HOPEs

Happiness, Optimism, Positivity & Ethos in schools

Overview and Objectives

Positive Education (PE) and Character Education (CE) are two current movements in education. School intervention programmes based on PE and CE have proven to be beneficial for students, teachers, and schools in terms of both achievement and wellbeing. However, the majority of teachers and schools in Europe are not familiar with the principles and methods of the two approaches.

The HOPEs Project, suggests that schools should not only focus on academic achievement but should also care for children’s well-being, ethos, and happiness. Research findings suggest that educators undergoing a PE intervention have fewer negative emotions, reduced feelings of depression, and an increase in positive states of mind (Kemeny et al, 2012). Some teachers report that they are more capable of managing their classrooms and maintaining supportive relationships with students after completing a PE training programme.

The aim of HOPEs was to apply the principles, methods, and techniques of PE and CE in school settings across Europe. This was achieved by developing an innovative educational package with the active participation and dedication of 8 strong organisations in 6 participating countries.

The project’s objectives were:

To develop, test and publish an innovative educational programme on PE and CE;
To enrich teachers’ personal and professional development based on 6 modules: self-awareness, character education, positivity, resilience, positive relationships, and happiness;
To familiarise primary school teachers with the principles, methods and techniques of PE and CE so as to create a positive culture in schools;
To create and publish the online HOPEs training programme.

Activities/Outputs

An innovative educational programme was developed during the two years of the project’s implementation that is based on the theoretical framework of positive psychology and character education. HOPEs aims at improving primary school teachers’ knowledge and skills by using innovative and learner–centred educational approaches that focus on students’ character development and well-being. More specifically, a training package was developed for primary school students that entails the following: positive emotions, character strengths and values, positive purpose, positive coping and positive connections.

Impact

Teachers’ training on HOPEs training programme is expected to increase their job satisfaction, self-esteem, resilience and happiness levels, contribute to their self-regulation ability, increase their engagement level and to positively influence their schools (students and other faculty members) and communities. Thus, schools and communities are expected to become more solution-orientated rather than focusing on problems. Development of positive culture in schools might contribute to the wellbeing levels and prevention of behavioural problems in students. Students will be provided with tools to help them become aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and to increase their self-esteem. Finally, it is expected that students will become better able to handle stress, develop critical-thinking and decision-making skills to make responsible decisions based on universal values such as responsibility and respect.

Partners

The multidisciplinary project team is drawn from six different European countries and includes Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (Cyprus), ICEP Europe (Ireland), Institute of Development Ltd. (Cyprus), Panteion University (Greece), Positive Psychology Training Ltd. (UK), GrantXpert Consulting Ltd. (Cyprus), University of Malta (Malta), and ISPA (Portugal).