Poster Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Inspiring Visual Art with Positive Education  (#674)

Amanda Marshall 1 2
  1. Arts , St John Paul II College, Canberra , ACT , Australia
  2. Australian Catholic University, Ngunnawal, ACT, Australia

When considering integration of Positive Psychology practices in schools time constraints of the school curriculum need consideration. This presentation will present the factors which highlight Visual Arts as an ideal subject to integrate teaching of positive psychology practices.Visual arts is a subject all students do at some point in their education, which has the flexibility to authentically integrate various projects based on concepts of positive psychology including strengths, gratitude and growth mindset. The process of artmaking involves embodied learning and reflection, with a product of externalised visually articulated expression of internalised cognitions. This visual articulation is more accessible for a broader range of learners (with different levels of ability). Such externalised visual representations can serve as visual affirmation of positive traits, and a reference point and springboard for growth oriented and goal-focused discussions. Examples will be shared of visual arts projects integrating positive education principles in a time-efficient, curriculum-relevant manner. Simultaneously these projects enrich the visual arts learning experience. These projects are designed to integrate student reflection on the psychological and emotional content of their artworks.  Evaluation of these projects evidence students’ engagement in reflective processes associated with the growth mindset, character strengths and gratitude.