Revised on 26/4/2019

THE EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Course Outline

Part I

Programme Title : 4-year/ 5-year Full-time Undergraduate programmes

Programme QF Level : 5
Course Title : Positive Education for Well-being in Everyday Life
追求幸福感的正向教育
Course Code : GEK2008
Department : Special Education and Counselling
Credit Points :3
Contact Hours : 39
Pre-requisite(s) : Nil
Medium of Instruction : CMI for Sem I; EMI for Sem II
Course Level :2
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Part II

The University’s Graduate Attributes and seven Generic Intended Learning Outcomes (GILOs)
represent the attributes of ideal EdUHK graduates and their expected qualities respectively.
Learning outcomes work coherently at the University (GILOs), programme (Programme
Intended Learning Outcomes) and course (Course Intended Learning Outcomes) levels to
achieve the goal of nurturing students with important graduate attributes.

In gist, the Graduate Attributes for Undergraduate, Taught Postgraduate and Research
Postgraduate students consist of the following three domains (i.e. in short “PEER & I”):
 Professional Excellence;
 Ethical Responsibility; &
 Innovation.

The descriptors under these three domains are different for the three groups of students in order
to reflect the respective level of Graduate Attributes.

The seven GILOs are:

1. Problem Solving Skills
2. Critical Thinking Skills
3. Creative Thinking Skills
4a. Oral Communication Skills
4b. Written Communication Skills
5. Social Interaction Skills
6. Ethical Decision Making
7. Global Perspectives

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1. Course Synopsis
This course examines the use of positive education for the promotion of individuals’
psychological well-being and its application in everyday life. Positive education brings in the
science of positive psychology that emphasizes individual strengths and personal motivation
to promote learning. It introduces concepts and fundamental principles of positive education
and factors that facilitate optimal human functioning, and puts an emphasis on the use of
evidence-based approaches for the study of positive education. Its key dimensions will be
introduced, such as character strengths, positive emotion, positive characters and positive
relationships, aimed at developing and strengthening individuals’ well-being and optimal
functioning in various aspects of everyday life, such as academic, family and career. This
course employs an interactive and experiential approach to learning, with the inclusion of
community engagement and partnership with various organizations, including partner schools,
NGOs, and government departments (like Wetland Park, Fishery and Agriculture Department,
Countryside Parks, and so forth) in the process of learning.

2. Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
CILO1 Understand key concepts and theories of positive education and its key
dimensions;
CILO2 Gain psychological and everyday-life experience of positive education;
CILO3 Utilize skills and strategies learnt to maintain and enhance individuals’
psychological well-being and optimal functioning in relation to the key
dimensions of positive education;
CILO4 Develop an individual’s integrated model of positive education and an action
plan of everyday life project for positive education.
CILO5 Practicing positive education through community engagement.

3. Content, CILOs and Teaching & Learning Activities

Course Content CILOs Suggested Teaching
& Learning
Activities
Introduction to Positive Education CILO1 Lectures, tutorials,
 Understanding concepts and theories of positive videos, case analysis
psychology and positive education. and discussion
 Connecting positive education to psychological
well-being and optimal human functioning.
 Examining positive education in various aspects of
everyday life, such as academic, family and career.
 Positive education in local and international
contexts
Models of Psychological Well-Being and Key CILO2,3 Self-test inventory,
Dimension of Positive Education in Everyday Life tutorials, discussion,
 Models and approaches of positive psychological reflection paper
well-being. writing, role plays,
 Key dimensions of positive education workshops, field
- Character strengths (e.g., creativity, visits, skills
perseverance, kindness, forgiveness, modesty, demonstration
gratitude)

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- Positive emotions (e.g., joy, optimism, empathy,

hope)
- Positive relationship (e.g., other-oriented
strengths, intimacy, communication strategies)
- Meaning (e.g., life goals setting, self-
transcendence).
Enhancing Experiential Learning in Positive CILO1,2,4,5 Presentation, creative
Education project, discussion
 Engaging in experiential everyday-life activities and field practices
in relation to character strengths and positive
emotions: Students choose two of the following
activities to participate (i.e., mindfulness trainings,
adventure-based activities, life journey activities,
etc).
 Engaging in experiential everyday-life activities
in relation to positive relationship and meaning:
Facilitated by field instructors, students join
positive education programs in an organization
(e.g., partner schools, NGOs, etc) to experience
relating to others and search for meaning.

4. Assessment
Assessment Tasks Weighting CILO
(%)
a. EMI - 3 Hands-on Exercises in the Class (not more than 20% CILO1,2,3
200 English words each) [Total: 600 English words]
CMI -課堂參與和分享
 課堂上或後完成三次中文課堂習作(每次約 350 字) (總共
約 1,050 字)
b. EMI - Reflective Journal of Experiential Positive 40% CILO1,2,4
Education Activities (1200 English words)
 Write a reflection paper on the experiential learning
activities of positive education, in relation to the experiential
activities you participate in the course. Reflection would
include the literature and applications of positive education
in a specific aspect of their everyday life
CMI - 中文反思日誌 (約 2,000 字)
 課堂正向教育活動和日常生活經歷, 定期撰寫反思日誌,
課程完結前整理日誌為文章, 並參考相關參考書藉和文
獻
c. EMI -Action Plan of Everyday-Life Project (Group 40% CILO1,2,3,4
project report) (English 1200 words)
 Students will form a group of 5-6 to set their interested topic (30%整體
and develop an Action-in-Life Project for exploration and 表現;
implementation of Positive Education in everyday life. All 10%個人表
members should consult lecturer at least once. Afterwards, 現)
students would collect information for analysis with support
of reading, literature and interview etc. Student would also do

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the project presentation and sharing with peers at lecture.

CMI - 日常生活行動計劃(小組) (約 2,000 字)
 同學組成五至六人一組，經討論後擬定有興趣的研究方
向，發展正向教育行動計劃, 所有成員約見導師至少一
次，之後進行資料搜集及分析，包括文章閱讀、訪談、資
料分析及整理，然後於課堂與同學分享成果。

5. Required Text(s)
Compton, W. & Hoffman, E. (2013). Positive psychology: The science of happiness and
flourishing (2nd Ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Jacolyn M Norrish (2015). Positive Education: The Geelong Grammar School Journey.
Oxford : Oxford University Press.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize
your Potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: Free Press.
Snyder, C. R. and S. J. Lopez (2nd Eds.) (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Positive
Psychology. Oxford: OUP.
Carr, A. (2014)《正向心理學》 (鄭曉楓, 余芊瑢, 朱惠瓊譯 ). 新北市 : 揚智文化事業股份
有限公司。
Seligman, M. E. P. (2009). 《真實的快樂 : 運用正向心理學在生活中實現個人長處》 (洪
蘭譯 ). 台北市 : 遠流出版事業股份有限公司。
江雪齡著 (2008)《正向心理學 : 生活, 工作和教學的實用》。台北市 : 心理出版社股份有
限公司.
6. Recommended Readings

6.1. Introduction to Positive Psychology and Positive Education

Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American
Psychologist, 55(1), 5-14.
Samuel. M.Y. (Aug 2016). The development of applied positive psychology in Hong Kong:
Achievements and challenges. Invited keynote address at the International Conference of
Applied Psychology. Colombo. Sri Lanka: Colombo Institute of Research & Psychology.
Kern, M., Waters, L., Adler, A., & White, M. (2015). A multifaceted approach to measuring
wellbeing in students: Application of the PERMA framework. Journal of Positive
Psychology, 10, 262-271
Waters, L., Sun, J., Rusk, R., Aarch, A., & Cotton, A. (2017). Positive Education: Visible
wellbeing and the five domains of positive functioning. In M Slade., L Oades., & A
Jarden (Eds). Wellbeing, recovery and mental health.
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.
湯國鈞、姚穎詩、邱敏儀 (2010) 。《喜樂工程》。 香港： 突破出版社。

6.2. Subjective Well-Being; Character Strengths and Virtues

Duan, W. & Ho, Samuel. M.Y. (2017). Does being mindful of your character strengths enhance
psychological wellbeing? A longitudinal mediation analysis. Journal of Happiness
Studies. Advance Online Publication. doi:10.1007/s10902-017-9864-z
Ho, M. Y., Cheung, F. M., & Cheung, S. F. (2010). The role of meaning in life and optimism
in promoting well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(5), 658-663.
DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.01.008

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Martin Seligman (2018): PERMA and the building blocks of well-being, The Journal of
Positive Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466
6.3. Gratitude
Emmons, R. A. and M. E. McCullough (Eds.) (2004). The psychology of gratitude. New York:
Oxford, University Press.
Lo, Herman, Kwok, Sylvia, Yeung, Jerf, Tam, Cherry. Low, Andrew (2017). The moderating
effects of gratitude on the association between perceived parenting styles and suicidal
ideation. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(6), 1671-1680.

6.4. Mindfulness and Meditation

Kuyken, W., Weare, K., Ukoumunne, O., Vicary, R., Motton, N., Burnett, R., Cullen, C.,
Hennelly, S., & Huppert, F. (2013). Effectiveness of the Mindfulness in Schools Program:
Non-randomized controlled feasibility study. The British Journal of Psychiatry 203(2), 1-6
Parsons, CE; Crane, C ; Parsons, LJ ; Fjorback, LO & Kuyken W.(2017). Home practice in
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: A
systematic review and meta-analysis of participants' mindfulness practice and its
association with outcomes. Behav Res Ther. 2017 Aug;95:29-41. doi:
10.1016/j.brat.2017.05.004. Epub 2017 May 10.
Williams, M. & Penman, D. (2011). Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding
peace in a frantic world. London: Piatkus.
威廉斯‧馬克等 (劉乃誌等譯) (2013)《是情緒糟，不是你很糟：穿透憂鬱的內觀力量》
台北：心靈工坊。
卡巴金‧喬 (Kabat-Zinn)著 (陳德中，溫宗堃譯) (2013)。 《正念減壓初學者手冊（附練習
光）

6.5. Positive Emotions

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The
Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions. American Psychologist: Special Issue,
56, 218-226.http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
Kwok, Sylvia YCL, & Gu, Minmin (2017). The role of emotional competence in the
association between optimism and depression among Chinese Adolescents. Child
Indicators Research, 10(1), 171-185.
Nakamura, J., & Czikszetmihalyi, M. (2014). The concept of flow. In M. Czikszetmihalyi (Ed.)
Flow
Quoidbach, J., Mikolajczak, M., & Gross, J.J. (2015, January 26). Positive interventions: An
emotion regulation perspective. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication.

6.6. Positive States of Mind & Resilience

Kwok, Sylvia YCL, & Gu, Minmin (2017). The role of emotional competence in the
association between optimism and depression among Chinese Adolescents. Child
Indicators Research, 10(1), 171-185.
Seligman, M.E.P., Ernst, R.M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive
education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of
Education (35) 3, 293-311.
Bannink, F. (2015). 《創傷的積極力量 : 正向心理學與焦點解決治療的合作策略》(張美惠
譯)。台北市 : 張老師文化,事業股份有限公司。

6.7. Positive and Healthy Relationship

Sosik, V.S., & Cosley, D. (2014). Leveraging social media content to support engagement in

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positive interventions. Journal of Positive Psychology,(9)5, 428-434.

doi:10.1080.17439760.2014.910826
郭黎玉晶編著 (2012)《正向心理學之積極人生計劃 : 研究報告暨教師實務手冊 》。香
港 : 聖雅各福群會。

6.8. Wisdom & courage; Empathy & egotism

Otake, K., Shimai, S., Tanaka-Matsumi, J., Otsui, K., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2006). Happy
people become happier through kindness: A counting kindnesses intervention. Journal of
Happiness Studies, 7, 361-375.

6.9. Living well & Creating positive environment

Ho, Samuel M.Y. (Jun 2016). The Strategies and Challenges in applying Positive Psychology
to School in Hong Kong. Invited Keynote Address at the New Mission of Positive
Education Conference. Hong Kong. Education University of Hong Kong.
Taylor, R. D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Promoting Positive Youth
Development Through School‐Based Social and Emotional Learning Interventions: A
Meta‐Analysis of Follow‐Up Effects. Child Development, 88(4), 1156-1171. doi:
10.1111/cdev.12864
Waters, L., Sun, J., Rusk, R., Aarch, A., & Cotton, A. (2017). Positive Education: Visible
wellbeing and the five domains of positive functioning. In M Slade., L Oades., & A Jarde
White, G. Slemp, & S. Murray (Eds.), Future Directions in Wellbeing Education,
Organizations and Policy (1st ed., pp. 1-5). Switzerland: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-
319-56889-8
區祥江著 (2009). 《快樂軌迹 : 10 個正向心理學的生活智慧》香港 : 突破出版社。

7. Related Web Resources

Positive Education Centre, University of Pennsylvania https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/
Visible Wellbeing. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.visible wellbeing.org/ Waters, L. (2017).
Visible Wellbeing in Schools: The powerful role of Instructional leadership. Australian
Positive Education Hong Kong https://www.positiveeducation.org.hk/
正向教育研究室 Positive Education Laboratory
http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/ss_posed/content.aspx?lang=en&title=12

8. Related Journals
The International Journal of Wellbeing
Journal of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing
Journal of Happiness Studies
Journal of Positive Psychology
Psychology of Well-Being

9. Academic Honesty
The University adopts a zero tolerance policy to plagiarism. For the University’s policy on
plagiarism, please refer to the Policy on Academic Honesty, Responsibility and Integrity with
Specific Reference to the Avoidance of Plagiarism by Students
(https://www.eduhk.hk/re/modules/downloads/visit.php?cid=9&lid=89). Students should
familiarize themselves with the Policy.

10. Others
Nil