Scholarly Explanation: Positive Psychology

Positive psychology is a relatively new concept to the field of

psychology with the aim of taking the solution to a problem one step

further from “focusing on what is clinically wrong to include the

promotion of wellbeing and the creation of a satisfying life” (Black

Dog Institute). At an individual level, positive psychology “is about

positive individual traits such as love and interpersonal skills”

(Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi 2000). At a group level, it is more

focused on “institutions that move individuals towards better

citizenship” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi 2000) which is why

schools and day-care centres are so important. Positive

reinforcement is an essential tool for early childhood teachers and

includes (Waller et al., 2012):

 Positive verbal such as praise

 Positive physical such as hugging

 Verbal suggestions and prompts for positive activities

 Positive structure such as guidance of behaviour

By focusing on the positive rather than the negative students will feel

a lot more secure which will then allow them to learn and develop. It

is important for teachers to be positive which in turn will create a

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more engaging classroom climate. Students also need to engage in

emotional education.

Having a positive classroom climate is essential when engaging

students in learning. However, it also plays a role in “the personal

development and well-being of teachers and learners” (Gabryś-

Barker & Gałajda 2016). One of the most “crucial factors influencing

classroom climate is the teachers attitude towards the learners and

towards their job” (Gabryś-Barker & Gałajda 2016). Teachers will

have bad days like everyone else but it is important for them to build

on their positive qualities. This will help to create a positive

environment at school and model a positive outlook for students.

Emotional education is a program that has come about due to the

new focus on positive psychology. It aims to help kids “develop key

life skills that will enable them to achieve greater well-being” (Alzina

& Paniello 2017). The program will help students to “identify their

signature character strengths and to increase the use of these

strengths in day to day life” (Seligman et al. 2009). Some students

will come into classrooms having attachment and/or temperament

issues and they need to be taught how to manage these through

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emotional education. The Happy Classroom Program was created by

the SATI Team. The program has “two central pillars which have

been drawn from positive psychology” (Alzina & Paniello 2017):

1. Mindfulness

2. Education in the 24 personal strengths

By focusing on these pillars SATI wants to ensure students are more

“independent, more able to navigate the world around them, and are

therefore ultimately happier” (Alzina & Paniello 2017). Implementing

emotional education into schools will help students to “feel valued

regardless of their presenting behaviours and are encouraged to

learn and listen to themselves” (Brunzell et al. 2015) rather than their

peers. Implementing a program that has a soul focus on educating

students on how to be happy with themselves and to use their traits

to the best of their ability will have a profound impact on kids later on

in life.

Positive psychology has a massive impact on our teachers and

students alike. Although this field is relatively new, in early childhood

education, teachers need to focus on emotional education to give all

students the chance to be happy within themselves.

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References

Black Dog Institute. 2017. Positive psychology. Retrieved from

https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/default-
source/factsheets/positivepsychology.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive

psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-
14. 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5

Waller, R., Gardner, F., Hyde, L. W., Shaw, D. S., Dishion, T. J., &
Wilson, M. N. (2012). Do harsh and positive parenting predict
parent reports of deceitful-callous behaviour in early
childhood? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53:9,
946- 953. Doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02550.x

Gabryś-Barker, D., & Gałajda, D. (2016). Positive psychology

perspectives on foreign language learning and teaching.
Cham: Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-32954-3

Alzina, R. B., & Paniello, S. H. (2017). Positive psychology,

emotional education and the happy classroom program.
Psychologist Papers, 38(1), 58-65.
https://doi.org/10.23923/pap.psicol2017.2822

Seligman, M. E. P., Ernest, R. M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins,
M. (2009). Positive education: positive psychology and
classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education 35(3),
293-311. DOI: 10.1080/03054980902934563

Brunzell, T., Stokes, H., & Waters, L. (2015). Trauma-informed

positive education: using positive psychology to
strengthen vulnerable students. California Association of
School Psychologists 20, 63-83. DOI 10.1007/s40688-015-
0070-x

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