Date of Award

2021

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Awarded

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program

Counselor Education and Supervision

Department

Education

College

Human Sciences and Education

Faculty Advisor

Nelson, Jill

Description

Now, more than ever, teachers are experiencing many daily demands, sometimes with limited resources or support. Teachers and school staff are expected to play a significant role in modeling positive social and emotional behaviors through supportive student relationships, yet those adults may be experiencing distress due to stress or anxiety and are most likely the ones most in need of support (Gordon & Turner, 2011). The People Project is a project that focuses on promoting health through happiness in Cass County of North Dakota and Clay County of Minnesota. The foundation of the People Project is based on the work of Martin Seligman, an American Psychologist known for his work with positive psychology and wellbeing. In his book, Flourish (2011) Seligman wrote about “Wellbeing Theory”. In Flourish, Seligman (2011) breaks down happiness into workable terms such as positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA). Using PERMA as a framework, leaders of the People Project developed practices designed to address the elements of PERMA. The goal of the research was to identify how the simple wellbeing practices of People Project have an impact on work-setting, happiness, and wellbeing for secondary educators. An action-based research project informed by phenomenology was used to explore the research question, how did teachers at the secondary level experience the People Project? Four themes emerged along with several subthemes. The four main themes that emerged were (1) insight into the behaviors of self and others, (2) vulnerability and risk-taking (3) intentionality and (4) culture, along with several subthemes.

Rights

NDSU policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/32520

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