A Review of School-Based Positive Psychology Interventions

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review school-based interventions that have been designed to foster student wellbeing and academic performance by following a positive psychology approach that seeks to cultivate positive emotions, resilience and positive character strengths. Following the calls of the 21st century education movement for schools to incorporate student wellbeing as a focus of learning, the current paper outlines the positive psychology movement and reviews evidence from 12 school-based positive psychology interventions that have been systematically evaluated. The evidence shows that positive psychology programs are significantly related to student wellbeing, relationships and academic performance. The paper makes suggestions for the further development of positive psychology interventions in schools and explores the factors that could allow positive psychology to be extended, and more systematically embedded, into schools.

Keywords:

• Hope
• gratitude
• serenity
• resilience
• character strengths