Schools need reliable evidence about the outcomes of meditation programs before they consider if ... more Schools need reliable evidence about the outcomes of meditation programs before they consider if and how such programs can influence learning agendas, curriculum, and timetables. This paper reviewed evidence from 15 peer-reviewed studies of school meditation programs with respect to three student outcomes: wellbeing, social competence and academic achievement. In total, there were 76 results where effect sizes could be calculated. The overall number of participants in the effect size analyses was 1,797. Of the 76 effect sizes calculated, 61% were statistically significant. Sixty seven percent of the results had small effects on student outcomes, 24% of the results had medium effect strength and 9% showed a large effect of meditation upon student outcomes. Transcendental meditation programs had a higher percentage of significant effects than mindfulness-based and other types of meditation programs but this may be to do with the settings and program delivery rather than the technique itself. Program elements such as duration, frequency of practise and type of instructor influenced student outcomes. A conceptual model is put forward based on two propositions. Proposition 1: Meditation positively influences student success by increasing cognitive functioning. Proposition 2: Meditation positively influences student success by increasing emotional regulation. Suggestions are made to stimulate future research and to assist in the development of more efficacious applications for meditation in schools.
Drawing from the fields of positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship and education... more Drawing from the fields of positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship and educational administration, this case study reports on the process used in a large K-12 school to implement the strategic goal of fostering student wellbeing. This case study outlines the three strategic phases used to build wellbeing over a two and half year time period: 1) development; 2) implementation, and 3) monitoring. The school aligned its change process to the goal of achieving wellbeing by adopting appreciative inquiry as the overarching change approach. Appreciative inquiry is a systematic, holistic, and collaborative methodology that follows a strengths-based model of change. Through the use appreciative inquiry, 15 bottom-up (instigated by students and staff) and top-down (instigated by leadership) initiatives were generated over a two and half year period. This paper provides an applied example of how AI can be woven into a strategic change process to support the wellbeing of students. The paper aims to contribute to the rapidly developing field of positive education.
The current study adopted a positive psychology approach to examine the role of a positively ori... more The current study adopted a positive psychology approach to examine the role of a positively oriented style of parenting – strength-based parenting (SBP) - on levels of stress in primary school aged children. Specifically, the study tested the degree to which SBP was directly and indirectly related to stress levels in children, partly through its influence on children’ coping responses. A community sample of Australian upper-primary school aged children (N = 103; Mage = 11.30; SD = 1.10; 57% female, 43% male) participated in a cross-sectional, mixed methods field study using self-report surveys and behavioral vignettes. A series of multiple regression analyses found that SBP was significantly negatively related to stress levels and significantly positively related to strength-based coping in children. In addition, strength-based coping partially mediated the relationship between SBP and stress levels in children suggesting that one reason SBP reduces stress in children is that it encourages children to take strength-based coping approaches when faced with adversity. SBP thus increases the endogenous resources (i.e., personal strengths) that children can draw upon to address the resource-demands imbalance that leads to stress. The discussion provides practical implications for SBP and suggestions for future research in this area.
... employee loyalty (eg I find that my values and the organisation's values are ... of man... more ... employee loyalty (eg I find that my values and the organisation's values are ... of managing employee relations issues and upholding work standards post-merger amid the ... may be required to adapt to, including changes in location, reporting lines, management style, performance ...
... Leisa D. Sargent Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author ,... more ... Leisa D. Sargent Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Lea E. Waters , E-mail The Corresponding Author. ... work in this domain has provided interesting and worthwhile insights into the collaboration process (see Frost & Taylor, 1996). ...
ABSTRACT This paper reviews the unemployment literature with a view to identifying a new way of m... more ABSTRACT This paper reviews the unemployment literature with a view to identifying a new way of modelling the process of coping with unemployment. The review shows that early models of coping adopted a trait-based approach, which viewed coping as a stable, transcending disposition of the person and, therefore, failed to consider the range of coping responses that people use during unemployment. The use of state-based approaches to coping, in more recent research, has overcome this problem. However, the newer models still assess coping via discrete, linear relationships and have focused primarily on the obtainment of re-employment rather than promotion of psychological health during unemployment. In an attempt to overcome these problems, the ‘Coping, Psychological and Employment Status’ (CoPES) model is presented in the current paper. This new and comprehensive model illustrates the non-recursive relationships between stressors, cognitive appraisals, coping efforts and psychological health during unemployment. The CoPES model also depicts the relationship between coping, psychological health and re-employment. This model provides a more integrated approach to coping with unemployment and allows for the examination of new relationships. The CoPES model, applied within Ipsative-Normative designs and assessed using quantitative and qualitative techniques, will make a significant contribution to research conducted into unemployment.
Protégé–mentor agreement (PMA) about the provision of psychosocial support was examined in relati... more Protégé–mentor agreement (PMA) about the provision of psychosocial support was examined in relation to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work self-esteem. One-hundred and sixty-six junior administrative and information technology (IT) staff at an Australian ...
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2007
... Correspondence should be addressed to Lea Waters, Department of ... This move into unemployme... more ... Correspondence should be addressed to Lea Waters, Department of ... This move into unemployment is disturbing for the employee considering the strong association between unemployment and psychological distress (Creed & Reynolds, 2001; Fryer & Fagan, 2003; Winefield ...
The current study examined the occupational stress-strain relationship among a sample of 109 whit... more The current study examined the occupational stress-strain relationship among a sample of 109 white-collar employees in Singapore. Participants completed a survey that assessed the presence of 8 human resource practices (job training, communication, job redesign, promotional opportunities, employee involvement, family-friendly policies, pay systems, and individual-focused stress interventions [SMIs]), 2 major stressors (role overload and responsibility), 2 types of strain (vocational and interpersonal), and organizational commitment. Results indicate that human resource (HR) practices did not reduce the sources of stress (role overload and responsibility) within the workplace. However, there was a direct negative relationship between HR practices and interpersonal strain. In particular, family-friendly practices, job training, and SMIs reduced interpersonal strain. An examination of vocational strain showed that it was negatively associated with SMIs and job training. In addition, organizational commitment mediated the relationship between HR practices and vocational strain. It was concluded that HR practices may be effective as part of a symptom-directed approach to stress intervention and that further replication of these results in both Asian and Western samples is required.
International Journal of Disability Development and Education, 1997
Page 1. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, Vol. 44, No. 1, 1997 7 An... more Page 1. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, Vol. 44, No. 1, 1997 7 An Initial Evaluation of the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale--Intellectual Disability ROBERT A. CUMMINS, MARITA P. MCCABE ...
The current study investigated the relationship between career-related mentoring, psychosocial me... more The current study investigated the relationship between career-related mentoring, psychosocial mentoring, business success, and self-esteem in participants of a program that was designed to assist in the establishment of a new business. Seventy-seven protégés and their matched mentors were included in the study. A comparison of mentor and protégé perceptions revealed that mentors considered themselves to provide higher levels of psychosocial support than did the protégés. Protégé perceptions of business success were predicted by the frequency of mentor contact and the level of career-related support provided by their mentor.
Schools need reliable evidence about the outcomes of meditation programs before they consider if ... more Schools need reliable evidence about the outcomes of meditation programs before they consider if and how such programs can influence learning agendas, curriculum, and timetables. This paper reviewed evidence from 15 peer-reviewed studies of school meditation programs with respect to three student outcomes: wellbeing, social competence and academic achievement. In total, there were 76 results where effect sizes could be calculated. The overall number of participants in the effect size analyses was 1,797. Of the 76 effect sizes calculated, 61% were statistically significant. Sixty seven percent of the results had small effects on student outcomes, 24% of the results had medium effect strength and 9% showed a large effect of meditation upon student outcomes. Transcendental meditation programs had a higher percentage of significant effects than mindfulness-based and other types of meditation programs but this may be to do with the settings and program delivery rather than the technique itself. Program elements such as duration, frequency of practise and type of instructor influenced student outcomes. A conceptual model is put forward based on two propositions. Proposition 1: Meditation positively influences student success by increasing cognitive functioning. Proposition 2: Meditation positively influences student success by increasing emotional regulation. Suggestions are made to stimulate future research and to assist in the development of more efficacious applications for meditation in schools.
Drawing from the fields of positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship and education... more Drawing from the fields of positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship and educational administration, this case study reports on the process used in a large K-12 school to implement the strategic goal of fostering student wellbeing. This case study outlines the three strategic phases used to build wellbeing over a two and half year time period: 1) development; 2) implementation, and 3) monitoring. The school aligned its change process to the goal of achieving wellbeing by adopting appreciative inquiry as the overarching change approach. Appreciative inquiry is a systematic, holistic, and collaborative methodology that follows a strengths-based model of change. Through the use appreciative inquiry, 15 bottom-up (instigated by students and staff) and top-down (instigated by leadership) initiatives were generated over a two and half year period. This paper provides an applied example of how AI can be woven into a strategic change process to support the wellbeing of students. The paper aims to contribute to the rapidly developing field of positive education.
The current study adopted a positive psychology approach to examine the role of a positively ori... more The current study adopted a positive psychology approach to examine the role of a positively oriented style of parenting – strength-based parenting (SBP) - on levels of stress in primary school aged children. Specifically, the study tested the degree to which SBP was directly and indirectly related to stress levels in children, partly through its influence on children’ coping responses. A community sample of Australian upper-primary school aged children (N = 103; Mage = 11.30; SD = 1.10; 57% female, 43% male) participated in a cross-sectional, mixed methods field study using self-report surveys and behavioral vignettes. A series of multiple regression analyses found that SBP was significantly negatively related to stress levels and significantly positively related to strength-based coping in children. In addition, strength-based coping partially mediated the relationship between SBP and stress levels in children suggesting that one reason SBP reduces stress in children is that it encourages children to take strength-based coping approaches when faced with adversity. SBP thus increases the endogenous resources (i.e., personal strengths) that children can draw upon to address the resource-demands imbalance that leads to stress. The discussion provides practical implications for SBP and suggestions for future research in this area.
... employee loyalty (eg I find that my values and the organisation's values are ... of man... more ... employee loyalty (eg I find that my values and the organisation's values are ... of managing employee relations issues and upholding work standards post-merger amid the ... may be required to adapt to, including changes in location, reporting lines, management style, performance ...
... Leisa D. Sargent Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author ,... more ... Leisa D. Sargent Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Lea E. Waters , E-mail The Corresponding Author. ... work in this domain has provided interesting and worthwhile insights into the collaboration process (see Frost & Taylor, 1996). ...
ABSTRACT This paper reviews the unemployment literature with a view to identifying a new way of m... more ABSTRACT This paper reviews the unemployment literature with a view to identifying a new way of modelling the process of coping with unemployment. The review shows that early models of coping adopted a trait-based approach, which viewed coping as a stable, transcending disposition of the person and, therefore, failed to consider the range of coping responses that people use during unemployment. The use of state-based approaches to coping, in more recent research, has overcome this problem. However, the newer models still assess coping via discrete, linear relationships and have focused primarily on the obtainment of re-employment rather than promotion of psychological health during unemployment. In an attempt to overcome these problems, the ‘Coping, Psychological and Employment Status’ (CoPES) model is presented in the current paper. This new and comprehensive model illustrates the non-recursive relationships between stressors, cognitive appraisals, coping efforts and psychological health during unemployment. The CoPES model also depicts the relationship between coping, psychological health and re-employment. This model provides a more integrated approach to coping with unemployment and allows for the examination of new relationships. The CoPES model, applied within Ipsative-Normative designs and assessed using quantitative and qualitative techniques, will make a significant contribution to research conducted into unemployment.
Protégé–mentor agreement (PMA) about the provision of psychosocial support was examined in relati... more Protégé–mentor agreement (PMA) about the provision of psychosocial support was examined in relation to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work self-esteem. One-hundred and sixty-six junior administrative and information technology (IT) staff at an Australian ...
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2007
... Correspondence should be addressed to Lea Waters, Department of ... This move into unemployme... more ... Correspondence should be addressed to Lea Waters, Department of ... This move into unemployment is disturbing for the employee considering the strong association between unemployment and psychological distress (Creed & Reynolds, 2001; Fryer & Fagan, 2003; Winefield ...
The current study examined the occupational stress-strain relationship among a sample of 109 whit... more The current study examined the occupational stress-strain relationship among a sample of 109 white-collar employees in Singapore. Participants completed a survey that assessed the presence of 8 human resource practices (job training, communication, job redesign, promotional opportunities, employee involvement, family-friendly policies, pay systems, and individual-focused stress interventions [SMIs]), 2 major stressors (role overload and responsibility), 2 types of strain (vocational and interpersonal), and organizational commitment. Results indicate that human resource (HR) practices did not reduce the sources of stress (role overload and responsibility) within the workplace. However, there was a direct negative relationship between HR practices and interpersonal strain. In particular, family-friendly practices, job training, and SMIs reduced interpersonal strain. An examination of vocational strain showed that it was negatively associated with SMIs and job training. In addition, organizational commitment mediated the relationship between HR practices and vocational strain. It was concluded that HR practices may be effective as part of a symptom-directed approach to stress intervention and that further replication of these results in both Asian and Western samples is required.
International Journal of Disability Development and Education, 1997
Page 1. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, Vol. 44, No. 1, 1997 7 An... more Page 1. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, Vol. 44, No. 1, 1997 7 An Initial Evaluation of the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale--Intellectual Disability ROBERT A. CUMMINS, MARITA P. MCCABE ...
The current study investigated the relationship between career-related mentoring, psychosocial me... more The current study investigated the relationship between career-related mentoring, psychosocial mentoring, business success, and self-esteem in participants of a program that was designed to assist in the establishment of a new business. Seventy-seven protégés and their matched mentors were included in the study. A comparison of mentor and protégé perceptions revealed that mentors considered themselves to provide higher levels of psychosocial support than did the protégés. Protégé perceptions of business success were predicted by the frequency of mentor contact and the level of career-related support provided by their mentor.
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