Counsellors' Corner
In their Parent Corner articles this week, each of the Pastoral Guardians has detailed specific activities and initiatives happening in the various year levels, with the focus being holistic education. When considering the principles of ‘holistic education’, the positive psychology concept comes to mind. Positive psychology explores what enables individuals and societies to flourish (Psychology Today, 2021). The founder of positive psychology, Dr Martin Seligman, noted Australian parents most want “happiness, well-being, contentment, satisfaction, health and balance” for their children (Davis, 2017). The concept of positive education in schools is to combine traditional education, solely focussing on academics, with a holistic approach which incorporates other facets of wellbeing.
Positive psychology emphasises affective learning characteristics, rather than solely focusing on academic standards. Affective characteristics include optimism, diligence, and persistence, while cognitive characteristics include curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity (Dr Patty O’Grady, 2021). The purpose of promoting positive psychology is to combine the affective and cognitive characteristics to build inner strength, which leads to success for the individual. The idea is to build intrinsic motivation through personal strengths, which can contribute to extrinsic motivation and effective manage external expectations. Dr Patty O’Grady (2021) notes that “positive psychology is the “moral/academic” code – the affective/cognitive code – the inner strength/external expectation code – the emotional/intellectual code – that has the power to boost motivation”.
You can support your young person by focusing on their strengths and how they can use these to drive motivation and succeed. Encouraging and validating your child is critical in helping them to develop and understand their emotional wellbeing. Be mindful of your own strengths and model how this has driven you to succeed. Broadening your young person’s perspective, promoting their vision, and educating them in resourcefulness and practical skills will benefit them throughout their life. It is an investment in your child to do so.
Ellie Keane and Emma Moore
School Psychologists
References
Davis, P F (2017, February 18). Positive Psychology, Holistic Education, Schools and Student Leaders. Global Guru for Training, Development and Change. https://sites.psu.edu/globalguru/2017/02/18/positive-psychology-holistic-education-schools-and-student-leaders/
O’Grady, P. (2021). Positive Psychology and the Learning Virtues. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/positive-psychology-in-the-classroom/201303/positive-psychology-and-the-learning-virtues
Psychology Today (2021). Positive Psychology. https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/basics/happiness/positive-psychology