Embedding Well-being into School: A Case Study of Positive Education Before and During COVID-19 Lockdowns

Abstract

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.

Mediating effect of work stress in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and nurses' organizational and professional turnover intentions

“…However, anyone can catch COVID-19, become severely sick at any age, or even die from this disease ( WHO, 2022a ). COVID-19 has rapidly spread through the entire world since first being identified as a pandemic, paralyzing its weak global economies, supply chains, and social life and bringing health systems to the point of collapse due to its rapid spread, high risk of infection, and potential of death ( Arslan & Burke, 2021 ; Broadband Commission, 2020 ; Dirksen & Takahashi, 2020 ; Green, 2022 ; Hu et al, 2022 ; Khemasuwan et al, 2020 ; Waters & Johnstone, 2022 ). The effects of the pandemic have been accompanied by uncertainty as a result of its longevity ( Dirksen & Takahashi, 2020 ).…”

Mediating and moderating effects of cognitive flexibility in the relationship between social media addiction and phubbing

“…There has been an increase in time spent on the Internet because of the increased use of the Internet in social life (Gowda et al, 2020 ; Özaslan et al, 2022 ; Siste et al, 2020 ). Moreover, the increasing use of the Internet in the post-COVID-19 era, which caused a wide range of devastating psychosocial consequences (Albertova & Bolekova, 2022 ; Arslan & Burke, 2021 ; Green, 2022 ; Waters & Johnstone, 2022 ; Yıldırım & Şanlı, 2022 ), and its possible negative consequences have caused immense concerns among people (Arslan et al, 2022 ; Chen et al, 2022 ; Karakose et al, 2022 ; Yıldırım et al, 2022 ). Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter constitute a significant part of this time (Kümpel, 2020 ).…”

Fear of Returning to Face-to-Face Classes in Times of COVID-19: A Cross-Country Comparison

“…In the first wave, 87% of students were affected by school closures worldwide (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2020). Beyond doubt, one of the most significant disruptions for young people has been the sudden move to remote instruction (Waters & Johnstone, 2022), namely the abrupt shift to distance instruction with online learning platforms only, suspension of all face-to-face classes -including labs and internships -in an attempt to ensure continuity of education during the pandemic (Green, 2022).…”