Well-Being at School: Development and Evaluation of the Feasibility of a Positive Psychology Intervention for Native Francophone Students in Two Multicultural Contexts

Abstract

Student motivation and well-being at school are increasingly important issues for all educational systems throughout the world as they contribute to academic success. Attention difficulties, performance anxiety and a low sense of belonging place the issue of well-being as a key factor that can promote learning and optimal student development. In underprivileged and multicultural environments, the focus on these aspects are even more important. This has led to the development of interventions aiming at enhancing kindness, trust and sense of belonging to improve class climate in order to increase motivation and well-being at school. 'Je suis bien à l’école' (I feel good at school) is a positive psychology intervention for elementary school children based on two widely validated positive psychology practices which are highly linked to well-being and positive relationships: gratitude and mindfulness. This chapter will present this program and its feasibility study in two Francophone school contexts based in France and in Singapore. In France, the program was carried out in an underprivileged and multicultural environment, while in Singapore it was tested on a high socio-economic population of mainly French-expatriated pupils. Increases in wellbeing in both contexts were reported after the intervention. The students reported using the practices frequently to calm down or to rest. Furthermore, teachers reported having implemented it with ease in their teaching routine, as it adapts well to their pedagogical needs and constraints. This program is freely accessible for French-speaking schools. Further studies will continue to assess the efficacy of this program using randomized controlled trials. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)