What is "Flourishing" in schools?
Flourishing is a term thrown around a lot and many schools see the massive value in pursuing flourishing for their students. In my quest to find the definition and how and why it should be focussed on in schools, I found this article in the International journal of wellbeing. Rather than put my spin on it, I decided giving you a shortened, slightly modified version of the article to read, was the best option.
An applied framework for Positive Education
by Jacolyn M. Norrish · Paige Williams · Meredith O’Connor Justin Robinson, 2013
The fundamental goal of Positive Education is to promote flourishing or positive mental health within the school community. To achieve this outcome first requires a clear definition of what flourishing is. Exploration of what it means to live a good life is frequently characterised as being consistent with one of two philosophical traditions: the hedonic approach and the eudaimonic approach (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Hedonism is a philosophical school of thought that focuses on feelings and experiences (Keyes & Annas, 2009), and is often associated with the maximisation of pleasure and the minimisation of pain. From this perspective, a good life is one where a person frequently experiences positive emotions, and feelings of happiness and satisfaction. Eudaimonia as a philosophical tradition posits that happiness results from the actualisation of individual potential and from fulfilling one’s daimon or true nature (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Where hedonic approaches focus on how people feel, eudaimonic approaches focus on what people do, how they act, and the choices they make (Keyes & Annas, 2009). From a eudaimonic perspective, being psychologically well involves more than feelings of happiness and entails personal growth, giving to others, and living in accordance with values (Ryff & Singer, 2008).
Flourishing in schools exists on multiple levels. Individual students may be considered to be flourishing when they are happy, thriving in their social relationships, achieving their goals with competence and confidence, and making valued contributions to others. A staff member may be flourishing when he or she experiences positive emotions throughout the day, obtains a deep sense of value from his or her work, and feels like a valued member of the school community. A class may be flourishing when students feel included, where the teacher feels confident and satisfied, and where all members of the class feel engaged and committed to learning. A school community may be flourishing when members of the community feel a deep sense of commitment and belonging to the school and the culture promotes positive emotions, effective learning, and social responsibility. Hence, the goal of promoting flourishing relates to multidimensional outcomes across multiple levels within the school system.
Why Flourishing?
Alongside their homes, schools are one of the most important developmental contexts in students’ lives (Gilman, Huebner, & Furlong, 2009). Evidence suggests that relationships with peers and school staff (Chu, Saucier, & Hafner, 2010; Hawker & Boulton, 2000), and the overall school climate and culture (Way, Reddy, & Rhodes, 2007), are integrally linked with a range of student wellbeing and mental health outcomes. As schools are central to students’ physical and mental health, a whole-school commitment to creating a nourishing environment and cultivating wellbeing is imperative.
A focus on flourishing in schools is particularly important because adolescence is a pivotal stage of development that carries implications for functioning over the life-course. Adolescence is often viewed as a critical stage in the emergence and trajectory of mental illness (Paus, Keshavan, & Giedd, 2008), and rates of mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety, are consistently reported as problematically high (Sawyer et al., 2007). Equally important to the prevention of ill-health is building good health and wellbeing. The inclusion of flourishing as a valued outcome explicitly recognises that mental health is more than the absence of mental illness, and that young people who do not have a diagnosable disorder may nevertheless not be functioning at their optimal level (Suldo, Thalji, & Ferron, 2011). For example, in a large sample of American adolescents, Keyes (2006) found that over half did not meet criteria for flourishing, and rates of flourishing decreased as adolescence progressed.
Cultivating flourishing may also carry benefits for academic skill development. A common assumption is that a focus on wellbeing within education takes time and resources away from academic pursuits. However, there is good evidence to suggest that students who thrive and flourish demonstrate stronger academic performance. Suldo et al. (2011) found that students with higher wellbeing demonstrated the highest grades and lowest rates of school absences one year later. Similarly, Howell (2009) found that students who were flourishing reported superior grades, higher self-control and lower procrastination than students who were moderately mentally healthy or languishing. In addition, there is consistent evidence that positive emotions are associated with broad, creative, and open-minded thinking whereas negative emotions restrict focus and narrow attention (Fredrickson, 2001; Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005). Hence, flourishing is a complementary rather than competing goal with academic development.
I would be very keen to hear any feedback. What do you think? Do we do enough for our students in this area? Should we? Get in touch and get a conversation going.
