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Abstract

This study was conducted as part of the project Art of Happiness: Positive Thinking in Preschool and Subjective Well-Being Project, a preventive psycho-educational project. The research was planned as an action study, structured with four interrelated studies. The first study was conducted qualitatively with 15 teachers. First, the data regarding the expectations and requirements of teachers were obtained, the evaluation process was conducted, and positive thinking training was tailored for teachers. In the second study, the teacher training process, having been designed in line with the first study was implemented and tested. The study was conducted with a sample group comprising 50 experimental and 50 control groups, while a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group was employed. The third study refers to the planning and designing of the education intended for children in schools for positive thinking and well-being practices. In this context, a focus group discussion was held through the involvement of eight teachers. In the fourth study, the implementation process in schools was evaluated. This study included 80 children aged 5, 40 of whom were in the experimental group and 40 in the control group. The effect of positive thinking education delivered to children was evaluated through the pretest-posttest control group design. Also, the process evaluations of the teachers who educated the children in the experimental group were obtained through interviews. Educational programs for teachers and children were developed and implemented within the scope of the study, and significant findings were obtained for both preschool teachers and children. Besides positive thinking training, research findings indicated that planning the process through the active participation of teachers and their embracing the project contributed significantly to the meaningful learning outcomes.

Keywords

positive thinking resilience preschool children character strengths

Introduction

Individuals’ mindsets shape their perceptions, nature, and feelings about life (Doidge, 2019; Seligman, 2012; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Siegel & Bryson, 2018). Therefore, it can be said that the way one thinks is a factor that changes the quality of their life. Positive emotions balance negative emotions. This balance is the fundamental basis of human beings in terms of their mental health (Tamir & Gutentag, 2017). However, this sensitive mechanism might become dysfunctional when negative emotions are not appropriately balanced (Grandey & Melloy, 2017). This imbalance can lead to maladaptive behaviors. Studies suggest that this paves the way for anxiety and depression (De Berardis et al., 2020; Young et al., 2019). Intense negative thoughts and emotions, and thus an inability to regulate emotions, indicate a higher general risk for all types of psychopathologies (Young et al., 2019). Given that negative thinking is prominent, emotional confusion and the chronicity of this situation may be a risk factor for substance dependence, digital addiction, impulsive risk behaviors (e.g., self-harm), psychologically induced chronic pain conditions, problems in interpersonal relationships, severe stress, and loneliness in the future (Flores-Kanter et al., 2019; Hatkevich et al., 2019; Saberi Zafarghandi et al., 2018; Swee et al., 2020). Implementing preventative strategies to lower the risk of the above conditions is critical for social and mental health in society (Rice, 2015). Here, implementations for cognitive restructuring, preventive education, and early intervention studies appear to be a necessity (De Berardis et al., 2020; Young et al., 2019).

Mindset is closely related to well-being and resilience (psychological resilience-ease of recovery) (Allen, 2008; Duckworth, 2017; Wiking, 2017). Studies confirm that a positive perspective has positive effects on well-being (Fredrickson & Joiner, 2018; Witvliet et al., 2019). In this context, it can be said that positive thinking makes life more favorable and qualified. Furthermore, numerous studies emphasize that one may learn to think positively, look at situations from different perspectives, and build life patterns that allow them to cope with negativity more conveniently (Doidge, 2019; Gür, 2018; Schweizer et al., 2020; Siegel & Bryson, 2018; Young et al., 2019). Viewing events from different perspectives has an impact on thinking and behaviors (Gelperin, 2020; Gür et al., 2017). Based on all the above, educating individuals at an early age about what they can do in this regard is considered to make a meaningful contribution to their well-being.

Importance of Positive Thinking Education in Preschool

Positive thinking refers to a mindset that emphasizes the positive events in life and develops effective strategies for overcoming difficulties. In this respect, studies on developing self-knowledge, empathy, communication skills for teamwork, out-of-the-box thinking skills in terms of contribution/self-realization and raising awareness of community needs, and character strengths that are emphasized by positive psychology are of great importance (Gür et al., 2016, 2021; Seligman, 2012).

Children’s emotions and thoughts influence their brain structure and future behaviors. In children, thoughts and experiences alter the inter-neuron communication in the brain; environmental stimuli and experiences shape the brain, affecting later experiences (Doidge, 2019). Attempting to acquire a new skill can alter hundreds of thousands of connections in the brain, new neurons are connected through learning, and the connections between these neurons are strengthened through repetition (Hebb, 1949), which reveals the significance of early experiences. The brain prefers situations with strong inter-neuron connections over others. Therefore, the brain can feel positive emotions more strongly and think positively (Simpson & Jordan, 2008-Cited by Gür, 2018). If repeated experiences change the brain’s structure (Siegel & Bryson, 2018), it is critical to be aware of the experiences and learning occasions that will occur.

Psychological resilience is considered a behavior that can be learned and improved rather than an individual trait. Therefore, the positive thinking education process delivered to the children will positively support their psychological resilience and well-being (Özbey, 2019). Children whose psychological resilience and social-emotional well-being are fostered get more resilient in the face of adversity, live healthier and longer, and become happier in their relationships, more successful at school and work, and are less likely to be depressed (Özbey, 2019; Panter-Brick & Leckman, 2013; Ruiz-Casares et al., 2014). Besides, people with solid psychological resilience think optimistically and approach problems in a solution-oriented manner (Eskin, 2018). Given that early childhood is a period where habits and experiences take shape, the importance of education for children in the pre-school period becomes clear.

Nikolaou et al. (2021) emphasize the importance of supporting resilience and well-being during the preschool period, highlighting the significance of practices in preschool education environments. The study touches on developing programs to support resilience and well-being in school environments and accordingly includes relevant views of preschool teachers. Research findings put particular emphasis on teacher support for encouraging resilience and well-being in preschool children. Thus, teacher training can be concentrated on well-being and resilience, enabling them to perform higher quality implementations in the class environment. Bouillet et al. (2014) point out that preschool teachers with high resilience and well-being are more aspirant and competent in the programs they implement in their classrooms to foster the resilience and social-emotional well-being of children. Research findings highlight the positive effects of teachers’ resilience and well-being on children’s learning outcomes. Researchers attach immense importance to this aspect when tailoring programs for children in preschool education settings. Siu (2009) notes the necessity of educational practices with positive thinking content to endorse well-being both for teachers and students. Hatzichristou et al. (2021) designed the WeCare program to address the requirement for training programs in supporting psychological resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers carried out in-class practices in line with the training they received. Researchers recommend cooperation with teachers in schools to support students’ psychological resilience as well as their social and emotional well-being. Kim et al. (2020) state that preschool years are substantial for resilience, prosocial behaviors, and emotion regulation in children. Thanks to the mindfulness program implementations they developed in this context, the researchers obtained significant findings regarding children’s resilience and social-emotional well-being. Researchers recommend program implementations that contribute to awareness in school environments to support the resilience and social-emotional well-being of preschool children. Wu et al. (2020) state that despite a strong emphasis in the literature on practices supporting social and emotional well-being in preschool, there are few studies on the success of such programs. Considering it as a requirement, the researchers tested the effectiveness of COPE-Resilience, a program aimed at supporting children socially and emotionally, on children aged 4 and 5. The research findings indicated significant social-emotional gains in children. Hazel (2018) emphasizes the importance of tailoring resilience into teacher training. He states that resilience contributes to cognitive, social, and emotional well-being. Accordingly, he denotes that the Response Ability National Teacher training Project points out significant findings for teachers and students. Based on their research with preschool teachers, Seo and Yuh (2022) suggest that training programs with content that will bolster well-being and resilience will be beneficial for teachers and enable them to deliver higher quality education to their students. Waters (2021) stated that assisting the well-being of students through teacher training is not a novel approach and has been used together with Montessori pedagogy since the early 1900s. Waters developed the Visible Well-being program with the aim to support well-being in teachers and students by establishing good relationships throughout the school. The author argued that the program made significant contributions to the school environment and that positive education and mindset are both relatively new areas of inquiry. Waters (2021) emphasizes that research on the positive pedagogical approach contributes a lot to the literature.

The Present Study

This study was conducted as part of the project Art of Happiness: Positive Thinking in Preschool and Subjective Well-Being Project, a preventive psycho-educational project. The project aimed to provide education to take preventative measures for psychological disorders that may occur in the future. Investing in children means investing in the future. Teacher training, parent awareness through family involvement activities, and supportive educational programs in schools are considered effective studies in this regard (Gür et al., 2017; Gur & Kocak, 2018; Young et al., 2019). Initiating these studies in early childhood education will lead to more effective outcomes. The current study consists of four interconnected sub-studies. It includes a needs assessment for positive thinking education for teachers, a needs assessment for positive thinking education in preschool, the educational process, activity designing, practices with children, and evaluation.

At a meeting, a group of preschool teachers brought up the need for a child education program involving teachers with theme of positive thinking, under the name of “Education during the COVID-19 pandemic.” This was the starting point of the present study. Based on this proposal, we decided to study the scope of this need and held interviews with preschool teachers. Later, further studies were conducted to plan, implement, and evaluate a qualified educational process.

The research was designed as an action study since it includes needs assessment, process planning, implementation, and evaluation stages. Action research is conducted to solve a problem or to get acknowledged and gather information about implementation. Here, educators are likely to take part in data collection and the implementation process based on the data collected (Johnson, 2019). Action research can yield both qualitative and quantitative data (Başarır, 2019). Indeed, like all action research, there is no absolute and invariable process within the stages to be followed. However, since the process in action research is highly variable, tolerant, and flexible, it would be more accurate to consider these stages as a guide for monitoring the proceedings during the research, rather than strictly following the stages of a particular model (Başarır, 2019). In the current study, we first planned the training process to support teacher resilience and well-being as referred in the literature and then the education process for children. Within this context, we collected relevant data on the expectations and requirements of teachers, made evaluations, and based on said requirements, designed the training process for teacher well-being. In the second study, which was planned in line with the first study, the teacher training was implemented and evaluated. The third study was the planning and designing of the education delivered to children for positive thinking and well-being practices in the schools. As for the fourth study, the implementation process in schools was evaluated.

Accordingly, positive thinking training programs for teachers and preschool children were designed and implemented. In this regard, this study may provide insights for future research and programs in the field of positive education for preschool children. However, when it comes to generalizing the results of action research, it should be kept in mind that the findings may not apply to all groups and that data collection is often performed within a particular group (Başarır, 2019).

Creating educational programs for teachers and pre-school children in line with the requirements and evaluating the process make up the primary aim of the current research. This research consists of four inter-related studies. Withing the scope of these studies, we sought answers to the following questions:

What are the expectations and requirements of teachers about positive thinking education?

Does positive thinking education have a significant effect on teachers’ general well-being and resilience?

What do teachers believe should be done as part of positive thinking practices in schools?

Does the Positive Thinking Education Program significantly affect social-emotional well-being and resilience preschool children?

Study 1

Sample and Procedure

Study 1 was structured on the first research question: what are the expectations and needs of teachers about positive thinking education? At a meeting on what can be done during the COVID-19 pandemic, the teachers voiced the pessimistic situation of the society and the need for educational restructuring in schools within the framework of positive thinking. Accordingly, the teacher attendees were asked what should be included in an education for positive thinking that can be integrated into the educational process in schools. To get more comprehensive answers, they were asked other questions: what kind of education do you think it should be and what kind of education is needed? Study 1 was planned as an exploratory case study to support the progressive phases. Face-to-face interviews with 15 teachers were performed in this context, and their responses were solicited using open-ended questions. Each interview lasted approximately 1 hour and audio recordings were made with the participants’ consent. As the research was planned with a qualitative design, the interviews were terminated when the responses began to show similarities and the data reached a certain saturation point (Creswell, 2016). Participant information was kept confidential and coded as T1, T2, etc. in compliance with ethical procedures (Bal, 2016). The answers were confirmed after the participants wrote them down. The coding was done independently by two researchers. Consistency between the two researchers was checked (Bal, 2016) and the coding was found to be consistent. Purposive sampling was used as the sampling method. Preschool teachers with at least 3 years of teaching experience who volunteered to participate in the research were included among those who pointed out the need for positive thinking education during the meeting.

Role of Researchers

The first author conducted the interviews, training, and worked closely with other teachers. As a former preschool teacher who knew the teachers well, the second researcher took part in the research as an assistant, recorded and transcribed the interviews, and received confirmation from the participants.

Data Analysis

The data collected through face-to-face interviews were subjected to content analysis. Examples of expressions related to sub-themes are given in quotation marks.

Table 1 gives the personal details of the teachers who took part in the study.

Table 1.

Themes and Sub-Themes on the Positive Educational Process.

	Gender	Age	Years of experience	Degree
T1.	Female	33	8	Master’s Degree
T2.	Female	30	3	Undergraduate
T3.	Female	38	13	Undergraduate
T4.	Female	45	16	Undergraduate
T5.	Female	43	14	Undergraduate
T6.	Female	39	14	Undergraduate
T7.	Female	42	12	Undergraduate
T8.	Female	49	18	Undergraduate
T9.	Female	34	7	Undergraduate
T10.	Male	32	7	Undergraduate
T11.	Female	29	4	Undergraduate
T12.	Female	31	5	Undergraduate
T13.	Female	29	3	Undergraduate
T14.	Female	38	13	Undergraduate
T15.	Female	41	14	Undergraduate

Results

Table 2 lists the themes and sub-themes that came out of the content analysis.

Table 2.

Themes and Sub-themes on the Positive Educational Process.

Themes	Sub-themes
Teachers’ PersonalCompetencies	Self-development
Teachers’ PersonalCompetencies	Increased Well-being
Teachers’ PracticeCompetencieswith Children	Theoretical Knowledge
	Sample Activities
	Activity Designing—Implementation
Coverage forChildren	Social Communication—Interaction
	Gratitude
	Nature Awareness

The theme of “Personal competencies of teachers” comprised the “Self-development” and “Increasing well-being” sub-themes. The self-development sub-theme refers to the answers given by teachers about what actions they can take to get more qualified. The increased well-being sub-theme, on the other hand, deals with the descriptions that emphasize the importance of supporting teacher well-being, referring to the teacher’s mental health as well as the quality of their interaction with children and that of the educational process at school.

The sub-themes of Theoretical Knowledge, Sample Activities, and Activity Designing-Implementation emerged under the theme of Teachers’ Practice Competencies with Children. Within the scope of the “theoretical knowledge” sub-theme, teachers’ statements on improving themselves in terms of theoretical knowledge were addressed. The “sample activities” sub-theme includes the teachers’ remarks on being provided with samples for the relevant activity. The “activity designing-implementation” sub-theme emphasizes suggestions for practices regarding the education process in schools.

Under the Coverage for Children theme are the sub-themes of Social Communication-Interaction, Gratitude, and Nature Awareness. The social communication-interaction sub-theme emphasizes children’s social communication and interaction needs. The Gratitude sub-theme embodies the expectations from children to appreciate the value of what they possess. The nature awareness sub-theme includes the suggestions concerning children’s being alienated from nature, the need to know nature, realizing that nature supports positive thinking, and being authentic by producing their own toys with materials obtained from nature.

Here are some explanations:

“… We also need to cope with difficulties more easily, increase our psychological resilience, and develop positive thinking skills. The fact that we are now better in this respect and have increased our well-being will also positively affect our educational process with children…” (Increased Well-Being)

“…Theoretically, it should have explanatory content. Then, it should be implemented in schools with children…” (Theoretical Knowledge).

Discussion

This research aimed to obtain data on the expectations and requirements of preschool teachers regarding education on positive thinking. In this context, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 teachers. The data were subjected to content analysis. Research findings emphasize three main points. In this context, first is the emphasis on the need for teacher competencies in resilience and well-being. Second is the development of implementation competencies in schools about the positive thinking training of teachers. The third finding is the opinions about planning in line with the scope for children. All these findings primarily point to the teacher training process and positive thinking education practices in schools through teacher-researcher cooperation. This pattern of results is consistent with the previous literature (Hatzichristou et al., 2021; Nikolau, 2021; Siu, 2009). Based on this, one can state that the programs supporting the resilience and well-being of both teachers and students are those that will be developed in line with the expectations and requirements of teachers. However, it should be kept in mind that the data source of this study is limited to 15 teachers. Also, all but one of the teacher attendees were female, which allows the generalization that preschool teachers are commonly female throughout the country. 94% of preschool teachers in Northern Cyprus are female (MoNEC, 2021). Thus, one can argue that the sample is capable of representing preschool teachers in society. Moreover, the awareness of the teachers on requirements and passing their remarks in line with this awareness is a capital detail in terms of obtaining rich and explanatory data. The data obtained from the study led to creating the Art of Happiness: Positive Thinking and Subjective Well-being Project.

Study 2

Sample and Procedure

Study 2 was designed to evaluate the teacher training process. Announcements of said training were sent to schools by the Ministry of National Education. Teachers who volunteered and applied to attend were included in the training process.

The study included 100 participants, 50 in the experimental group and 50 in the control group. All teachers in both groups volunteered to receive the training.

For the experimental group, the positive thinking education process was conducted with 50 preschool teachers from Northern Cyprus. Teachers who attended all sessions and answered all questions in the scales were included in the experimental study group.

Teachers in the control group attended the training delivered under the Ministry of National Education, which comprised communication and cooperation, conflict resolution strategies, problem-solving, taking initiative, self-direction, and leadership. The experimental group received this set of training, as well as the Positive Thinking training process. The Control group did not take part in the Positive Thinking training process. Table 3 shows the number and gender distribution of teachers in the experimental and control groups.

Table 3.

Distribution of Teachers in the Experimental and Control Group by Gender.

Gender	Experimental		Control		Total
Gender	f	%	f	%	f	%
Female	43	86	44	88	87	87
Male	7	14	6	12	13	13

Materials

General Well-Being Scale Short Form: The General Well-Being Scale was developed by Longo et al. (2017), and its shorter form, which is easier to use, was created by Longo et al. (2018). It is a 5-point Likert-type scale, with answers ranging from “Not at all appropriate” to “Completely appropriate.” It has a single-factor structure and consists of 13 items (Sample scale item: “M13. I feel close and connected to the people around me.”). There is no reverse item on the scale. Kalafatoğlu and Çelik (2020) performed a Validity and Reliability Study by adapting the General Well-Being Scale Short Form into Turkish. The reliability coefficient Cronbach’s alpha was determined to be .90. For this study, the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was .822.

Brief Resilience Scale: It was developed by Smith et al. (2008) as a 5-point Likert-type self-assessment instrument with six items, (Sample scale item: “I tend to bounce back quickly after challenging times”). After the conversion of the reverse-coded items in the scale, high scores indicate high psychological resilience. The internal consistency reliability coefficient was found to vary between .80 and .91. The test-retest reliability coefficient was found to be between .62 and .69. The scale’s Turkish adaptation and validity & reliability tests were conducted by Doğan (2015). Internal consistency, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and criterion-related validity methods were used to examine the scale’s psychometric properties. As a result of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the scale was found to have a single-factor structure. The internal consistency coefficient was reported to be .83. In this study, the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the Brief Psychological Resilience Scale was found to be .908 for the group employed.

Positive Thinking Program for Teachers: Based on the results of Study 1, we initially designed a training process for teachers on “Positive Thinking with Multidimensional Perspectives.” In this context, the content of the training program was designed in accordance with the requirements expressed by the teachers. The opinions of five subject matter experts (SMEs) were obtained for the program and modifications were made according to their suggestions. For the content of the program, the following topics were discussed: the meaning of positive thinking, character strengths in the context of VIA Classification (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), core beliefs, the PERMAH model, breathing exercises, social problem-solving skills, self-regulation and planning, and Thinking with Multidimensional Perspectives. Pursuant to expert suggestions, the “effective and ineffective methods of coping with stress” theme was included in the program. Each week, 3 out of the 24 character strengths were discussed and the other topics were integrated into this framework as subheadings.

The education process took place in eight online sessions, each lasting 2 hours. As schools were closed due to COVID-19, the education sessions were held online. After the theoretical education, a small group work was conducted with the teachers at the end of each session. The implementation studies discussed the dimensions of self-knowledge, knowledge of others, group membership (communication/interaction with the group), awareness of society, and participation/self-realization, which are the elements of Multidimensional Thinking for each character strength. Assessments were made on core beliefs that could be developed individually for each character strength. Using the open-ended questions, teachers took notes about themselves, set goals, planned, and implemented small tasks that they could apply to their lives that week (e.g., think about gratitude, what/who were the things/people that brought you joy the most this week, think about the joy that comes from them being in your life, take notes and thank them for being in your life; for the dimension of self-knowledge: look into your eyes in the mirror and smile every day, etc.). Everyone expressed what they observed in themselves regarding each personality strength and what they could do to improve them. They made plans within the framework of their self-development. Topics like self-regulation skills, stress management techniques, breathing exercises, developmental-limiting questions, evaluating events from different perspectives, and reframing techniques were discussed (reevaluate a problem in a unique way—develop a perspective on gains and contributions, highlight positive situations), and the teachers gave examples from their own lives. They brainstormed about what they could do to improve and made suggestions. They gave descriptions of their observations and what they could do. Before the implementation of the education, the opinions of five experts were obtained on the scope of each session, and the program was implemented according to arrangements made in line with the suggestions.

Data Analysis: The study was conducted with a pretest-posttest control design. The General Well-Being and Brief Resilience Scale was administered to 50 preschool teachers in the experimental group and 50 preschool teachers who were not involved in the educational process. Data were analyzed through independent samples t-test.

Results

Before comparing the results of the Brief Resilience Scale and the General Well-Being Scale, conformity to normal distribution was examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the QQ plot, and the values of skewness and kurtosis, and they were found to follow normal distribution. Table 4 contains information on the normality analyses of the scale data.

Table 4.

Skewness and Kurtosis Values of the Scales.

Scale	Skewness	Kurtosis
General Well-BeingScale (Pretest)	0.04	−0.21
General Well-BeingScale (Posttest)	−0.18	−0.08
Psychological Resilience Scale (Pretest)	−0.21	−0.20
Psychological Resilience Scale (Posttest)	−0.27	−0.88

Seçer (2015) found that evaluating the assumption of normal distribution by looking at the skewness and kurtosis values was a more accurate approach. Tabachnick and Fidell (2013) assume that normal distribution is reached when the values for skewness and kurtosis are between +1.50 and −1.50. As a result of our analyses, we found that the variables were within the specified ranges, there were no extreme values, and they met the hypothesis of normal distribution, so the applicability of the parametric tests was achieved.

Consistent with the pretest scores of our participants, the mean pretest scores for the General Well-Being Scale were calculated as 2.99 for the control group and 3.04 for the experimental group. The result of the independent samples t-test showed no statistically significant difference between those two groups (p < .05). The participants’ mean pretest scores for the Psychological Resilience Scale were calculated as 2.49 for the control group and 2.68 for the experimental group. The result of the independent samples t-test showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p < .05). This context supported the conclusion that the mean scores of the control and experimental groups were not statistically different from each other.

Table 5 depicts the findings on whether the participants’ mean posttest and pretest scores reveal a difference between the control and experimental groups.

Table 5.

The Mean Pretest and Posttest Scores of the Teachers in the Experimental and Control Groups.

Scales	Group	f	$\bar{X}$	SD	t	p
GeneralWell-Being Scale (Posttest/Pretest)	Control	50	0.84	0.65	2.70	.008
GeneralWell-Being Scale (Posttest/Pretest)	Experimental	50	0.42	0.88	2.70	.008
Psychological Resilience Scale (Posttest/Pretest)	Control	50	0.15	0.83	−6.16	.000
Psychological Resilience Scale (Posttest/Pretest)	Experimental	50	0.76	0.64	−6.16	.000

As can be seen in the table, the mean difference between the control and experimental groups in the General Well-Being Scale was 0.84 and 0.42, respectively. The result of the independent samples t-test showed a statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups (t = 2.70, p < .05). This difference was in favor of the participants of the experimental group. The mean difference between the control and experimental groups in the Psychological Resilience Scale was found to be 0.15 and 0.76, respectively. The result of the independent samples t-test showed a statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups (t = −6.16, p < .05). This difference was in favor of the participants of the experimental group.

After 8 weeks, the participants were provided permanence tests to determine the education’s long-term effect. The independent samples t-test revealed that the difference between the experimental and control groups in general well-being and psychological resilience was statistically significant (t = 2.71, p < .05; t = −6.16, p < .05).

Discussion

Study 2 aimed to evaluate the teacher training process. Here, the scale scores of the teachers who received the positive thinking training were compared with those of the teachers in the control group.

According to the study results, the experimental and control groups were similar in general well-being and psychological resilience scores before education. In terms of both general well-being and psychological resilience, the difference between posttest scores was significant in favor of the experimental group. The permanence test also positively highlighted the effect of the education. Based on the results, it can be concluded that positive thinking education supports teachers’ general well-being and resilience. Fernandes et al. (2021) emphasize that teacher training programs within the framework of positive thinking positively affect teacher well-being and resilience. In positive thinking training, the content was associated with daily life; teachers made self-evaluations, set minor goals based on these evaluations, and planned simple duties that they could perform accordingly. Thus, teachers reinforced the knowledge they gained during the learning process by applying them to their daily lives. Winter et al. (2020) revealed that the educational processes in which teachers evaluate themselves, set goals, and get encouraged to take responsibility for their learning positively supported teachers’ well-being and resilience. These findings conform to those of the present research. In this research, a program developed based on the requirements and expectations of teachers is under question. The results strongly imply that the tailored program met teachers’ resilience and wellbeing requirements. However, the research sample was limited to teachers who had the potential to improve themselves by attending the trainings and of which 87% were female. Yet, in many countries, pre-school teachers are by a majority woman (CEIC Data, 2018; Tokić, 2018). Statistics of teachers working in Northern Cyprus indicate that 94% of pre-school teachers are female (MoNEC, 2021). The gender distribution in the sample is consistent with this value. This explains why most pre-school teachers applying for and taking part in the trainings were female. Despite these limitations, the positive thinking program, which is tailored for teachers’ requirements and expectations and through which teachers apply what they have learned in their daily lives, can be stated to have positive feedback for them. The increased well-being and resilience among the teachers also explain their interest and participation throughout the education process. The teachers gladly showed participation and interest, which enhanced their well-being and resilience.

Study 3

Sample and Procedure

Study 3 was conducted to analyze the thoughts and suggestions of teachers about what should be done concerning positive thinking practices in schools. After the teacher training process, a focus group meeting was held with eight teachers who volunteered for the “Education on Positive Thinking in Schools.” During the meeting, the first researcher asked open-ended, unstructured questions during the interview, while the second functioned as a reporter. The interview took 1 hour. After the answers were transcribed, they were confirmed by the participants.

Data Analysis

The data were subjected to content analysis. Coding was performed and reviewed separately by two researchers. As a result, the coding was determined to be consistent. Examples of expressions are given in quotation marks.

Table 6 gives details of the teachers involved in Study 3.

Table 6.

Themes and Sub-themes on the Positive Educational Process.

	Gender	Age	Years of experience	Degree
T1	Female	33	8	Master’s Degree
T2	Female	30	3	Undergraduate
T3	Female	39	14	Undergraduate
T4	Female	42	12	Undergraduate
T5	Male	32	7	Undergraduate
T6	Female	29	4	Undergraduate
T7	Female	29	3	Undergraduate
T8	Female	38	13	Undergraduate

Results

Table 7 lists the themes and sub-themes that emerged from the focus group discussion.

Table 7.

Themes and Sub-themes for Positive Education in Preschool.

Themes	Sub-themes
Remarks and Suggestions on the Theoretical Process	Content
	Planning
	Individual Learning Outcomes
Suggestions for the Activity Designing Process	Scope of Activities
	Planning the Process
	Materials
Suggestions for the Implementation Process	Content
	Planning
	Practicing
Suggestions for Permanence	Content
	Planning
	Implementation

As a result of the focus group discussion, four different themes emerged: remarks and suggestions on the theoretical process, suggestions for the activity designing process, suggestions for the implementation process, and suggestions for permanence.

The sub-themes of Content, Planning, and Individual Learning Outcomes emerged from the Remarks and Suggestions on the Theoretical Process. The Content sub-theme refers to the teachers’ expectations and suggestions about the content of theoretical knowledge they will receive for positive thinking practices, which they will perform with their students at schools, and those about the effective transfer of the content to teachers. Here, expectations were articulated about fortifying the theoretical knowledge through examples and making additions to the training content, when necessary, with respect to the relevant questions the teachers would ask. The Planning sub-theme covers suggestions on what can be done for an efficient training process. Here, the opinions about the online education process, weekly training meetings, and commission work are discussed. The individual learning outcomes sub-theme points to the teachers’ process-oriented comments in the form of self-evaluation on their learning outcomes. This sub-theme refers to teacher evaluations, as individuals and educators, regarding the contributions of the training they received so far.

The sub-themes under the Suggestions for the Activity Designing Process theme were the Scope of Activities, Planning the Process, and Materials. The Scope of Activities sub-theme included the teachers’ remarks and suggestions on the preschool positive thinking activities that they will design in line with the training they will receive. Here, they discussed opinions suggesting the inclusion of content like family participation, healthy living, and nature studies into the activities. The Planning the Process sub-theme refers to the actions that can be taken to make the event design process more efficient. Here, suggestions for step-by-step progress, continuation of the work through regular meetings, and feedbacks came up. The Materials sub-theme covered the views on the materials that can be used in the activities. In this sub-theme, the teachers expressed their opinions about the materials that were available, economical, and easily applicable.

The Content, Planning, and Implementation sub-themes emerged under the theme of Suggestions for the Implementation Process. Regarding the content sub-theme, the teachers passed their remarks on the assessment of the previously designed activities by discussing them before the implementation. Regarding the Planning sub-theme, they expressed their thoughts for the continuation of the weekly meetings after the training process. Under the sub-theme of Implementation, they discussed opinions that emphasized the importance of sharing knowledge through discussions on each teacher’s practice in the classroom and their classroom experiences in group meetings.

The Recommendations for Permanence theme comprised the Content, Planning, and Implementation sub-themes. Under the Content sub-theme, content-related suggestions for what can be done to earn the studies permanence were discussed. Here, the teachers expressed their opinions about the possible arrangements to be made on the written explanations of the activities for comprehensibility and explanatoriness and to fortify the activities through visuals. Under the Planning sub-theme, they discussed views on preparing the materials, which were supposed to be available by the beginning of the upcoming education term, through collaboration and organized efforts within a particular schedule. The Implementation sub-theme bore suggestions on developing an education program, creating an activity pool accessible online by all preschool teachers in Northern Cyprus, and publishing them into a book.

Here are some explanations:

“…How we can practice in schools should be explained to us by examples. How we apply this education in preschool should be all clear to us…” (Content)

“…We can also make a book out of it so that other teachers can benefit from it…” (Implementation)

Program Development Process

Consistent with the suggestions made in the focus group session, a Positive Thinking Activity Development Committee was formed in the preschool, and 7 of the teachers attending the session stated that they would participate in the committee regularly and they did. However, one teacher later got sick and one teacher was appointed and transferred. Although they could not participate in the activity designing process, they participated in the online education process. The studies were conducted with five teachers.

The second phase of teacher training continued with seven preschool teachers. Teachers participated in a 5-week education that lasted 2 hours once a week. In planning the process, teachers’ suggestions for progress were considered in the form of weekly online education, setting a period appropriate for all, establishing a committee, and working in small groups. Again, in line with the suggestions, studies on the activity designing process were started after 5 weeks of training.

As part of the training process, they received education on activities that highlight happiness in preschool, anger management, and relaxation exercises, nature awareness, elements of thinking from multidimensional perspectives (self-knowledge, knowing the addressee, and empathy), integrating the topics of group belonging—social communication/interaction, awareness of and contribution to the needs of the society/community into the activities, developing healthy living habits, preschool PERMAH, preschool character strengths (gratitude, grit, self-regulation, etc.), and supporting the development of positive core beliefs in children. Then, they conducted studies to integrate these training pieces into preschool and to design activities for preschool. Family involvement activities were also given importance. Activity designing studies were started after the training process. The teachers developed activities during the 4-week process. The committee meetings were held once a week. The teachers received feedback on the weekly activities they developed and they expressed their questions and made suggestions to each other as appropriate. The meetings lasted approximately 1 hour. Both the suggestions for the activity designing and implementation process and the comments under the “Children’s Scope” theme in Study 1 were addressed in this process.

In activity designing, each activity was developed based on research findings to promote well-being and happiness in a positive way. Emphasis was placed on delivering positive thinking education through activities like art, language, sports, excursion-observation, games, drama, and music, and offering a variety of activities. Each activity was planned to last 20 to 30 minutes, considering the children’s attention level according to their age. Besides, based on the knowledge that repetition strengthens neural connections in the brain (Siegel & Bryson, 2018), care was taken to gradually pick up on a particular theme as part of the activity variety on other days of the week (e.g., the primary aim is to first raise awareness about healthy eating through activities, like a discussion about healthy eating with a story and open-ended questions, a game development exercise with pictures for healthy snacks, preparing healthy snacks and having a picnic in the garden, providing families with relevant updates, preparing healthy snacks together at home, taking photos and creating a notebook to bring to school and share with friends, encouraging the children to talk about their favorite healthy snacks in the classroom. Subsequently, it is aimed to help them develop a taste for healthy snacks instead of unhealthy foods through practice and repetition and gain practicality in preparing simple healthy foods with fruits and vegetables, thus to support children to incorporate this knowledge into their lives).

After designing the activities, opinions were received from seven subject matter experts (SMEs). Forty-seven out of the 64 activities were found appropriate by all the SMEs, one of which was corrected according to the suggestions of two experts. Forty-eight activities on which all experts agreed were confirmed to be implemented. The activities were collected into a book and forwarded to the Board of Education and Morality in Northern Cyprus. The book has been approved for use in preschool education institutions as a positive thinking activity book, and published in both hardcopy and e-book formats (Gür et al., 2021). The e-book version has been made available to all teachers for free.

Discussion

Study 3 was conducted to evaluate the teachers’ opinions and suggestions on what actions should be taken for positive thinking practices in schools. Accordingly, following the focus group discussion held with eight teachers, four various themes came up on the agenda: Remarks and suggestions for the theoretical process, suggestions for the activity designing process, suggestions for the implementation process, and suggestions for permanence.

The literature on positive studies points to similar sub-titles as those revealed in the current study (Hatzichristou et al., 2021; Nikolaou et al., 2021). At this point, the suggestions that the teachers should not be limited to the theoretical process, supported through examples, and that the weekly group meetings should continue during the activity designing and implementation stages following the education delivery, stand out as the ones that should be underlined. For the process to be more effective, the teachers put forward arguments that they should keep in touch with each other and continue constant communication and interaction with the researchers. Additionally, they uttered their expectations and wishes to make this process, which will require considerable effort and effort, permanent. The proceedings of the process, in line with their said suggestions motivated the teachers and the activities were published into a book following a disciplined working process. Thus, one can argue that teachers’ cooperation with researchers and shaping the process with their opinions have positively contributed to the yielding of efficient products. Yet, it should be kept in mind that this study group was limited to only eight teachers, and the activity designing occurred with only five teachers. Since activity designing is a time-consuming and demanding process, it is natural that teachers may not be able to take part, as they are likely to have problems with time and arduous work or be unavailable due to several reasons. Karataş (2020) emphasizes that the meticulous planning, implementation, and shaping of the teacher training process is of critical importance in terms of quality. However, she points out that individual conditions can also affect the process. In the literature, exist a limited number of studies generalizing the views of the teacher working group as in the current study. However, since the study had a qualitative nature, a small number of attendees provided detailed information. In this context, it can be stated that the suggestions in question can contribute to the studies and practices in positive education.

Study 4

Sample and Procedure

This study used an experimental design through a pretest-posttest control group. The class teachers conducted the activities four times a week, 20 to 30 minutes a day, for 12 weeks for children aged 5 years. The themes within the activities were:

Healthy living (2 weeks),

Nature and environmental awareness (2 weeks),

Love of animals (1 week),

Recognizing emotions (1 week),

Coping with negative emotions (1 week),

Character strengths (3 weeks),

Awareness of friendship, helping, and contributing (2 weeks).

Before and after the implementation, the PERIK scale was applied to the children, and five teachers on the committee completed the scale vicariously for each student by observing them. Also, weekly meetings with teachers continued during the implementation of the activity. At the end of the implementation process, interviews were conducted with teachers, and their observations and evaluations regarding the implementation process were recorded. The interviews were conducted face-to-face and lasted 20 minutes each. The questions were asked in an open-ended and unstructured format according to the course of the interview, and the aim was to allow the teachers to give a general assessment. With their consent, the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, and the transcription was sent to each participant.

The study group comprised 10 (five experimental and five control) educators and 160 children aged 5: 80 in the experimental group and 80 in the control group. The experimental group consisted of teachers receiving positive thinking training, and the children were the students of these teachers. On the other hand, the teachers in the control group consisted of the teachers who took part in the control group of Study 2 and participated in this study as five attendees. The children in the control group were the students who received education in the classes of said teachers. The education initially enrolled 86 children in the experimental group, but we excluded those who were absent due to COVID-19 procedures or those who were allowed by their parents only to take part in the process but not preferred to be assessed. Eventually, 43 (53.8%) children in the experimental group were girls and 37 (46.3%) were boys, while 44 (55%) children in the control group were girls and 36 (45%) were boys.

Qualitative data were obtained from five teachers in the experimental group. These five teachers were also involved in the activity designing process in Study 3.

Materials

We used the Social-Emotional Well-Being for Preschool Children and Psychological Resilience - Social Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children (PERIK): the Turkish version of the Social-Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children—PERIK (Özbey, 2019). It is a 5-point Likert-type scale with some reverse-scored items. Items like “Easily communicates positively with peers,”“Can self-soothe after an exciting or stressful situation,” and “Can easily get stressed/tense, immediately loses emotional balance” were completed by the teacher on behalf of the children. The answers range include “always” (5), “usually” (4), “sometimes” (3), “rarely” (2), and “never” (1). There are 36 items in total (Mayr & Ulich, 2006, 2009). The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the PERIK scale for our group was .926. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients for each dimension were .911, .896, .869, .632, .710, and .857, respectively.

Data Analysis

The study was conducted with a pretest-posttest control design and the participating children were assessed by their teachers with reference to the Social-Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children.

Before comparing the pretest and posttest scores of the participants in the Control and Experimental groups, compliance with normal distribution was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, QQ plot, and skewness-kurtosis values. Conformity to normal distribution was verified. Information on the normality analyses of the scale data is shown in Table 8.

Table 8.

Scale Skewness and Kurtosis Values.

Scale	Skewness	Kurtosis
Pretest	−0.202	0.344
Posttest	−0.353	−0.559

Seçer (2015) found that evaluating the assumption of normal distribution by looking at the skewness and kurtosis values is a more accurate approach. Tabachnick and Fidell (2013) assume that normal distribution is reached when the values for skewness and kurtosis are between +1.50 and −1.50. As a result of the analyses, we found that the variables were within the specified ranges, there were no extreme values, and they met the hypothesis of normal distribution, so the applicability of the parametric tests was achieved.

Descriptive analysis was used to evaluate the analyses of teacher opinions and subthemes were established in advance. The comments were examined under the subthemes of observations for children, evaluations of activities, and self-assessment.

Results

The following are the results for Study 4:

As a result of the Social-Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children, the participants’ mean pretest score was 3.64 for the control group and 3.66 for the experimental group. Independent-samples t-test revealed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p > .05). In this context, it was confirmed that the mean pretest scores of the control and experimental groups were not statistically different from each other in the scales used in the study ( $\bar{X}$ _control $≅ \bar{X}$ _experimental). The results on whether the participants’ mean posttest and pretest scores differed between the control and experimental groups are given below (Table 9).

Table 9.

Results of Mean Scores Between Participants’ Pretest and Posttest Scores.

Scale	Group	f	$\bar{X}$	SD	t	p
Posttest/Pretest	Control	80	0.1354	0.6477	−3.395	.001
Posttest/Pretest	Experimental	80	0.4458	.4992	−3.395	.001

The mean difference between the control and experimental groups on the Social-Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children was found to be 0.1354 and 0.4458, respectively. The independent samples t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups (t = −3.395, p < .05). Furthermore, this significant difference was in favor of the participants in the experimental group ( $\bar{X}$ _control < $\bar{X}$ _experimental).

In line with these results, the effect size and power analysis of the study were performed using the GPower 3.1 analysis software. Accordingly, the Cohen d value was calculated as 0.537 and the β value as 0.96 (Effect size d = 0.5367829; α err probe = 0.05; 1-β err probe = 0.96; δ = 3.4160655; Critical t = 1.6544329; Actual power = 0.9605168). It was observed that the research had a high degree of difficulty and a moderate effect.

To verify the permanence effect of the education, a permanence test was performed after 8 weeks. The independent samples t-test showed that the difference between the experimental and control groups in scale scores was statistically significant (t = −3,395, p < .05).

Table 10 shows the opinions of teachers on children’s participation in activities.

Table 10.

Opinions of Teachers on Children’s Participation in Activities.

Theme	Sub-theme
Observations for Children	Active ParticipationPositive Relationship with Others
Evaluations of Activities	Child AppropriatenessEasy Applicability
Self-Assessments	School Environmental StudiesPersonal Development

The opinions of teachers on children’s participation in activities had three themes. The Observations for Children theme included the Active Participation and Positive Relationship with Others and Sensitivity sub-themes. In the Active Participation sub-theme, the opinions argued that the children were interested in the activities, loved to take part in them, found them attractive, and showed a positive approach toward the activities. According to the remarks on the Positive Relationship with Others sub-theme, children’s communications with each other were more positive, their adaptation and group adjustment were positively affected, they attempted to solve their problems by talking instead of fighting, shouting, or crying, they had far better listening skills, the education positively affected some who previously had difficulty in being included in the group and enabled them to adapt to the ambiance and to communicate positively with their families. Under the sub-theme of Sensitivity, observations regarding the sensitive behavior and verbal expressions of children toward their friends, nature, and animals were expressed.

Under the Evaluations of Activities theme, Child Appropriateness and Easy Applicability sub-themes came out. Regarding the Child Appropriateness sub-theme, there were evaluations in terms of child age appropriateness, child developmental level appropriateness, and quality of being attractive and educative for children. Under the Easy Applicability sub-theme, relevant views concerning applicability in educational environments, feeling no need for customized materials, and affordability were expressed.

The Self-Assessments theme included the School Environmental Studies and Personal Development sub-themes. For the School Environmental Studies sub-theme, various comments were made for activity designing: the capability of thinking more creatively in activity designing, competence to design higher quality activities, having developed oneself in integrating positive thinking into education, feeling more competent in activity practices, positive impact on communication, and interaction with students. They associated their development with taking an active role in the process. Regarding the Personal Development sub-theme, there were comments that they developed their competencies throughout the education process from the very beginning and that positively affected their communication with the surrounding people, parents, colleagues, and children.

Some examples of teacher comments are:

“…The children say they love the activities. Activities interest them, and they enjoy it….” (Active Participation)

“… The education I received had positive repercussions on my personal life. This, in turn, was positively reflected in my relations with my parents, students, colleagues at school…” (Personal Development)

Discussion

Within the scope of Study 4, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected, and qualitative findings were evaluated in line with teacher opinions. The fact that no significant difference was found between the Social-Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Resilience Scale for Preschool Children scores of the experimental and control group indicated that the groups were similar at the beginning. This similarity denoted their suitability to be evaluated as groups with similar characteristics and compared with respect to post-test scores after the training. On the other hand, the statistical significance of the findings for the pretest and posttest scores indicated the effectiveness of the education. The findings obtained after the permanence test suggest that the permanence of education continues even after the implementation process. Evaluation of the teachers’ comments suggested that they found the practices favorable in terms of the contributions they observed in the children, their competencies, and the implementation process. Research shows that positive thinking educational practices have favorable effects on children’s resilience and social-emotional well-being (Noble & McGrath, 2012; Zeng et al., 2016). In this context, it is possible to state that the research findings coincide with those in the literature. Teachers concluded that positive thinking education contributed positively to both students and themselves. They associated this with their involvement in the process and their collaboration with the researchers to shape it. This association has been the most noteworthy finding that makes this study different from the others. Here, while the researchers mainly expected detailed feedback on the education content, the comments made on the education content turned out to be positive but more generalized. All teachers emphasized the importance of involvement in the process, acting together, communicating constantly, and holding small group meetings regularly. All these matters prove the importance of the way the training is applied, as well as the content delivered in the trainings. Yet, it should be kept in mind that the research data were limited to 160 children and only five teachers. Nevertheless, even with this limitation, the study is assessed to have the potential to contribute to education planning in future studies.

General Discussion

This research was planned as an action research to evaluate the teacher training process conducted within the context of Art of Happiness: Positive Thinking in Preschool and Subjective Well-Being Project, and its implementation. The project aimed to provide education to take preventative measures for psychological disorders that may occur in the future. Investing in the future requires investing in children. In a project that is planned to invest in the future and that aims to wend the way through educational studies that will continue for many years, it is unfortunately not possible to share feedback that can be obtained in the future. However, we can assume that interpretations can be made based on some indicators. For example, the literature shows that well-being and resilience predict psychological health (Haddadi & Besharat, 2010; Sagone & Elvira De Caroli, 2014; Yıldırım & Arslan, 2022). In this context, it was thought that resilience- and well-being-related scales could be employed as assessment tools.

The research was structured as four interrelated studies. In this context, we planned to identify the requirements and expectations of teachers for positive thinking education in preschool. Then, based on these requirements and expectations, a two-stage teacher training process was planned. These two stages were the positive thinking personal development training for teachers and the positive thinking-oriented education conducted at schools. After the first stage, that is, the teacher training process, the effectiveness was assessed. Prior to the positive thinking education in schools, we planned a training process for positive thinking practices in schools based on teacher suggestions regarding the conditions in the school environment. After the implementation process in schools, the effect of the positive thinking education on children was analyzed, and teachers’ observations about children, activities, and their self-assessments were evaluated in the context of positive thinking practices.

This is not just a research about the delivery of positive thinking training and evaluating its effect. This research also aimed to examine the effect of shaping the process in line with the requirements and suggestions of teachers who have experience in the field. Teachers have functioned as working partners, shaping the process, taking part in it, receiving training, evaluating the process, designing the activities, delivering education through the positive thinking practices they perform in their classrooms, and evaluating the educational process in schools. They were not only the ones who passively received theoretical education but also undertook active roles in the process by learning, evaluating, suggesting, and shaping, thus becoming productive. The training process for personal development, practices in schools, which were considered in the initial stages of the project, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of these training processes, constituted only one aspect of the research. The data indicated a very dynamic flow. While the stages were proceeding, such a course was followed: teachers came together with researchers in regular meetings, and shared, designed the activities, structured them as a program, the Board of Education and Morality in Northern Cyprus approved the program, then the study got published into a book, came into use in e-book format, and made available online for all teachers in the country. All this could happen thanks to the suggestions and self-sacrificing work of the teachers.

Research findings indicate significant effects of both the teacher personal education stage and the practical education stage in schools on resilience and well-being. However, here, we also dealt with the teachers’ requirements within the context of the education content, in what way the process planning would be more efficient for them, and their observations and feedback during the implementation process.

In Study 1, the teachers expressed two different educational needs: well-being and resilience, both for them and for their students. The teachers stated their well-being to have positive repercussions on their students as well. Moreover, they pointed out the theoretical knowledge about the work they will do with their students at schools after this training, reinforcing the conceptual content with sample activities, activity designing, and implementation. The researchers expected the teachers to provide feedback during the interview in Study 1 on the implementation process in schools, but those interviews revealed that there were different expectations. The Personal Competencies Theme may be particularly ignored during the education process. Therefore, interviewing teachers and analyzing their explanations before planning elucidated how to plan the study process more effectively.

In line with these findings, first, the teacher positive thinking personal training process was planned. In Study 2, teacher training and training assessment were handled. The results of Study 2 revealed a significant difference in the Brief Resilience Scale and General Well-Being Scores in the experimental group compared to the control group data. Also, the teachers in the experimental group stated that after the education process, they had better self-awareness, developed themselves within a positive thinking framework, and believed that they would be more productive in the practices they would conduct with the children.

Study 3 emphasized teachers’ assessments on positive thinking education and in-school implementations. In this context, a focus group meeting was held. Teachers put forward arguments in suggestions for the conceptual process, activity designing, implementation, and permanence. They stressed the content, planning, and individual learning outcomes of the theoretical procedure. Accordingly, supporting conceptual knowledge with examples, conducting weekly meetings, and commission work were the prominent suggestions. Some views on the activity designing process stood out, including content like family participation, healthy life, nature awareness in the program, proceeding through regular step-by-step meetings, receiving regular feedback, and choosing conveniently available and applicable materials. Regarding the activity implementation process, particular emphasis was placed on the evaluation of the designed activities first in group discussions, continuing to hold weekly meetings, and sharing experiences during implementation in schools. As for the Suggestions for Permanence theme, the proposals for publishing the process into a book, providing online access, and writing the activities in a specific template fortified through visuals drew attention. Study 3 was pretty important in shaping the educational process with children. While the teachers expressed their needs, they also made suggestions for the children’s educational process based on their observations and experiences. In this direction, commissioned studies, education, activity designing, and implementation processes were planned. Another insight gained here is that teachers mainly included story-telling activities and character studies at the beginning of the activity designing process. We found that even the teachers who mentioned the importance of excursion-observation activities planned very few of them, and those activities did not include the preparation and reinforcement period for the children but the commute to the place. Teachers were guided to develop a rich plan, including qualified excursion-observation activities, experiments, and art and drama activities by providing relevant examples. After this study, the program development process came into question. The activity designing process covered a 5-week training period. After the activities were designed, expert opinion was obtained, and the Preschool Positive Thinking Education Program comprising 48 activities was developed (Gür et al., 2021).

Afterward, the program was applied to children aged 5 years old and evaluated in terms of effectiveness. Study 4 was conducted to evaluate the educational process for children. The study sought to answer the question, “Does the Multidimensional Thinking Education Program have a significant effect on social well-being and resilience in preschool children?” In this context, we employed an experimental, pretest-posttest control design. As a result of the study, we detected a significant difference between the experimental and control groups, in favor of the experimental group.

Study 4 included both qualitative and quantitative findings. In qualitative findings, teachers’ evaluations on children, activities, and themselves were in question. Regarding the teachers’ observations of the children, the topics that stood out were as follows: the children stated they liked the activities, they actively took part, they had better communication with each other, there was harmony and involvement in the group, and there was an empathic point of view. The teachers commented on the children’s active participation in the process and made positive observations about the children’s well-being and resilience. They emphasized that the activities were interesting, appropriate, and easily applicable for children. They attributed this to their long-term experiences with children and their active involvement in the activity design process. Besides, they stated themselves to have achieved positive gains both personally and for the sake of improving their teaching skills during the project.

As stated above, we believe that aside from the educational content, that is, positive thinking training, planning the process with the active involvement of the teachers contributed a lot. It can be emphasized that as long as teachers become familiar with the context, develop theoretical and practical implementations for themselves, and then begin to work with the children, it positively affects their ownership and active participation, which the teachers expressed as well. Here, as Hebb (1949) noted, it is possible to observe that inter-neuron connections in the brain develop through repetition, facilitating the implementations. The research results show the favorable effects of positive thinking education on the well-being and resilience of both teachers and children. Allen (2008), Duckworth (2017), and Wiking (2017) point out that thinking structure predicts well-being and resilience. Study results confirm that a positive perspective positively affects well-being (Fredrickson & Joiner, 2018; Van Cappellen et al., 2017). Despite not being expressed with data on both teacher and child education process, a pleasant return was that dozens of teachers from different education levels demanded training from researchers for teachers and school environmental practices. Furthermore, several project partner institutions stated that they also received very affirmative feedback, and they looked forward to novel studies together with the relevant researchers.

Limitations

The study was limited to Northern Cyprus. Conducting similar studies in various countries may be suggested. That being said, one should also consider that the data obtained was limited to participants who were interested in the topic and voluntarily took part in the study and their students. The research was designed as an action research, with the aim of evaluating the positive thinking education process. Here, it should be considered that the teachers who implemented the activities in schools were also involved in the activity design process and went through a particular educational process. Also, the teacher group mainly consisted of female teachers. However, the female-male teacher ratio in the research groups is similar to those in the pre-schools across the country (MoNEC). Therefore, the sample group conforms to the rate in the country. Another point to be emphasized regarding the process is the variability of the number of teachers. The number, being 15 in the first study, increased to 50 while receiving positive thinking training. However, it went down to 8 at the beginning of the in-school activity designing and implementation process, and to 5 during the transition to the process. Initially, 15 teachers, who expressed the need for positive thinking training, took part in the trainings, and following the training announcement, an additional 35 participated, having an interest in the subject, and regularly attended the training process. In Northern Cyprus, the Ministry of National Education reported the number of preschool teachers as 714 for the 2020 to 2021 academic year (MoNEC, 2021). In the research, 100 out of 714 teachers were involved in the experimental or control group, which can be considered quite a sizable number. On the other hand, activity designing and implementing was planned as a time-consuming process, referring to individual work outside of school, practice in the school environment, and regular meetings. This prevented the teachers, who have various responsibilities and are incapable of allocating that much time, from continuing the process. The ones who could not take part, despite wanting to, stated that they could not be involved in activity designing and implementation due to other responsibilities like having young children, getting prepared for promotion to an administrative position, or having various assignments at school. Another significant factor for this was the contractual teaching status. The number of permanent teachers was 236, while 454 contractual teachers were present (MoNEC, 2021). Contractual teachers are supposed to pass a central examination to become permanent staff. Thus, their preparation for the upcoming exam justifies their exemption from the second education process.

Conclusion

When considering the research findings, positive thinking education appears to have positive contributions to the well-being of both teachers and children. Yet, it is another reality that serious gains and behavioral changes will take years. Thus, it will take long to observe the outcomes of such studies aiming to support mental health across the community. Accordingly, the importance of longitudinal studies can be emphasized rather than cross-sectional ones. For further research, we recommend longitudinal studies with larger samples.

Still, it is possible to denote that the current research yielded significant results as a preliminary study and that longer-term studies should be planned, not only for preschoolers but also for different age groups. Repeating the present research with the involvement of a larger population will help obtain more valid results. Given that positive thinking can shape a person’s life, we recommend that teachers, students, and parents be trained, and positive thinking education be delivered at all levels of education, taking age-appropriate requirements into account.

Footnotes

This study was conducted as part of the Art of Happiness project: Positive Thinking and Subjective Well-Being in Preschool Project (Project No: UMK-202101) funded by the Commission of the Northern Cyprus Prime Ministry. The project involved the Prime Ministry of Northern Cyprus Anti-Drug Commission,the Department of Joint Services of the Ministry of National Education and Culture of Northern Cyprus,and Cyprus International University as project partners. The Turkish Municipality of Nicosia,the Municipality of Girne,the Municipality of Değirmenlik,and the Municipality of Gönyeli contributed to the public announcement of the project on billboards throughout Northern Cyprus. Northern Cyprus Turkcell and Nicosia Elite Hospital have supported the project as sponsors. We would like to thank all the teachers who trained in the project and volunteered to contribute to the studies. As the Positive Thinking Preschool Activity Development Commission,we would like to thank our teachers Gözde Demirkaya Taşkentli,Dilber Sultanoğlu,Seda Gürdoruk,Cemile Gümüşören,and Nilüfer Erlinoğlu for their significant contributions. In addition,we would like to thank Mr. Hasan Karaokçu,Ms. Teyfide Tecel Hatipoğlu,Mr. Cengiz Uzun,Mr. Murat Aktuğ and Spec. Şahin Karasalih for their contribution to the progress of the project.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,authorship,and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,authorship,and/or publication of this article: This study was conducted as part of the Art of Happiness project: Positive Thinking and Subjective Well-Being in Preschool Project funded by the Commission of the Northern Cyprus Prime Ministry.

Ethical Consideration

The ethical approval required for the project was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Cyprus International University (Approval No: 100-3378). The Ministry of National Education and Culture of Northern Cyprus has sent an official letter to schools on the application phases of the project. The teachers who participated in the study volunteered to participate in the study. Study participants were sent a separate consent form for each study. Permission was obtained from the school administrators and parents for the information obtained from the children. The Northern Cyprus Prime Minister’s Anti-Drug Commission took financial responsibility for the project with the expectation that it would support the psychological health of the community.

ORCID iD

Çağla Gür

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Who? What? How? From a Standard Teacher Meeting to a Preschool Positive Thinking Project

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Importance of Positive Thinking Education in Preschool

The Present Study

Study 1

Sample and Procedure

Role of Researchers

Data Analysis

Results

Discussion

Study 2

Sample and Procedure

Materials

Results

Discussion

Study 3

Sample and Procedure

Data Analysis

Results

Program Development Process

Discussion

Study 4

Sample and Procedure

Materials

Data Analysis

Results

Discussion

General Discussion

Limitations

Conclusion

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

Ethical Consideration

ORCID iD

References