Inquiring for wellbeing at universities: An Appreciative Inquiry application into discovering a Wellbeing ecosystem. (#609)
Positive Education has been defined as “education for both traditional skills and happiness” (Seligman et. al, 2009). Therefore, educational institutions such as schools and universities have grown an interest in developing positive strategies aimed not only at increasing students’ happiness, but especially to help them develop skills so they can pursue it on their own. Building in the applied positive education, the concept of a Positive University has emerged (Oades et. al 2011). It requires an expansive understanding beyond traditional, transactional interpretations of the teacher-learner relationship through a systemic level. This includes not only educational aspects merely, but also generating knowledge through research that involves staff and students’ engagement, currently existing organizational climates and culture, and the communities in which the University operates. This presentation aims to describe the journey of “Universidad Siglo 21” (in Argentina), into co-creating, along with the Tecmilenio University (in Mexico), their own Wellbeing ecosystem, as a strategy to develop a framework and a pathway to produce positive interventions within all levels of the organization. To do so, Tecmilenio has performed a consultancy & mentoring process based on the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) principles (Cooperrider, 1990) using AI´s 4-D cycle (Discovery, Dream, Design & Destiny), in addition to design-thinking methodologies. As a result, Universidad Siglo 21 has come up with its own wellbeing ecosystem and a series of concrete strategies and interventions to apply within all levels of the institution on its way to becoming a positive University. This work, intended to help practitioners gain valuable insights for their own use and practice, aims to depict the procedures of an educational mentoring process based upon AI´s four-D cycle carried out within a higher education and professional context.
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