Articles

Based upon a systematic literature review of trauma-aware practice models and of the student wellbeing literature, a new evidence-informed model arose to meet dual-concerns within the classroom for healing and growth: trauma-informed positive education (TIPE), an emerging field championed by Tom Brunzell and Lea Waters.

As the average person spends 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime, this HBR article highlights how it is important to understand how to feel better about the time we spend earning a living. However, those who pursue happiness can end up feeling the opposite, given that happiness (like all emotions) is a fleeting state.

Everyone cares about well-being and a small nudge can lead to a big change. Otto Scharmer, from MIT, studied transformational change management in entrepreneurs and innovators across science, business, and society. He synthesised his years of research into Theory U - a framework for transformation change at personal and organisational level.

SPEN is proud to have participated in the Positive Psychology and Education Roundtable of the 5th World Education Frontiers Forum held in January 2023.

In light of the move towards developing a growth-mindset and learning for life, our work focuses on facilitating meaningful peer feedback as well as self-assessment by encouraging students’ appropriate efforts.

Finding purpose in what they learn, is key to positive education, and students best learn to be confident about the future which can be uncertain, by having the agency to know they can create the future they envision.

Mentally healthy children are more likely to become mentally healthy adults. Hence, we must strengthen the resilience of our children and ensure they have the capacity to adapt well to adversity and bounce back.

As we look forward to a new school year, my heart is filled with both gratitude and wonder, and a strong sense of pride at the many accomplishments and impact our schools are making in our community.

False dichotomies are evident in conversations around happiness and the good life. “Do I want to be an optimist OR a pessimist?”, “Should I focus on my strengths OR weaknesses?”, “Must I pursue happiness for others OR can I pursue happiness for myself?”. To address such questions, one can consider anchoring on key tenets in the Chinese tradition and applying the science of well-being to take pragmatic steps towards flourishing.

In a recent article on resilience written for the National Institute of Education’s journal, Dr Imelda Santos Caleon unpacks the complex concept of resilience and provides an overview of the more than five decades of research on this concept.

There have been several global reports on mental health that we have been made aware of and repercussions of which we are observing in our local contexts, of a radical shift in the psychological state of children, teachers and families.

Many definitions of leadership exist. Most people would agree that leadership involves the process of influencing others to get something done. Leadership ultimately involves human interaction and behaviour. Therefore, an important step in understanding leadership in different contexts is to focus on the drivers of human behaviour.