The Institute of Positive Education at Geelong Grammar School has launched its new Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC). Centred on student wellbeing, it has been designed together with developmental psychologists in the field of positive psychology.
A research-based explicit curriculum, the Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum was developed to assist teachers to lead dedicated Positive Education classes, where students can learn the evidence-based wellbeing skills that contribute to living a healthy and fulfilling life.
Aimed at students from Early Learning to Year 12, the Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum offers over 280 developmentally appropriate lesson plans.
The Institute of Positive Education at Geelong Grammar School explains that Positive Education is where the science of wellbeing meets best practice teaching and learning. Through teaching dedicated Positive Education classes, Geelong Grammar School has shown that wellbeing is a vital focus that benefits all students and is just as important as academic learning.
The institute points to research that teaching life skills consistently will increase wellbeing and academic achievement in different social, economic and cultural contexts. The Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum aims to enrich teachers’ foundational understanding of Positive Education so that students can flourish.
The Institute’s purpose is to “place wellbeing at the heart of education.” Its Director, Justin Robinson, believes that it is a shared responsibility to teach these skills and knowledge to young people.
“This is a valuable resource for any school that is interested in increasing the wellbeing of their students,” he said.
“It seems more important than ever to intentionally teach our young people and prioritise wellbeing to ensure each child has the opportunity to explore, understand and practice these skills.”
The Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum provides teachers with engaging information on key wellbeing domains and easy-to-read research summaries that underpin the curriculum.
It also provides teachers with a Developmental Scope and Sequence Framework, glossary of teaching resources, suggested reading lists and printable worksheets/scaffolds.
The curriculum is also mapped to a number of existing frameworks including Social and Emotional Learning outcomes, the International Baccalaureate, the Australian Curriculum and the Early Years Framework.
It is designed to allow teachers to have autonomy and flexibility to best meet their students’ needs. Lessons have been written to be an all-inclusive resource for educators at all levels.
The Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum is already being used by over 100 schools across 21 countries worldwide since its pre-sale period.
It was piloted at Geelong Grammar School and Bacchus Marsh Primary School in Victoria and international partner schools in Hong Kong and Dubai.
“Schools and governments around the world are increasingly recognising the social, emotional, and academic benefits of placing wellbeing science at the heart of education,” said David Bott, Associate Director of the Institute.
“Our recent work supporting schools in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and in our direct support of the UAE government in the Middle East has shown that, whilst our cultures and histories are different, wellbeing is a universal human language. PEEC provides a practical, proven, ready-to-go resource, grounded in science and written by a team with decades of practice wisdom.”
For more information on how to purchase the Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum or to receive a sample, contact institutecurriculum@ggs.vic.edu.au or click here.
