1st Edition

Positive Psychology in Higher Education

Edited By Acacia Parks Copyright 2013

    Positive psychology – the scientific study of happiness – is a rapidly burgeoning field, and in no area more so than education. More departments than ever are offering courses in positive psychology, and demand for these courses is consistently high. Graduate programs offering concentrations in positive psychology have appeared at both masters and doctoral level. Educational institutions have expressed interest in using principles of positive psychology to inform institutional structure, faculty development and pedagogy.

    Positive psychology has been taught and applied in higher education for almost as long as it has existed as a field, but there is little in the way of published literature that brings all of these developments together. The chapters in this volume represent the use of positive psychology at all levels of higher education – from institutional practices and curricular development to pedagogy and the teaching of positive psychology content itself. This book provides an in-depth look at this exciting area of applied positive psychology which will be relevant to educators and administrators alike.

    This book is based on a special issue of The Journal of Positive Psychology.

    Preface Acacia C. Parks

    1. Towards the establishment of best practices for applying positive psychology in higher education Acacia C. Parks

    2. Towards a positive university Lindsay G. Oades, Paula Robinson, Suzy Green and Gordon B. Spence

    3. Classroom assessment techniques for promoting more positive experiences in teaching and learning Charles J. Walker

    4. Virtues and character strengths for sustainable faculty development Thomas V. McGovern

    5. Incorporating positive psychology content and applications into various psychology courses Jeana L. Magyar-Moe

    6. Integrating research training and the teaching of positive psychology Chu Kim-Prieto and Carianne D'Oriano

    7. Adolescent popularity: A positive psychology course with a developmental foundation Peter E.L. Marks

    8. Happiness and self-knowledge: A positive psychology and judgement and decision-making hybrid course Jaime L. Kurtz

    9. ‘Learning from success’: A close look at a popular positive psychology course Pninit Russo-Netzer and Tal Ben-Shahar

    10. An experiential approach to teaching positive psychology to undergraduates Robert Biswas-Diener and Lindsey Patterson

    11. Illustrating positive psychology concepts through service learning: Penn teaches resilience Amy Kranzler, Acacia C. Parks and Jane Gillham

    12. Teaching positive psychology using team-based learning Marie D. Thomas and Barbara J. McPherson

    13. Teaching tools for positive psychology: A comparison of available textbooks Grant J. Rich

    14. Insight or data: Using non-scientific sources to teach positive psychology Eranda Jayawickreme and Marie J.C. Forgeard

    15. Broadening perspectives: Strategies to infuse multiculturalism into a positive psychology course Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti

    16. Writing critically about personal growth: A ‘writing in the disciplines’ course on happiness Acacia C. Parks and Valerie Ross

    17. The moral of the story: The importance of applying an ethics lens to the teaching of positive psychology Dianne A. Vella-Brodrick

    Biography

    Acacia C. Parks is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Hiram College, USA. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center, where she began her research program on positive psychological interventions. She is an Associate Editor of The Journal of Positive Psychology, and regularly teaches courses on positive, abnormal and health psychology.