Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Values, Virtues, and Human Capabilities

A Positive Perspective on Educational Improvement

  • Chapter
Book cover The Best Available Evidence

  • 375 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, we re-imagine educational improvement and how we might measure schools in ways that encourage and privilege the best of our human experiences in and through the fulfilling work of teaching and learning—the core work of schools. We suggest that the time is right for conceiving of a future education where the primary role of the teacher is to ensure her or his own flourishing as a first step toward ensuring that all members of the learning community may flourish, as well.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Achor, S. (2011). The happiness advantage: The seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance at work. New York, NY: Crown Business.

    Google Scholar 

  • Apple, M. (Ed.). (2010). Global crises, social justice, and education. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, K. (2006). The great transformation: Beginnings of our religious traditions. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, K. (2011). Twelve steps to a compassionate life. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008). Positive organizational behavior: Engaged employees in flourishing organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(2), 147–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Begley, P. T. (Ed.). (1999). Values and educational leadership. Albany, NY: State University of New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Shahar, T. (2008). Happier. Maidenhead, Berkshire, England: McGraw‐Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkowitz, M., & Bier, M. C. (2005). What works in character education: A research-driven guide for educators. Washington, DC: Character Education Partnership. Retrieved from http://www.character.org/resources/ceppublications/

    Google Scholar 

  • Bushe, G. (2007). The appreciative inquiry into learning at the Metropolitan School District: Unleashing a culture of creative engagement. A report prepared for the Metropolitan School District, Toronto, ON.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, K. S., & Caza, A. (2004). Introduction: Contributions to the discipline of positive organizational scholarship. The American Behavioral Scientist, 47(6), 731–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, K. S., Dutton, J. E., & Quinn, R. E. (Eds.). (2003). Positive organizational scholarship. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canadian Index of Well-Being. (n.d). Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/canadian-index-wellbeing/

  • Carr, A. (2004). Positive psychology: The science of happiness and human strengths. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherkowski, S., & Walker, K. (2012, May 26–June 2). Flourishing communities: Advancing a positive framework for school improvement. A paper presented at the 81st Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Waterloo, Guelph, ON.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherkowski, S., & Walker, K. (2013a). Living the flourishing question: Positivity as an orientation for the preparation of teacher candidates. Northwest Journal of Teacher Education, 11(2), 80–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherkowski, S., & Walker, K. (2013b). Schools as sites of human flourishing: Musing on an inquiry into efforts to foster sustainable learning communities. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Foundations, 23(2), 139–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherkowski, S., & Walker, K. (2013c, April 27–May 1). Flourishing leaders: Enriching human capacity development in schools. A paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherkowski, S., & Walker, K. (2014). Flourishing communities: Re-storying educational leadership using a positive research lens. International Journal of Leadership in Education: Theory and Practice, 17(2), 200–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (Ed.). (2001). Caring classrooms/intelligent Schools: The social emotional education of young children (Social and Emotional Learning, 2). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coghlan, A. T., Preskill, H., & Tzavaras Catsambas, T. (2003). An overview of appreciative inquiry in evaluation. New directions for evaluation, 2003(100), 5–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooperrider, D. L. (n.d.). Appreciative inquiry commons. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/

  • Cooperrider, D. L., & Whitney, D. (2001). A positive revolution in change: Appreciative inquiry. Public Administration and Public Policy, 87, 611–630.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York, NY: BasicBooks.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Seligman, M. (2004). Beyond money. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5(1), 1–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drago-Severson, E. (2009). Leading adult learning: Supporting adult development in our schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J. E., & Heaphy, E. (2003). The power of high quality connections. In K. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 263–278). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton J. E., Frost P. J., & Worline, M. C. (2002). Leading in times of trauma. Harvard Business Review, 80, 54–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J. E., Worline, M. C., Frost, P. J., & Lillisu, J. (2006). Explaining compassion organizing. Administrative Science Quarterly, 51(1), 59–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset. The new psychology of success: How we can learn to fulfill our potential. New York, NY: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eaker, R., & Keating, J. (2009). Deeply embedded, fully committed: Leaders transform Washington District into a professional learning community. Journal of Staff Development, 30(5), 50–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elias, M. J., & Arnold, H. (Eds.). (2006). The educator’s guide to emotional intelligence and academic achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. (2008). Promoting positive affect. In M. Eid & R. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 449–468). New York, NY: Guildford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B., Cohn, M., Coffey, K., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1045–1062.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L., & Losada, M. F. (2005). Positive affect and the complex dynamics of human flourishing. American Psychologist, 60(7), 678–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frost, P., Dutton, J., Worline M., & Wilson, A. (2000). Narratives of compassion in organizations. In S. Fineman (Ed.), Emotions in organizations (pp. 25–45). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fullan, M. (2006). Turnaround leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fullan, M., & Hargreaves, A. (2012). Professional capital: Transforming teaching in every school. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gable, S., & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and why) is positive psychology? Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 103–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallup. (n.d.). Gallup. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://www.gallup.com/

  • Greenberg, M. T., Weissberg, R. P., Utne O’Brien, M., Zins, J. E., Fredericks, L., & Resnik, H. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic-learning. American Psychologist, 58, 451–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, W. D. (2004). Moral leadership in schools. Journal of Educational Administration, 42(2), 174–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haybron, D. (2008). Happiness, the self and human flourishing. Utilitas, 20(1), 21–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayward, K., Pannozzo, L., & Colman, R. (2007, August). Developing indicators for the educated populace domain of the Canadian index of wellbeing. A report prepared for the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, Toronto, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgkinson, C. (1991). Educational leadership: The moral art. Albany, NY: SUNY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to child and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79, 491–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanov, J., Maitlis, S., & Worline, M. C. (2004). Compassion in organizational life. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(6), 808–827.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaser, L., & Halbert, J. (2009). Leadership mindsets: Innovation and learning in the transformation of schools. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2009). Immunity to change: How to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and your organization. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C., Fredrickson, B., & Park, N. (2012). Positive psychology and the quality of life. In C. Keyes, B. Fredrickson, & N. Park (Eds.), Handbook of social indicators and quality of life research (pp. 99–112). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kutsyuruba, B., Walker, K., & Noonan, B. (2010). The ecology of trust in the principalship. Journal of Educational Administration and Foundations, 21(1), 23–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutsyuruba, B., Walker, K., & Noonan, B. (2011). Restoring broken trust in the work of school principals. International Studies in Educational Administration, 39(2), 81–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Layard, R (2005). Happiness: Lessons from a new science. London, England: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lencioni, P. (2012). The advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilius, J. M., Worline, M. C., Dutton, J. E., Kanov, J., Maitlis, S., & Frost, P. J. (2011). Understanding compassion capability. Human Relations, 64, 873–899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lillius, J. M., Worline, M. C., Maitlis, S. Kanov, J., Dutton, J. E., & Frost, P. (2008). The contours and consequences of compassion at work. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 29, 193–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luthans, F., & Youseff, C. M. (2007). Positive organizational behavior in the workplace: The impact of hope, optimism and resilience. Journal of management, 33(5), 774–800.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want. New York, NY: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2006). Academic resilience and its psychological and educational correlates: A construct validity approach. Psychology in Schools, 43(3), 267–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003). The motivational sources of creativity as viewed from the paradigm of positive psychology. In A psychology of human strengths: Fundamental questions and future directions for a positive psychology (pp. 257–269). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Noddings, N. (2003). Happiness and education. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Noddings, N. (2005). The challenge to care in schools: An alternative approach to education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noonan, B., Walker, K., & Kutsyuruba, B. (2008). Trust in the contemporary principalship. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 85(2), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. (2011). Creating capabilities: The human development approach. Cambridge, MA: Belknap.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • People for Education. (2013). Broader measure of success: Measuring what matters. A report. Retrieved June, 2013, from http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/measuring-what-matters/get-informed

  • Peterson, C., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. (2005). Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction: The full life versus the empty life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6(1), 25–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, R. (1996). Deep change: Discovering the leader within. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, R. (2004). Building the bridge as you walk on it: A guide for leading change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rassmussen, D. (1999). Human flourishing and the appeal to human nature. Social Philosophy and Policy, 16(1), 1–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravitch, D. (2010). The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education. New York, NY: Basic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rifkin, J. (2009). The empathic civilization: The race to global consciousness in a world in crisis. New York, NY: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roeser, R. W., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Jha, A., Cullen, M., Wallace, L., Wilensky, R., … Harrison, J. (2013). Mindfulness training and reductions in teacher stress and burnout: Results from two randomized, waitlist-control field trials. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 787–804. doi:10.1037/a0032093

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheffler, I. (1985). Of human potential: An essay in the philosophy of education. Boston, MA: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M., Ernst, R., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (2009). The idea of justice. London: Allen Lane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sergiovanni, T. J. (1993, April). Organizations or communities? Changing the metaphor changes the theory. A paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shernoff, D., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Schneider, B., & Shernoff, E. S. (2003). Student engagment in high school classrooms from the perspective of flow theory. School Psychology Quarterly, 18(2), 158–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, R. (2010). The leader who had no title: A modern fable on real success in business and in life. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slater, L. (2008). Pathways to building leadership capacity. Educational Management, Administration, and Leadership, 36(1), 55–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starratt, R. J. (2004). Leadership of the contested terrain of education for democracy. Journal of Educational Administration, 42(6), 724–731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starratt, R. J. (2005). Cultivating the moral character of learning and teaching: A neglected dimension of educational leadership. School Leadership and Management, 25(4), 399–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starratt, R. J. (2007). Leading a community of learners: Learning to be moral by engaging the morality of learning. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 35(2), 165–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, J. P., Heaphy, E. D., Carmeli, A., Spreitzer, G. M., & Dutton, J. E. (2013). Relationship quality and virtuousness: Emotional carrying capacity as a source of individual and team resilience, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 49(1), 13–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, F. G., Plaut, V. C., & Sanchez-Burks, J. (2008). Unlocking the benefits of diversity: All-inclusive multiculturalism and positive organizational change, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44, 116–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, K. (2006). Fostering hope: A leader’s first and last task. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(6), 540–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, K., & Atkinson, M. (2010). Warranted hope. In R. Couto (Ed.), Political and civic leadership: A reference handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, K., Noonan, B., & Kutsyuruba, B. (2011). The fragility of trust in the world of school principals. Journal of Educational Administration, 49(5), 471–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, M. (2010). A human development and capabilities ‘prospective analysis’ of global higher education policy. Journal of Education Policy, 25(4), 485–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheatley, M. (2005). Finding our way: Leadership for an uncertain time. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitney, D., & Trosten-Bloom, A. (2010). The power of appreciative inquiry: A practical guide to positive change (2nd ed.). San Francisco: CA: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Youssef, C. M., & Luthans, F. (2013). Positive leadership: Meaning and application across cultures. Organizational Dynamics, 42(3), 198–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zins, J., Weissberg, R., Wang, M., & Walberg, H. J. (Eds.). (2004). Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say? NewYork, NY: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Sabre Cherkowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Keith Walker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Saskatchewan, Canada

    Paul Newton

  2. University of Saskatchewan, Canada

    David Burgess

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Sense Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cherkowski, S., Walker, K. (2016). Values, Virtues, and Human Capabilities. In: Newton, P., Burgess, D. (eds) The Best Available Evidence. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-438-1_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-438-1_5

  • Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6300-438-1

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation