Positive education

1. Dhanya G.
Research Scholar
School of Pedagogical Sciences
M.G. University
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2. Introduction
 School culture is recognized as the basic
assumptions, norms and values, traditions
and rituals shared by school members
(Maslowski, 2001).
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3. 6/11/2016 3

4. Positive Education
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5. An approach to teaching and learning
Balanced development of intellectual,
emotional and social aspects of
individuals.
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6.  This allows students to experience
harmonious, hipper and healthier feeling
called well being.
 Total wellbeing of the society through
apposite happiness of citizens is the ultimate
aim of positive education.
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7. Need and significance of the study
 In Kerala the suicide rate is so high that it
contributes higher share of total deaths of
young people aged 15 -24 years.
 Depression,
 Anxiety and
 Several forms of maladjustments
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8. Objectives
1.To analyse the potential
influence of positive education on
school culture.
2. To extrapolate existing teaching
learning activities with various
aspects of positive education.
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9. Positive Education and School
Culture
 Reformation in school culture invokes change
in aims, rules, rituals, ceremonials, teaching
learning process, values and norms.
 This can be perceived as gradual process
under four dimensions
(Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010).
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10. Culture
Power
distance
Uncertainty
avoidance
Individualism
Collectivism
Long term
Short term
orientation
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11. Power distance
Power distance is the extent to
which the less powerful members
of institutions and organizations
within a country expect and
accept that power is distributed
unequally.
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12. Democratic environment
Child centred learning
Personal care
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13. Uncertainty avoidance
This means the extent to which the
members of a culture feel threatened by
uncertain or unknown situations and try
to avoid such situations.
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14.  Organisations can reduce the stress of uncertainty
through the implementation of strict rules for
members to follow.
 But this induces rigid structured behavioural
pattern in schools by nullifying opportunity for open
discussions.
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15. Democratic values
Resilience
Advanced ethical perspective
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16. Individualism and collectivism
 Individualistic school culture has adverse influence
on the development of a child as a good citizen.
 Positive emotional school climate based on mutual
respect and cooperation is essential for creating
responsible citizens.
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17.  Complete dependency on collectivism will crush the
individuality of students by imparting poor self reliance
and self preservation.
 In such a situation education should focus on individual
happiness and well being.
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18. Long term and short term
orientation
 Organisations with long-term orientation are
characterised by persistence and ordering relationships
by prominence
 Personal steadiness, stability, respect for tradition and
reciprocation of greetings, favours, and gifts are the
indicators of organisations with short term orientation.
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19. Positive Education to Teach Well Being
 Various well controlled studies shows that skills of resilience,
positive emotion, engagement and meaning can be taught to
schoolchildren (Seligman, 2009).
 Positive education imparts formal training for students to
design their own happiness and wellbeing.
 Motivational classes
 Mental health enhancement services
 Guidance and counselling sessions etc.
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20. Positive interaction
 Mutual respect and sincerity
Teacher-Student
Student-Student
Teacher- Teacher
Teacher- parent
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21. Scheduling pleasurable
circumstances
 Pleasant physical environment has moderate
relation with happiness ( Carr, 2011).
 Strong positive feeling can be created by designing
direct learning experiences in natural environment.
 Diversified opportunities should be provided should
be provided for every student to exhibit their talent
in a competition free environment.
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22. Recognition to resilience factors
Resilience is the process of positive
adaptation while facing stress or
adversity (Luthar et al., 2000).
Selingman documented six resilience
dimensions as wisdom and knowledge,
courage, humanity, justice, temperance
and transcendence.
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23.  Curiosity
 love of learning
 critical thinking
 Bravery
 perseverance
 Integrity
 kindness
 Generosity
 citizenship
 fairness
 Leadership
 self-control
 humility
 Appreciation of beauty,
 hope and spirituality.
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24. Segregation from thinking traps
 Tunnel vision
 Filtering
 Magnification
 Minimisation,
 Labelling
 Fortune telling
 Personalising,
 Externalising,
 Perfectionism
 Arrogance
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25.  Conclusion
 Complexity of the society rise so quickly that schools
need to adopt rigorous measures to authenticate cultural
renovation. Infusion of positive education to academic
programmes invariably results in the refinement of school
culture. Happiness experienced in protective environment
will turn into the foundation for healthy and meaningful
life.
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26. Reference
 Carr, A. Positive psychology the science of happiness and human strength (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
 Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (3rd ed.), USA: McGraw-Hill.
 Luthar, S.S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child
Development, 71, 543-562.
 Maslowski R. (2001) School culture and school performance: An explorative study into the organizational culture of secondary schools
and their effects. (Doctoral thesis, University of Twente, Netherland) . Retrieved from http://doc. utwente.nl/36122/1/t0000012.pdf
 Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press
 Seligman, M. E. P. et al. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions . Oxford Review of Education, 35(3),
293-311.
 Soman C.R. et al (2009). Suicide in south India: A community-based study in Kerala. Indian J Psychiatry, 51, 261–4. doi: 10.4103/0019-
5545.58290
 WHO (2001). The world health report 2001. Mental health: New understanding. New hope. Geneva, World Health Organization.
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