In the midst of already increasing levels of mental illness among young people globally, educators now must also contend with the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research indicates that educators are feeling this pressure and that as many as 75 percent have seen a rise in their anxiety and feelings of struggle since the pandemic began. More alarming still, nearly half of these educators also report a lack of confidence in their ability to care for their own well-being. We need a collective effort to reaffirm and prioritize well-being for both educators and learners around the world if we hope to help both actualize their full potential.
The Shipley School, a Pre-K through Grade 12 independent day school in Pennsylvania, is excited to continue its commitment to this process by offering its second annual Positive Education Conference with experts from around the world, highlighted by a special talk from Dr. Martin Seligman, a pioneer of positive psychology. Dr. Seligman will frame the importance of positive education through a conversation about agency in dealing with depression and the additional challenges we are facing in the new COVID-19 world as well as our potential as fully agentic individuals and communities.
The public is invited to join educators at The Shipley School for this special talk on August 2 and for a week of expert sessions from other global leaders in positive psychology and positive education.
What is Positive Education?
Positive education is the approach to educational practice that promotes students’ character and well-being in addition to academic excellence and achievement. Using data-driven methods backed by the science of positive psychology, the goal of positive education is to increase well-being and cultivate flourishing within the entire school community.
By focusing on strengths and aiming to broaden and build what’s good, positive education is rooted in positive psychology and decisively demonstrates the power of changing perspective. It is a shift in focus as the whole community concentrates on topics such as well-being and life satisfaction, optimism and gratitude, character strengths, and self-efficacy.
In 2017, The Shipley School — where the author of this piece serves as associate director of marketing and communications — became the first positive education school in the United States. With its 126-year history of caring holistically for the development of students and 25 years of an established social, emotional, and ethical development program built into the curriculum, Shipley’s adoption of positive education was a natural progression. The institution-wide shift represents an ongoing effort by administrators, teachers, staff, students, parents, and the Shipley Board of Trustees to provide an excellent education focused on preparing students to flourish and succeed.
The History of Positive Education
In 1998, renowned researcher and University of Pennsylvania Professor Martin Seligman became president of the American Psychological Association. Although his most famous work at that point was for “learned helplessness” and depression, he switched gears to concentrate on how we might make what’s already good even better. Rather than focus on fixing what depletes us, Seligman challenged the scientific community to figure out how to build what’s best in us. He called for positive research that would aid in the establishment of positive institutions — and educational institutions were among the first to adapt.
What Positive Education Teaches Us
Small changes in the way we view our world can have a truly seismic shift in well-being. As Shipley implements positive education, we aren’t just learning about concepts like optimism, resilience, gratitude, and compassion—we’re living them.
Positive psychology is an evidence-based science that looks at what’s working well and asks, “How can we make it better?” That’s exactly what Shipley wants for our students, and it’s how we challenge our students to change the world.
Where Will We Go Next?
Shipley is the pioneer positive education Pre-K through 12 school in North America, patterned after the Geelong Grammar School model in Australia. The fields of positive education; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and environmental sustainability have each established their own tools and techniques for interventions to make the world a better place. At The Shipley School, we have embarked on a new endeavor to bring them together through our definition of educational excellence, which includes student achievement, individual well-being, and collective well-being. We are excited about the ongoing integration of our positive education and diversity and inclusion practices and will look to serve as the model positive institution for other schools who want to change the world for the better.
Learn More at the Second Annual Shipley Positive Education Conference
You can learn more by joining fellow educators and administrators – virtually or in-person – for the only multi-day conference on positive education this summer. Designed for people new to the field and for those looking to take their learning to the next level, conference sessions will be led by some of the world’s foremost experts and practitioners in the field of positive education. The conference has been designed to provide attendees with the knowledge and tools to bring positive education practices into their schools in meaningful and effective ways.
Registration for sessions is available a la carte, with the option to participate in-person for our virtually-led sessions. You can get
more information about the presenters and the schedule or
register to attend.
