Positive Education and Christianity
Positive Education is well aligned with the whole-student approach to education at Good Shepherd
Positive Education aims to develop students socially, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually and as such there are many opportunities for Positive Education to overlap and complement Christian education and ministry.
Specifically, Positive Education is consistent with the stated aims of Christian education that seeks to stimulate students' capacity to reflect more deeply on the search for meaning and purpose in their lives. As Positive Psychology does not seek to define what constitutes a meaningful life (focusing more on processes than outcomes), this provides the opportunity to witness to a meaningful life shaped by Christ’s purposes for us as informed by the Bible and the Christian tradition.
Similarly, the language of virtues and 'character strengths' which is central to Positive Education programs, is thoroughly biblical and at home in the Christian tradition. This provides a context for the discussion of Christian virtues in a diverse range of school and life situations, while also bringing the rigor of psychological language to dialogue regarding Christian ministry.