VALUES Positive Education Conference
Inspiring presenters and engaged participants were key to the success of the inaugural Positive Education New Zealand conference, held at Christ’s College, in March.
Positive Education brings together the science of wellbeing with best practice teaching to enable individuals, schools and communities to thrive. The conference invited primary, secondary and tertiary educators, and other interested professionals, to focus on how implementing wellbeing programmes in schools – giving students tools to help them manage their lives – can benefit the whole community. “I got sick of being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff,” says John Quinn, College Counsellor and Director of Wellbeing & Positive Education. “If we can teach students about wellbeing, help them understand and manage their emotions, foster and grow positive relationships, find meaning and purpose, we give them the tools to build resilience, grit and optimism, and flourish throughout their lives. “We know 47% of current jobs will not be there in 25 years, so we need to help our boys to become adaptable and resilient, to cope with these changes, to be able to show the skills employers want, such as being able to build relationships.’’ Key speakers included leading educators, psychologists and experts in the field, and breakout sessions gave delegates the opportunity to find out about positive education and wellbeing initiatives already introduced in primary and secondary schools across New Zealand.
John Quinn says the organisers – the 100% Project – plan to make Positive Education New Zealand an annual event. “We want to see positive education embedded in the whole school,’’ says John. “It will be entwined in the language we use and what we value and reward. It isn’t an add-on, but part of everything we do. We know that one in seven New Zealanders experience depression before they are 24 years old and one in four New Zealanders experience anxiety during their lifetime. We want to help our young men avoid this.’’ So what is positive education? John Quinn will lead the three-year implementation programme that will see positive education embedded across programmes both inside and outside the classroom. Positive education is an umbrella term used to describe scientifically validated interventions and programmes for character education and positive psychology that have an impact on student wellbeing. Positive psychology conducts scientific inquiry into the factors that help people, communities and organisations thrive, by building on their strengths and virtues rather than focusing on what is wrong. It is the study of what goes right in life from birth to death and all the stops in between.
Wellbeing is becoming a much more mainstream topic in schools. It is made up of five different elements – positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. It is far more than the absence of illness, or just being okay, it is about people’s lives going well and is a combination of feeling good and functioning effectively. How will positive education work at College? John Quinn is delighted the Executive Principal has seen Positive Education work at his previous school and has clarity of vision about what it will look like at College. “We will have a Centre for Wellbeing & Positive Education which will be a place of training. We want this to be at the forefront of wellness in education – we want to be world leaders. “We are beginning with a focus on the wellbeing of staff, defining wellbeing, what it looks like and identifying what we are already doing well. This will not just be the teaching staff, but all non-teaching staff as well – we also want to understand what life looks like for them. We will think about what the school looks like at its best, noting that it is not necessarily all about change, rather about looking at what is here and how we can build on that. It’s about saying ‘That’s good, now how do we make it better?’ ”
Christ’s College Canterbury
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