Selegman is the author of a number of self-help books that explores what it means for a person to flourish. Within the positive education model flourishing is defined as 'feeling good and doing good' - 'feeling good' is a life lived on positive emotions and engaging experiences; 'doing good'  represents functioning effectively, being connected, overcoming challenges and contributing meaningfully to others. Selegman says that human flourishing consists in the presence of the following six domains, crucial for lasting well-being. They are summarised in the acronym PERMAH.

Activity: PERMAH

As you read the following aspects of social and emotional well-being, as defined by PERMAH, consider (a) what each domain | aspect looks like in practice, and (b) which domain | aspect present you with the greatest challenge for your students.

P = Positive Emotion: Having a right balance of heartfelt positivity to build our resilience. This is the ability to focus on positive emotions, in being optimistic about life. This positive view of life has an impact on your relationships, your work and on your ability to be creative and take opportunities. The opposite is focusing on the lows in life which increases a person’s chances of becoming depressed. There are two aspects to this: pleasure (satisfying bodily needs e.g. food and drink) and enjoyment (creative stimulation). When a person enjoys what they are doing they are more likely to be resilient when things go wrong and find creative solutions to problems.

E = Engagement: The regular development of our strengths - those things that we are good at and we enjoy doing. This is when time stops for you, when you are ‘in flow’ and when you use your signature strengths. Signature strengths are your moral strengths (gratitude, kindness, sense of humour etc.) – they are not talents. ‘Flow’ can occur both within and outside the classroom when a persons’ highest strengths match the challenges they face. Engagement is important for all of us because to flourish we all need to be absorbed by something, whether it be dancing, playing football or working on a project. Being engaged to the extent that we are ‘in flow’ stretches our skills and our intelligence.

R = Relationships: The creation of authentic and energising relationships. Relationships and social connections are one of the most important aspects of life. We are social animals that we thrive on connection with other people. It is important to build positive relationships with parents, siblings and friends. Having good relationships is a skill which we can teach to our students.

M = Meaning: A sense of being connected to something bigger than ourselves. Human beings instinctively search for meaning. Victor Frankl was a concentration camp prisoner in the Second World War. In his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ he said that “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.” Such meaning gives people a reason for their life and that there is a greater purpose in life.

A = Accomplishments: The self-belief and ability to accomplish goals. It is important for people to have goals and ambition in life since these help us push ourselves and to flourish. Self-discipline and grit (persistence) are statistically more important a measure for succeeding at our accomplishments than IQ.

H = Health

Capture the argument:

It is important to be able to justify why it is important to develop the skills involved in wellbeing, especially whenit is sometimes argued that the academic curriculum is already too full to allow for anything else.

Try writing your Elevator Pitch justifying the importance of social and emotional skills (developing the approaches to learning). You may like to read some of the research into the impact of developing social and emotional learning skills which can be found HERE.

Harvard, The Human Flourishing Program

International Positive Education Network: access to many resources.

GiveThx is a digital program and research-validated curriculum that strengthens student wellbeing & social-emotional skills through gratitude.

Edutopia's resource library on social and emotional well-being can be found HERE.

CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning website can be found HERE. They identify five core competencies which can be found HERE. A summary of the impact of developing social and emotional learning skills can be found HERE.

IB and ‘Character’ education 

When discussing Character Strengths' also look at the work of the Character Lab: Character Lab

A good introduction to Character Strengths can be found HERE.