These goals sit alongside a growing body of ambitions
that aim to positively impact the entirety of our young people. These ambitions
may appear overzealous but their reality is achievable and in order to attain
these goals, there’s a concerted effort required from those involved in the
learning of our young people. One of the goals at the forefront of education is
wellbeing which has seen a rise in positive psychology (dubbed positive
education within our sector) initiatives and ideas.
The current challenge with positive psychology lies
within the complexity of educational settings and the factors that contribute
to its complex nature. It is these factors which may appear to make it
difficult to implement simple interventions. Despite the resonance of this
movement with teachers and professional educators, a subtle misconception that these
ideas will be easily replicated, effective and implemented neatly add
unnecessary frustration to necessary work. It’s important to note that while
change is “often messy and disorganised, with growth in unexpected areas, and
numerous unintentional consequences”, the change is not lessened in its
impact or need, especially change which is attempting to improve the wellness
of our tamariki. The importance and benefit of wellbeing juxtaposed
with the complexity of implementation begs the question: “what contributes to
this complexity?”
In their article ‘Positive Education: Learning and
Teaching for Wellbeing and Academic Mastery’, Matthew White and Margaret L.
Kern, suggest that “rhetoric can run ahead of the science” with numerous
programs offering silver bullets which lead to confusion around which programs
should be selected. White and Kern note that “activity is not the same as
impact” so it’s important when identifying and selecting initiatives that
they’re not only supported by evidence but their application, and the effort
required by educators is considered so that they can be rolled out in the most
efficient and practical way.
While empiricism and practicality are worthy of
mentioning, one of the biggest determinants to success are which pathway the
initiative falls within i.e. taught culture and caught culture. The taught culture is purposeful and
planned and could involve clear goals outlined in their documentation or a dedicated
team of teachers who respond and adapt to the needs of the school. The caught
culture “reflects the overall ... feeling or tone of a school”, appearing in
the “language used, how staff and students interact with one another, and
implicit norms of the school.”
Culture, though applicable to the nationality or the ethnicity of an individual can also be quantified as the way in which an
individual makes sense of their experiences and situations. By this definition,
schools have their own cultures and this is either intentionally created or
arises naturally. This culture, whether purposefully crafted or innately found,
can be foundational in the development of a student’s lens, empowering them to
perceive themselves and their world positively, impacting on every facet of an
individual.
In light of this, it’s easy to understand why schools
are seen as one of the first lines of defence against languishing wellness and
highlights the importance of schools selecting initiatives which align with
their naturally caught culture or directly impact their intentionally taught
culture. “Positive education has considerable potential, but must be studied,
applied and managed in a responsible manner.” As you explore what wellness
looks like for your young people and how you can contribute to this, and
whether you should focus more on ideas that fit within your caught or taught
culture, research suggests that both of these have their place, their role and
identifiable pros and cons. However, the greatest path forward involves a
combination of approaches that fit within both pathways.
With this in mind, we see that wellness for each and
every person is ambitious but not out of reach. In this world of wellbeing, I
hope that your endeavours are both purposeful and successful.
