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Cited by 138Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionStudent Stress and CopingValues and Moral Education

SEARCH: A Meta-Framework and Review of the Field of Positive Education

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Waters, L., Loton, D.·2019·International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology
DOI 10.1007/s41042-019-00017-4
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Abstract

This paper presents a data-driven, meta-framework to support evidence-based decisions for researchers and practitioners when designing, investigating and implementing positive education interventions: the SEARCH framework. SEARCH was developed through a two-stage process. Stage one comprised a large-scale bibliometric review and thematic grouping of topics based on natural language processing of over 18,403 positive psychology studies. Stage two involved action-research with ten schools testing the practical validity of the wellbeing themes identified in stage one with educators. The result of these two stages identified six overarching pathways to wellbeing that formed the SEARCH framework: 1) strengths, 2) emotional management, 3) attention and awareness, 4) relationships, 5) coping and 6) habits and goals. The aim of this current review paper was to examine the existing educational and psychology literature for evidence of whether each SEARCH pathway has been found to successfully foster student wellbeing. Seventy five peer-reviewed studies (total student N = 35,888) were reviewed from North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Results demonstrate the value and applicability of the SEARCH framework. The comprehensive review conducted in this paper is then used to discuss current gaps in positive education research as well as present the utility of SEARCH as a framework to support positive education science and practice.

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127 of 127 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • A review of 75 studies of positive education interventions revealed that only 2% used whole-school approaches that sought to improve staff wellbeing.

    “A review of 75 studies of positive education interventions revealed only 2% used whole-school approaches that sought to improve staff wellbeing (Waters & Loton, 2019).”

    From What do we know about interventions to improve educator wellbeing? A systematic literature review (2024) · cites this paper as Waters & Loton, 2019

    Section 3.1 says the review included 75 intervention studies, and section 4.2 says 2% were whole-school initiatives. Section 4.3 recommends whole-school approaches that build staff wellbeing, but does not say the whole-school interventions reviewed sought to improve staff wellbeing. The claim conflates that recommendation with the interventions’ aims. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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  • Positive education interventions rarely focus on improving teacher wellbeing alongside that of students.

    “However, positive education interventions rarely focus on improving teacher wellbeing alongside that of students.”

    From What do we know about interventions to improve educator wellbeing? A systematic literature review (2024) · cites this paper as Waters & Loton, 2019

    The sections on mindfulness and emotional-intelligence interventions report student wellbeing outcomes, but do not assess how often interventions also aim to improve teacher wellbeing. A search for teacher or staff wellbeing alongside student wellbeing found no passage establishing the claimed rarity; the Gaps in Positive Education Research section discusses a different gap. (LLM, conf=0.70)

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Austin, D. B. (2005). The effects of a strengths development intervention program upon the self perception of students' academic abilities (Doctoral dissertation, [Sl: sn]).
  2. Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective wellbeing: Three decades of progress. Psychological bulletin, 125(2), 276.
  3. Fredrickson, B. L., & Branigan, C. A. (2001). Positive emotions. In T. J. Mayne & G. A. Bonnano (Eds.), Emotion: Current issues and future directions (pp. 123-151). New York: Guilford Press.
  4. Kern, M. L., Adler, A., Waters, L. E., & White, M. A. (2015). Measuring whole-school wellbeing in students and staff. In Evidence-based approaches in positive education (pp. 65-91). Springer Netherlands.
  5. Nidich, S. I., & Nidich, R. J. (1989). Increased academic achievement at Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment: A replication study. Education, 109(3), 302-304.
  6. Waters, L. (2017) Progressing Positive Education and creating Visible Wellbeing. In S. Donaldson & M. Rao (Eds.). Scientific Advances in Positive Psychology. (Chapter 9; pp. 229-256). Praeger Publishing.
  7. White, M., & Waters, L. (2014). The Good School: a case study of the use of Christopher Peterson's work to adopt a strengths-based approach in the classroom, chapel and sporting fields. Journal of Positive Psychology (on-line).

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Authors
Waters, L., & Loton, D.
Affiliations
The University of Melbourne (AU)
Corresponding author
Waters, L.
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-07-26
Volume
4
Issue
1-2
Pages
1-46
ISSN
  • 2364-5040 (ISSN-L)
  • 2364-5059
DOI
10.1007/s41042-019-00017-4
OpenAlex
W2966074448
Cited by
138
References
127
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 15
FWCI
17.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Victoria University Research Repository (Victoria University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
  • Social Sciences › Education › Values and Moral Education
Keywords
positive education, search framework, student well-being, positive psychology interventions, strength, emotional management, attention and awareness, relationships, coping, meta-framework, evidence-based decision making, school-based intervention

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