Positive psychology in the elementary classroom: The influence of strengths-based approaches on childrens self-efficacy

Despite the positive psychology movement being relatively young and academic research is still building in this area, there is growing confidence that identifying and developing children’s strengths could have profound long-term learning benefits. The intended outcome of this investigation is to contribute to the knowledge base about learning success when children’s emerging preferences, passions and abilities are recognized and developed. This paper explores the foundations of strengths-based approaches for education and presents the findings of a case study that suggests strengths-based approaches have a positive effect on student self-efficacy.