Positive education for preschool children : effects of a positive psychology project for preschool children on growth mindset and parents' well-being

Abstract

The topic of students’ positive emotions has been widely discussed these years. This study examined the effect of the implementation of the Po Leung Kuk Positive Education Project for preschool students on growth mindset as well as the well-being of parents from ten Po Leung Kuk Kindergartens in Hong Kong. A total of 330 K2 students (mean age = 5.0, SD = 0.36) from ten affiliated kindergartens of Po Leung Kuk in Hong Kong and 293 parents of K2 students were recruited. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in students' growth mindset scores among the one-year participation group, the two-year participation group and the control group. Further investigation revealed that parents’ well-being, named as their resilience, growth-mindset and self-efficacy significantly predicted students’ learning motivation. The study implied that the positive education program acknowledges the important role of parental well-being and the need to support parents alongside students in positive education initiatives.