Roundtable Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Positive Education Program With Teachers And Students In A Multicultural High School (#310)

Dalia Alony 1
  1. Or Yehuda Academic Center, Or Yehuda, ISRAEL, Israel

The Amal High School in Petach Tikva, Israel, is a multicultural low SES public school, accepting students who were rejected by other educational frameworks due to their low achievements, juvenile delinquency, high school dropout, learning disabilities and emotional problems. Over 50% of these students come from families of new immigrants. About five years ago, only 14% of the students passed the matriculation exams. Due to strenuous work by the staff, along with the Positive Psychology Program we implemented in the last years, 55%  students passed the matriculation exams in 2017. We provided a theoretical basis and guided the teachers and the students. We emphasized identifying their strengths and virtues encouraging their use, we reached out for the parents and making them part of the program. We also designed steps to improve the social climate in each class and the whole school, encouraging positive lifestyle and physical exercises, involving each student in a Social Responsibility Program, to cultivate a sense of volunteering and taking responsibility both for themselves and their community. The program has had a tremendous impact showing significant improvement in school climate, higher school grades and emotional well being of students and teachers.