Positive Psychology and Appreciative Inquiry in Higher Education E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: J-B SS Single Issue Student Services
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 195

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Given the shared interest between higher education and positivepsychology in developing healthy and productive human beings, thisissue explores how this new subdiscipline of psychology cancontribute to the mission of higher education. It presents avariety of strategies for bolstering student learning anddevelopment. The authors also draw from appreciative inquiry, which, likepositive psychology, is based on studying strengths, but focuses onorganizational rather than individual performance. During a time ofdaunting challenges, positive psychology and appreciative inquirycan help to leverage higher education's many assets tooptimize the potential of students, faculty, and staff. This is the 143rd volume of this Jossey-Bass highereducation quarterly series. An indispensable resource for vicepresidents of student affairs, deans of students, studentcounselors, and other student services professionals, NewDirections for Student Services offers guidelines andprograms for aiding students in their total development: emotional,social, physical, and intellectual.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title page

Copyright page

Editors' Notes

Chapter 1: Appreciative Education

What Is Appreciative Education?

Appreciative Education: Ideas for Innovative Practices

Conclusion

Chapter 2: Cultivating Change Using Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry

Key Principles of AI

Planning and Organization

AI Resources

In Short

Examples of AI in Student Affairs

Conclusion

RESOURCES

Chapter 3: Promoting Positive Leadership

Janice's Concern

Positive Organizational Scholarship

Leadership Models

Abundance and the Upward Spiral

Conclusion

Chapter 4: Thriving in College

Thriving as an Integrative View of Student Success

Pathways to Thriving: One Size Does Not Fit All

Creating a Sense of Community on Campus: The Foundation for Thriving

Chapter 5: Fostering Student Engagement by Cultivating Curiosity

Curiosity as the Foundation for Student Engagement

Emerging Research on Curiosity in High-Achieving College Students

The Study of High-Achieving College Students

The Bifurcation of Exploration: Mastery Versus Performance

Practical Suggestions for Enhancing Curiosity Through Student Affairs Practice

Conclusion

Chapter 6: Appreciative Inquiry in Teaching and Learning

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry in the Classroom

Appreciative Inquiry Beyond the Classroom

Conclusion

Chapter 7: Promoting Social Justice Through Appreciative Community Service

Asset Mapping

Appreciative Education in Service: A Model for Practice

Conclusion

Chapter 8: Resources and Readings in Positive Psychology

Introductory Texts

Positive Emotional Experience

Strengths and Engagement

Coaching and Activities

Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Organizations

Appreciative Social Justice

Journals

Index

Positive Psychology and Appreciative Inquiry in Higher Education

Peter C. Mather, Eileen Hulme (eds.)

New Directions for Student Services, no. 143

Elizabeth J. Whitt, Editor-in-Chief

John H. Schuh, Associate Editor

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New Directions for Student Services (ISSN 0164-7970, e-ISSN 1536-0695) is part of The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series and is published quarterly by Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company, at Jossey-Bass, One Montgomery Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA 94104-4594. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New Directions for Student Services, Jossey-Bass, One Montgomery Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA 94104-4594.

New Directions for Student Services is indexed in CIJE: Current Index to Journals in Education (ERIC), Contents Pages in Education (T&F), Current Abstracts (EBSCO), Education Index/Abstracts (H.W. Wilson), Educational Research Abstracts Online (T&F), ERIC Database (Education Resources Information Center), and Higher Education Abstracts (Claremont Graduate University).

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Editors' Notes

Positive psychology has received considerable attention from a variety of professional fields since its inception in the late 1990s. This movement marked a significant shift in the study of psychology from an emphasis on psychological deficits to scientific inquiry focused on aspects of human experiences that make life worth living.

Despite positive psychology's increasing prominence in areas such as business and public health, its influence on higher education has been modest, and is generally limited to the inclusion of “strengths assessment” in academic advising, first-year experience programming, and leadership education. The purpose of this monograph is to extend student affairs professionals' understanding of positive psychology's potential for supporting effective educational practice. The editors and authors of this volume represent practitioners and scholars who have investigated and applied this emerging scholarship to higher education and student affairs.

The connection between higher education and positive psychology is a natural one, as both are concerned with the formation of healthy, productive, and thriving human beings. Student affairs practitioners and scholars have historically sought to cultivate these outcomes through the application of human development theories. While student development theory provides a rich foundation for professional practice, we contend that it is valuable to supplement this theoretical lens with complementary approaches to enrich understanding of educational goals and processes.

Seligman (2002), the founder of the movement, has noted that there are three primary subjects of positive psychology: positive experiences (e.g., emotions), positive traits (e.g., strengths and engagement), and positive institutions. The contributors to this monograph explore all three of these dimensions. In addition, we have included appreciative inquiry (Cooperrider, Whitney, and Stavros, 2003), an organizational development method, as an important facet of positive practice. Although appreciative inquiry was conceived independently of positive psychology, these two areas share the foundational principles of improving practice through focusing on potential and the affirmation of what is working over the condemnation of what is not.

In his recent book, Flourish, Seligman (2011) identified five pillars of positive psychology: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. These pillars denote “outcomes” associated with positive psychology research. As far back as Aristotle, philosophers and educators have examined and lauded the “good life” as a desirable educational outcome. These outcomes, we believe, are consonant with higher education and student affairs' rich history as well. On its face, we believe that many higher education professionals will find resonance with positive psychology–related outcomes such as “optimal functioning” (Ryff and Singer, 2002) and “flourishing” (Keyes and Haidt, 2003; Seligman, 2011).

Positive psychology has been strengthened by its connection to seemingly disparate disciplines. With this in mind, this volume engages theories of leadership and organizational change, evolutionary psychology, and studies of spirituality, among others. We contend that theoretical eclecticism is important to encouraging thriving student affairs practice. Therefore, we are not limiting the monograph to the work of positive psychology or appreciative inquiry, but including other complementary approaches to understanding human and organizational behavior.

Each chapter is designed to introduce central positive psychological constructs, discuss relevant empirical research, and translate key concepts into concrete recommendations for practice. Although the scope of this monograph does not allow for capturing the entire breadth of this evolving discipline, we hope that the following chapters will inspire the reader to explore a new theoretical paradigm that can contribute to flourishing professional practice.

The first chapter of the monograph, authored by Jennifer Bloom, Bryant Hutson, Ye He, and Erin Konkle, presents a framework for organizing positive psychology and appreciative inquiry-inspired educational practice: appreciative education. Bloom and colleagues provide introductory and foundational ideas from positive psychology and appreciative inquiry that are presented with more specific applications in later chapters.

Chapters Two and Three focus on applications of appreciate inquiry (AI) and positive psychology for the development of positive higher education institutions. In Chapter Two, Matthew Fifolt and Lori Lander discuss applications of AI for organizational improvement. They use two case studies to illustrate the antecedents, dynamics, and results of AI interventions. In Chapter Three, Peter Mather and Michael Hess describe a common problem on college campuses, binge drinking, and discuss how positive psychology–inspired leadership practices can result in fresh approaches to dealing with organizational challenges.

Chapters Four and Five delve into recent scholarship on the positive traits of students that result in engaged learning, academic success, and degree completion. In Chapter Four, Laurie Schreiner discusses how to boost the experience of thriving among college students. Curiosity and thriving are two important correlates of student learning, and thus connect positive psychology to this fundamental goal of higher education practice. Chapter Five introduces a nuanced understanding of the character strength of curiosity found in high-achieving college students. Eileen Hulme, Daniel Green, and Kimberly Ladd provide practical suggestions for nurturing this strength for educational success.

Chapters Six and Seven deal with pedagogies growing out of positive psychology and appreciative inquiry scholarship. In Chapter Six, Laura Harrison and Shah Hasan address the use of appreciative approaches in classroom teaching. In Chapter Seven, Peter Mather and Erin Konkle discuss ways in which appreciative understandings of education and community development can inspire new and effective community service practices.

A wealth of positive psychology literature has been published over the last 15 years. In Chapter Eight, we present a variety of resources that can be useful to educators wanting to explore the discipline beyond the contents of this sourcebook. The chapter includes seminal works from positive psychology, appreciative inquiry, and asset-based community, as well as both philosophical and practical resources to aid educators in their journeys to promote thriving students and enriching learning communities.

We hope that higher education faculty and administrators who read this monograph will find inspiration for new approaches to professional practice. We look forward to hearing your stories about how practicing education from an appreciative approach has worked for you.

Peter C. Mather

Eileen Hulme

Editors

References

Cooperrider, D. L., Whitney, D., and Stavros, J. M. Appreciative Inquiry Handbook. Bedford Heights, Ohio: Lakeshore Publishers, 2003.

Keyes, C.L.M., and Haidt, J. Flourishing: Positive Psychology and the Life Well-Lived. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2002.

Ryff, C. D., and Singer, B. “Ironies of the Human Condition: Well-Being and Health on the Way to Mortality.” In L. G. Aspinwall and U.M. Staudinger (eds.), A Psychology of HumanStrengths: Perspectives on an Emerging Field (pp. 271–288). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2002.

Seligman, M.E.P. Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Seligman, M.E.P. Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. New York: Free Press, 2011.

Peter C. Mather is an associate professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs and secretary to the board of trustees at Ohio University.

Eileen Hulme is the executive director of the Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education and a professor in the Department of Doctoral Higher Education at Azusa Pacific University.

1

Appreciative Education

Jennifer L. Bloom, Bryant L. Hutson, Ye He, Erin Konkle

Appreciative education is presented as a framework for leading higher education institutions, delivering truly student-centered services, and guiding higher education professionals' interactions with students.