Publications - Book Chapter
This self-studyexamines reciprocal educator-student growth arising from a strengths-based pedagogy grounded in positive psychology as part of an institutional programme within the national Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) Fellowship Programme. Positioning the practitioner-researcher as a participant, the study traced iterative enactment reflection cycles with a cohort of 103 first-year Human Resource Management students, combining structured Gibbs-aligned reflection with Mezirowian criteria for transformative learning. Multiple qualitative artefacts (researcher journals, lesson plans, audio-visual stimulated recall, student reflective logs and essays, field notes, and programme documents) were triangulated and interrogated with critical friends to broaden the interpretive vantage points and enhance rigour. An analytic protocol mapped Gibbs’ reflective micro-stages (description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, action) onto Mezirow’s indicators of transformative learning (disorienting dilemmas, critical reflection, communicative testing, and enacted transformation) to distinguish between instrumental adjustments and perspective change. The findings coalesced into six interrelated themes. Three of these themes are related to educator development: (1) teacher identity and reflective practice; (2) pedagogical innovation, instructional redesign, and (3) leadership, agency, and social justice advocacy. The other three focus on student development: (1) strengths-based self-awareness and agency; (2) collaboration, interpersonal growth, and academic engagement; and (3) resilience and professional readiness. Evidence of mutual reciprocity emerged when teacher interventions generated disorienting experiences for students, prompting critical reflection, which, in turn, prompted the educator to re-examine their practice and sustain change for the benefit of all involved in the learning experience. These implications underscore the value of integrated, reflective frameworks, embedded character-strengths activities, and institutional support for reciprocal, equity-oriented professional development. Recommendations for programme design and future multi-site research are offered to test the transferability of the Reciprocal Growth Model.
Enhancing well-being in youth: Positive psychology interventions for education in Britain
Book ChapterK-A. Allen, M. J. Furlong, D. A. Vella-Brodrick, & S. M. Suldo (Eds.), The handbook of positive psychology in schools: Supporting process and practice (3rd ed.) (pp. 451-465). Taylor and Francis.
(Publication year: 2022)
(Publication year: 2022)
This chapter reviews school-based positive psychology interventions designed to enhance the well-being of children and adolescents. A review of current assessments of the well-being of children and adolescents in the U.K. is presented. Recent findings are summarized and presented with corresponding findings from the well-being literature in this area. The promotion of positive well-being in schools is considered in light of reported levels of well-being and current national strategies. Examples are provided of both single component and multicomponent positive psychology curriculum based interventions at the primary and secondary school level. The chapter concludes with a discussion of considerations for those wishing to implement or develop positive psychological well-being programs in education.
A historical style of art that includes reminders of death, deserves attention from positive psychologists because it hints at a failure in positive psychology. In particular, both the rhetoric and research practices of early positive psychology suggest a narrow vision of the good life. This type of messaging may cause people to crowd out the pursuit of other ideals that research, Aristotelian philosophy, and even historical art suggest as visions of the good life. In contrast, a more complete positive psychology promotes a vision of the good life that includes a broader array of eudaimonic constructs. Even among proponents of a eudaimonic perspective in positive psychology, however, the importance of wisdom and virtue, although supported by research, and central to the historical concept of eudaimonia, are relatively neglected. Throughout his life, Paul Wong has been disseminating messages that could have helped correct such errors.
A central construct within the positive psychology literature is life satisfaction. Whereas adult life satisfaction has been studied extensively, the life satisfaction of children and adolescents has only received attention more recently. This article provides a review of the extant research on youth life satisfaction. Empirical studies (n = 141) on life satis- faction among youth are reviewed. The review details how life satisfaction among youth relates to various other important emotional, social, and behavioural constructs. Evidenced by the review are the conditions that foster positive life satisfaction and the implications of positive life satisfaction among youth. Future directions in life satisfaction research among youth are briefly discussed.