DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Educators, parents and social scientists have recognized a desire to better equip young people with the life skills for success. They are increasingly turning to positive education, which advocates that teaching well-being skills like empathy, open-mindedness, critical thinking, mindfulness and resilience, is crucial to equipping the next generation of global citizens with the skills they will need to thrive. Research has shown that these adaptable, teachable skills enhance academic learning.
The World Positive Education Accelerator: 2nd Festival of Positive Education + Appreciative Inquiry Summit (WPEA) will bring together the inspiration and ideas of more than 1,500 innovators in education, psychology and business to further the impact of the positive education movement. Through a partnership between the International Positive Education Network (IPEN) and Champlain College’s David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry, this global event will build on IPEN’s second Festival of Positive Education with the facilitative methodology of Appreciative Inquiry.
Building on the research of thought leaders like Martin Seligman, Ph.D., and David L. Cooperrider, Ph.D., WPEA aims to change the face of international education by giving students and teachers research-backed strategies that are known to lead to happier, healthier, flourishing people and institutions.
As a life-long researcher and practitioner in the fields of global education and public policy, IPEN’s Executive Director Emily Larson explains, “IPEN’s overall goal is to create paradigm shifts in the education systems from focusing merely on academic achievement to creating a culture of well-being in school systems through the science of well-being.”
Attendees will have the opportunity to turn inspiration into action. Appreciative Inquiry creates real, measurable change through its methodology—bringing a large group of influential people together who touch the system in different ways, assembling inspired teams around multiple initiatives, and encouraging teams to combine their collaborative power and resources to accomplish their goals. In positive education, those initiatives could include developing curriculum and teacher training programs, determining how to best measure and track effectiveness, exploring how to incorporate technology, making the workforce case for positive education, driving policy changes and more.
Visit www.wpea2018.org for a full list of speakers and sessions and to register for the conference.
Photos are available at https://flic.kr/s/aHsm4Z7v5Z