learning environments in secondary school classrooms. The theoretical bases of related lines of inquiry in Australia and the USA were derived from flow theory. The research methodology was systematic phenomenology in which targeted empirical questions were answered by the application of empirical tools and statistical analyses. The research shows the importance of positive relationships, intrinsic motivation, emotional support, relational support, positive self-esteem and self-concept for promoting flow and student engagement in the classroom. The application of meta-cognitive strategies such as planning, strategizing, provision of feedback, high expectations and mastery experiences were also revealed as essential facilitators of flow in learning environments.Keywords: Flow; Positive education; Learning environment; High school IntroductionThis chapter presents two empirically validated models incorporating flow theory and classroom learning environment constructs. These models and the methods of confirmation exemplify optimal learning environments characterized by flow experiences. Each operationalizes experiences and respective conducive conditions to enable research and also to inform design of positive change in schooling. The first is the capabilities-expectations model of student engagement in school learning developed in Australia (Cavanagh, Kennish & Sturgess, 2008). The second is the environmental complexity model of optimal learning environments developed in the USA (Shernoff, Tonks, Abdi, & Cavanagh, 2013). The Capabilities-Expectations Model of Student Engagement in School LearningAccording to flow theory, experiencing flow requires a high level of skills and challenge along with a balance between these experiences. The capabilities-expectations
This paper commences with a brief examination of non-metropolitan student engagement and participation in schooling. It then describes how student engagement in classroom learning was conceptualised utilising Flow Theory. The key elements in this conception were subsequently used to construct an interview schedule. The characteristics of the sample of students interviewed are presented and then the data collection procedures are explained. The application of an inductive data analysis technique to these data is explicated. The empirical results are discussed in consideration of the extant literature on student engagement and flow. This study was part of a much larger mixed-methods investigation funded by the Australian Research Council from 2008 to 2011 and concluded in 2012. It was conducted in Western Australian public schools with the support of the, then, Department of Education and Training.
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