Promoting wellbeing through positive education: A critical review and proposed social ecological approach

Abstract

Youth wellbeing is a pressing international problem, and it is a key concern of educational institutions, considering the substantial amount of time that youth spend in school. Educators require empirically validated and theoretically sound methods to support students’ wellbeing. This article critically examines the literature on youth wellbeing and interventions in positive education and proposes an innovative, social ecological approach to promoting wellbeing in education. Personal Projects Analysis is a complementary approach addressing several gaps identified in existing interventions (e.g. lack of consideration of ecological and cultural contexts, need for a person-centred approach to support unique goals of diverse students). Implications and applications are discussed to demonstrate how school leadership and educators can apply Personal Projects Analysis to promote the wellbeing of all students.

An Innovative Model of Positive Education with Traditional Chinese Moral Values: An Evaluation of Project Bridge

“…All of the above indicates the project’s positive impact on students’ development of strength of character and morality. The positive outcomes of the project show the importance of contextualization in the implementation of positive education in order to nurture a sense of wellbeing in individuals that is adaptable to the culture of society [ 5 , 6 ]. As a brand-new approach to positive education that includes Chinese values and virtues in the Western-originated positive education framework, Project Bridge may be a cornerstone for the future trend of merging traditional Chinese ethics and virtues into positive education programs.…”

“…To achieve its aims and goals, positive education generally involves certain teaching, practices, and activities. Examples include the development of character strengths (e.g., courage, humanity) [ 6 ] (p. 300); the learning of social and emotional skills to enhance emotional management and relationship-building [ 14 ]; resilience training to enhance students’ ability to cope with stress and solve problems [ 15 ]; and mindfulness training to enhance attention to the present moment, and gain awareness of one’s feelings when overwhelmed by anxiety [ 16 ]. Benefits of positive education include enhanced self-esteem, self-worth, and life satisfaction, and reduced depression and anxiety, which, in turn, enhance academic performance [ 4 ].…”

“…The harmonious development of all the aforementioned facets starts with an emphasis on personal obligations, and then develops through an individual’s interactions with family, nation, and the world [ 7 , 18 ]. Seeing the cultural differences between the Chinese and Western contexts in the conceptualization of wellbeing, it is noted that positive education has to consider cultural differences [ 6 ] (p. 300). As positive education is built upon Western contexts [ 6 ], applying positive education into different countries and districts without contextualization may lead to “underrepresenting the unique experiences of diverse cultural groups” [ 6 ] (p. 302) [ 19 , 20 ].…”

“…Seeing the cultural differences between the Chinese and Western contexts in the conceptualization of wellbeing, it is noted that positive education has to consider cultural differences [ 6 ] (p. 300). As positive education is built upon Western contexts [ 6 ], applying positive education into different countries and districts without contextualization may lead to “underrepresenting the unique experiences of diverse cultural groups” [ 6 ] (p. 302) [ 19 , 20 ]. Thus, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the cultural features of a context prior to the application of positive education programs.…”

“…Despite the benefits of positive education [ 4 ], positive psychology has been criticized “for refusing to take seriously the moral factors that make life worth living for most people” [ 3 ] (p. 87). Its adaptability in different cultural contexts has been questioned [ 5 , 6 ]. For example, some of the character strengths promoted in positive education (e.g., hedonic happiness, self-actualization) are not valued as much in the Chinese context due to the characteristics of the Chinese culture of collectivism, which values relationships and personal obligations [ 7 , 8 ].…”