Introducing positive psychology: Finding a place within school psychology

Exploring the Impact of Emotional and Cognitive Factors on Anxiety Symptoms of Chinese Adolescents: a Serial Mediation Study

The onset age of anxiety is decreasing worldwide, yet the majority of the study conducted on anxiety were focused on adult populations. This study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of psychological capital and coping style tendency on the relationship between emotional intelligence and anxiety in Chinese adolescents and provide empirical evidence for research and prevention. A cross-sectional study recruited 5747 participants from 5 randomly selected middle schools in the northeast China. Study results showed that high emotional intelligence (P < 0.05), high level of psychological capital (P < 0.05), and positive coping style tendency (P < 0.05) were correlated to lower level of anxiety symptoms in adolescents. Psychological capital and coping style tendency performed partial and serial mediating effect on the relationship between emotional intelligence and anxiety. Teaching adolescents how to regulate emotions can strengthens their positive mentalities, promotes the use of positive coping strategies, and then attenuates the severity of anxiety symptoms in a nonadditive manner.

Tracing the Growth, Gaps, and Characteristics in Positive Education Science: A Long-Term, Large-Scale Review of the Field

This large-scale quantitative review used publication data to track the presence of positive education terms over a 100+ year period across 35 psychology journals and education journals utilizing two analytical methods. First, computer-generated linguistic word count analysis identified that positive education terms have shown small but steady growth in psychology and education research for more than a century. From 1904 to 2016, positive education terms have risen consistently, with increases in 1952, 1982, 2010, and 2014 to over 4, 5, 6, and 7 percent, respectively. Four new terms were present in the top 20 most prevalent terms following the official launch of positive education in 2009: well-being, satisfaction, motivat*, and engag* (note: terms ending with an asterisk are word stems). Three terms also increased in rank order prevalence from 2009 onwards: emotion*; health; and goal*. The second analytical method involved in-depth human coding of a subset of positive education abstracts (n=2,805) by a team of five researchers to identify trends pertaining to how positive education research has been conducted in terms of paradigms, designs, methods, tools, samples, and settings from 1950 to 2016. College students and students in secondary school make up the most common samples, with little research in the early childhood years. Quantitative, cross-sectional studies using self-report surveys have been the most common design and method used over the past six decades, suggesting room for growth in qualitative methods and the need for greater longitudinal and intervention designs. The human coding was also used to classify positive education variables into broader categories of research. Nine categories were identified: positive functioning; well-being; ill-being; strengths; agency; connection and belonging; identity and personality; school climate and outcomes; and demographics. By tracking positive education science over time, the current paper allows researchers to take stock of the field, identify gaps, outline areas of growth, and pursue fruitful topics for future research.

Students' Mental Models of Positive Mood and Self-Regulation in Learning

This study explored first-year students' beliefs about the relevance of positive mood to self-regulation. Students were supplied with the definitions of ten constructs relating broadly to aspects of general health (Physical health), positive mood (Psychological well-being, Emotional response, Hope, Explanatory style, Self-Esteem) and self-regulation (Self-regulation, Self-efficacy, Motivation, Intelligence) and asked to indicate whether they believed a causal relationship to exist between pairs of constructs, and in which direction the causal relationship was perceived. An interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) approach was followed to extract a composite mental model of students' beliefs about positive mood and self-regulation. Findings indicate that students perceive positive mood constructs to be causally related to aspects of self-regulation. A mental model was extracted that depicted students' beliefs about positive mood and self-regulation as a complex system consisting of four interlinked feedback systems, namely Input states, Evaluatory mechanisms, Future perspectives and Active participation. Constructs associated with positive mood (Psychological well-being and Explanatory style) were identified as primary driver and primary outcome respectively.

Situational Analysis

Situational analysis is a framework for professional practice and research in educational psychology. The process is guided by a set of practice principles requiring that psychologists’ work is evidence-based, ecological, collaborative and constructive. The framework is designed to provide direction for psychologists who wish to tailor their fieldwork to the diverse situations in which they work. Situational analysis supports psychologists to recognize and work with diversity in the educational community at individual and systems levels and to undertake research projects. The open and collaborative, rather than prescriptive, consultation process supports the development of unique solutions for particular situations. It checks that interventions are built on the supportive features of referral situations. The framework has two aspects, style, the particular theoretical orientation and structure, the problem-solving method used to track information through from referral to intervention. The framework guides psychologists to focus their projects and determine the salient dimensions of referral situations. It invites them to propose evidence-supported relationships between the dimensions for the purpose of determining the most constructive interventions. Psychologists are encouraged to prepare to use this flexible framework through the acquisition of a broad range of educational, psychological and professional knowledge.

Academic Correlates of Children and Adolescents' Life Satisfaction

Educators and psychologists alike have trumpeted calls for a reduced focus on deficits and pathology and increased attention to strengths and general wellness in all children. Life satisfaction is one of the most well-established indicators of general wellness and, moreover, positive functioning. Most examinations of children's life satisfaction have examined the role of family relations and intrapersonal variables. Studies of life satisfaction in relation to schooling are less prevalent, despite the extraordinary focus on education during this developmental period. Initial studies have examined the extent to which a few categories of school-related factors (school climate, intelligence and ability grouping at school, academic achievement and overall appraisals of one's happiness with school) are correlated with students' life satisfaction. Notably, most empirical examinations have examined one or few school-related factors in isolation. The purpose of the current article is to provide a comprehensive summary of the multiple school-related correlates of life satisfaction through a thorough review of the literature. Implications of the literature base for educators and future research are discussed.

Life Satisfaction and Academic Performance in Early Adolescents: Evidence for Reciprocal Association

Student subjective well-being remains a relatively neglected topic despite its intimate link to positive school outcomes. As academic achievement is a widely used yardstick of student success and school accountability, school-based mental health research and practice have focused primarily on the assessment and treatment of learning and behavioral problems. This short-term longitudinal study sought to establish the role of student subjective well-being, specifically, global life satisfaction (LS), in academic achievement. Based on the engine model of well-being (Jayawickreme, Forgeard, & Seligman, 2012), the study focused on LS as a process variable and academic performance as an outcome variable and vice versa. Using two waves (five months apart) of data, the study examined the reciprocal relations between LS and academic achievement, and how the relations may be shaped by positive and negative affective experiences in school, in a sample of 821 middle school students. Results revealed positive reciprocal causal relations between students' LS and grades, even when demographic covariates, school-based positive and negative affect, and baseline values of the criterion variables were controlled. This study provides empirical support that LS does not undermine academic achievement (or vice versa), but rather it is synergistic with better school grades. Furthermore, the relations between students' LS and grades were not moderated by negative or positive affective experiences in school. These findings suggest that student LS should occupy a more prominent niche in the school agenda.

The upward spiral of adolescents' positive school experiences and happiness: investigating reciprocal effects over time

In line with self-determination theory and Fredrickson's (2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study adopts a positive perspective on students' school experiences and their general psychological functioning. The reciprocal effects of positive school experiences and happiness, a dimension of affective well-being, are examined over the course of an academic year. Data were collected from 215 secondary school students at 5 measurement occasions. The results of longitudinal cross-lagged structural equation modeling support the notion of an upward spiral of positive school experiences and happiness over time. Positive school experiences had a stable lagged effect on happiness, and, in turn, happiness had a lagged effect on future positive school experiences.

Promoting Happiness and Life Satisfaction in School Children

Studies in positive psychology, including happiness, well-being, and life satisfaction, are reviewed. The preponderance of the research literature on the promotion of positive psychology tends to focus on broad social competences. However, there is an emerging body of evidence that supports employing specific techniques that are more amenable to school-based practice, can also promote happiness and life satisfaction in children and adolescents. An exploratory study conducted by McCabe-Fitch (2009) is included that exemplified the use of the specific techniques of the Gratitude Letter and Three Good Things in Life.

A contemporary story of school psychology

A review of recent school psychology publications was conducted to discover the espoused theory of contemporary school psychology, as distinct from school psychology practice. We considered that identification of the espoused theory of school psychology, the story of school psychology, would support professional reflection and the identification of factors that mediate theory and practice. To distinguish the espoused story of school psychology from practice we considered what school psychologists said about professional practice, rather than what they did or said they did. The findings suggested that contemporary school psychology endorses practices that are relevant to and effective in a rapidly changing world. The profession has built on strong foundations to construct models of practice that consider, value, and benefit from the multiplicity of an increasingly globally-connected community. Recurrent themes were identified that, together, formed an espoused story. This story of contemporary school psychology comprised recognition of the interactive context of child development, ecological analysis, multi-systemic approaches to practice, inclusion, and respect for diversity, positive psychology and evidence-based, theoretically driven practice.

Practice enhancement: optimising teaching performance in schools

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that in comparison to performance appraisal, “practice enhancement” is offered as a conceptual tool that can be used to develop strategies for reflecting on, communicating changes in and planning for excellence in teaching practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual notion of practice enhancement is underpinned by assumptions from the discipline of positive psychology and supported by the need for a performance management process targeting teaching practice that considers the contributions made by social learning theory and organisational learning theory. Indicative of a postmodern persuasion, a data “story” from case study research is used to support the applicability of practice enhancement in schools. Actor‐network theory is used to analyse movements in local professional learning preferences and practices in an independent boys' school in Australia.

Findings

The paper finds that applicability and conceptual accuracy of managerial notions such as performance appraisal should be critically considered by educational researchers, policymakers, school leaders and teaching practitioners when developing processes for managing the performance of teachers in schools.

Research implications/limitations

Empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of performance management processes underpinned by the notion of performance enhancement (in schools and other workplace settings) are required.

Practical implications

A conceptual tool for guiding the development of processes and tools for managing teaching excellence is provided.

Originality/value

This paper draws on cross‐disciplinary knowledge and the work of teaching practitioners to provide recommendations for cultivating conditions that enable teaching excellence.