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The two studies presented here examine the effects of teachers’ enhanced sense of meaning at work (SOM) on their burnout and engagement. In the first study, 41 teachers in two Arab schools were randomly assigned to a meaning-induction group—in which they were prompted daily to acknowledge meaningful incidents at work for 2 weeks or to a control group. Qualitative analyses focused on teachers’ daily experiences of meaningful incidents, reflecting their contribution to others. In addition, one-way repeated measures analyses of variance indicated that teachers that acknowledged these incidents reported decreased burnout and increased engagement. In Study 2, the sample comprised 60 Arab and Jewish teachers who completed daily surveys for 12 workdays. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that teachers’ daily SOM was associated with increased engagement on the following day and somewhat increased stress. Thus, the studies highlight teachers’ SOM as a resource that contributes to engagement and can be enhanced intentionally.

The COVID-19 had negative effects on individuals and nations worldwide. However, based on literature suggesting that crises can trigger growth, we propose that it may have also triggered individuals’ character strengths development, especially among those having experienced moderate levels of difficulty during the pandemic and having received social support. The participants’ (N = 1700) 24 character strengths were assessed twice: before and during COVID-19. At the second assessment, participants also reported the level of impact COVID-19 had on their lives, and their perceived social support. MANOVA analysis revealed a general increase in character strengths, with significant – but mainly negligible or small - increases in 17 strengths: appreciation of beauty and excellence, bravery, prudence, creativity, curiosity, fairness, gratitude, honesty, hope, judgment, kindness, leadership, perspective, self-regulation, social intelligence, spirituality, and zest. Across the 24 strengths, the reported level of COVID-19’s impact (i.e., low, moderate, or high) was not associated with different changes during the pandemic. Univariate analyses showed that such changes were significant only in curiosity, forgiveness and kindness. The multivariate effect of social support on changes in character strengths was significant. Specifically, it enhanced the increase in love, prudence, curiosity, forgiveness, gratitude, honesty, hope, judgment, leadership, humility and zest during COVID-19, although the interactions effect sizes were small. The results suggest that, in the time frame examined in this study, character development processes triggered by COVID-19 were evident, yet specific changes in strengths were relatively mild. Some of these processes may have been enhanced by social support.

A main challenge of educational organizations is how to foster students’ capacity to fulfill their potential. The present paper, based on educational, psychological, and organizational research, asserts that a discussion of character strengths and their development is highly relevant to this challenge. It provides an integrative overview of the relevance of character strengths to twenty-first - century schools and discusses different mechanisms that can help foster them. Character strengths—widely valued positive traits, theorized to be the basis for optimal functioning and well-being—may derive from inner tendencies, but are expected to have broad potential for development, depending on individuals’ experiences and environments. Furthermore, character strengths are closely related to twenty-first-century competencies – cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies, identified by the American National Research Council as required for thriving in contemporary life and work, and thus considered to be desirable educational outcomes. The paper first delineates the connections between twenty-first-century competencies and character strengths, demonstrating the importance of promoting them in education. Then, mechanisms for fostering development of character strengths in schools are discussed, based on a review of the literature, including mechanisms that affect students (e.g., curriculum, relationships), teachers (e.g., training, supervisors), and schools (e.g., evaluation processes, resource allocation), while considering the interplay between these different levels. The concluding part of the paper outlines an integrative model of an optimal school system, expected to foster character strengths’ use and development and discuss its applications for research and practice.

Several studies have pointed to the benefits of learning in groups. However, surprisingly little research has been conducted regarding what role relationship-related personality traits play in the effectiveness of this kind of student learning. Such personality factor can potentially buffer the students' effectiveness in groups. The present study focused on attachment orientations-personal characteristics of individuals that reflect internal models of relationships-and assessed their impact on different aspects of students' feelings and functioning in higher-education study groups. It was hypothesized that individuals with interpersonal difficulties (characterized by high attachment anxiety or avoidance) will not benefit from a learning group and that they may exhibit poorer performance in group projects. Participants (N = 244) were college students enrolled in courses that included a group project. They completed measures of their attachment orientations, instrumental and socio-emotional functioning in the group, and satisfaction from the group. Additionally, their GPA and grade in the group project were assessed. Results indicated negative associations of attachment anxiety and avoidance with students' self-reported instrumental and socio-emotional functioning in the group. However, attachment anxiety was associated with higher grades in the group task. Attachment avoidance was not associated with students' grades. The study's findings generally suggest that attachment insecurities do not obscure students' actual performance in group projects, contrary to students' self-perceptions. Implications for group learning are discussed. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).

Meaningful work and meaningful relationships at work have been highlighted for their potential desirable consequences for employees and organizations. The present research focuses on teaching, as a potentially meaningful occupation, and suggests that teachers’ sense of meaning at work affects teacher–student relationships, which in turn affect teachers’ job satisfaction. This hypothesized path is examined in two complementary studies. In Study 1, 312 teachers completed self-report measures of their sense of meaning at work, perceived relationships with students, and job satisfaction. Results, based on structural equation modeling analysis, showed a good fit of the data to the theoretical model. In Study 2, 120 teachers completed daily measures of their sense of meaning at work, relationships with students, and job satisfaction. Results, based on HLM analyses, confirmed daily effects of teachers’ sense of meaning on teacher–student relationships, and daily effects of perceived teacher–student relationships on teachers’ job satisfaction. These findings point to a potential path through which teachers’ sense of meaning at work may affect work outcomes and attitudes. The theoretical and practical implications for the effects of meaningfulness and relationships at work for researchers, educators, and organizations are discussed.

Strengths are presumed to be universal characteristics that are possessed by all people and explain wellbeing. However, a few previous studies have demonstrated cultural differences in endorsement of certain strengths and in the contribution of certain strengths to well-being. These studies suggest that sociological factors may differentially affect strength endorsement and associations with well-being. In this study, we examined differences in personal strength endorsement and associations with well-being between two distinct Israeli community samples: (1) 97 religious female youth-leaders aged 18-20; and (2) 100 secular male police investigators aged 23-50. All participants completed the Virtues in Action survey and the well-being scale of the Mental Health Inventory. Results revealed significant differences between the samples on the ratings of eight strengths, and on the strengths most highly associated with well-being. The differential relevance of certain strengths to specific communities and their members' well-being is discussed.

PurposeEvidence has indicated plausible effects of employees' use of their personal strengths at work on their attitudes, performance and well-being. Although the use of personal strengths was also expected to benefit others in the organization, such effects have rarely been examined. Here we studied associations of principals’ use of their personal strengths with principals’ own engagement and with the strengths use and engagement of teachers under their supervision, anticipating that principals’ and teachers’ strengths use and engagement would be associated with students’ achievement.Design/methodology/approachWe surveyed 92 Israeli principals and 474 of their teachers. Measures included self-reported strengths use and engagement of the participants’ and schools' student matriculation achievements.FindingsThe findings generally supported the hypotheses. HLM analyses indicated that principals' use of their personal strengths was associated with their own engagement and with teachers' strengths use and work engagement and teachers’ engagement (but not their strengths use) was associated with student achievement.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings suggest the beneficial impact of principals' use of their personal strengths on teachers, with practical implications for fostering principals’ and teachers’ flourishing and creating and supporting humanizing schools, by building on principals’ and teachers’ strengths and fostering their use at work.Originality/valueThis is the first study about the potential effects of principals’ strengths use on their own engagement and on others in the school. The significant associations found propose a promising path forward for principals’ positive impact on teachers and students.

Objectives Initial evidence indicates positive effects of mindfulness in schools, for both teachers and students. However, theoretical conceptualization and empirical evidence of the mechanisms underlying them is scarce. Methods We propose such a model for education, which draws on other fields of mindfulness research, especially psychology and neuroscience. Furthermore, we propose moving beyond the typical research focus on effects of mindfulness interventions in schools on students, and suggest a focus on the interpersonal contexts in which students operate and develop, in which teachers are key. Results The theoretical model presented here aims to address some of these issues by presenting an integrative model focusing on the effects of teachers’ mindfulness in schools. This model—the mindful self in school relationships (MSSR)—points to teachers’ decreased self-centered psychological mode of processing as a core mechanism underlying the positive effects of teachers’ mindfulness, as it contributes to teachers’ caring capacities, such as emotion regulation, empathy, and compassion, which promote their aptitude to nurture effective relationships with students, facilitate teachers’ well-being and effectiveness, and thus affect students’ well-being and social and academic development. Conclusions The MSSR model can provide testable predictions about the mediating role of decreased self-centeredness (and the neural/cognitive activity associated with it) and enable a coherent understanding of psychological and interpersonal mechanisms underlying the effects of teachers’ mindfulness, from a systemic perspective. As such, it can be a helpful framework for understanding mindfulness effects in schools and delineate a relevant research agenda, potentially applicable for other organizations.

Signature strengths are individuals’ highest-ranked strengths, those that they own, celebrate, and frequently exercise. Their use has been theorized to elicit positive affect, and contribute significantly to individuals’ functioning and well-being. The present study examined two elements of these ideas in the work arena: (a) Associations of strengths use at work with work outcomes (work meaningfulness, engagement, job satisfaction, performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behaviors), focusing on differences in the associations of signature-strengths use, lowest-strengths use, and happiness strengths-use at work; (b) The role of positive affect in mediating these associations. The results, based on self-reports of an international sample of 1031 working individuals, generally indicated that the use of all kinds of strengths had positive correlates. As expected, using signature strengths had the highest, robust unique contribution to behavioral outcomes (performance, organizational citizenship behavior, and lower counterproductive work behavior). But unexpectedly, using happiness strengths (and not signature strengths) had the highest, robust unique contribution to psycho-emotional work-related outcomes (work meaningfulness, engagement, and job satisfaction). Positive affect mediated the association between strengths use and all work-related outcomes for the three kinds of strengths, when each was examined separately. However, when uses of the three kinds of strengths were examined together, positive affect mediated the effects of lowest strengths use and those of happiness strengths use, but not the effects of signature strengths use. These findings highlight the differential benefits of using different kinds of strengths, and suggest that additional (and different) mechanisms may underlie these effects.

The present research builds on the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development and on research demonstrating the contribution of perceived organizational support for strengths use (POSSU) to the quality of employees’ work life. Specifically, we focus on teachers, whose training and development in schools often aim to narrow competence gaps and correct deficits. We propose that focusing on the development of their strengths may more positively impact their engagement, satisfaction, and sense of meaning at work. A total of 47 school principals (30 women; Mage = 48.37, SD = 7.31) and 235 of their teachers (197 women; Mage = 40.73, SD = 7.78) reported perceptions of their schools’ organizational support for strengths use (POSSU), and of their school support for deficit correction (POSDC). In addition, teachers completed measures of their strengths use, sense of meaning at work, work engagement, and job satisfaction. Teachers’ POSSU was associated (more strongly than POSDC) with teachers’ strength use and positive work-related well-being. Teachers’ strengths use mediated the associations of POSSU with the other variables. Principals’ POSSU was not associated with teachers’ POSSU or with teachers’ strengths use, but was associated with teachers’ sense of meaning and satisfaction at work. The findings highlight the potential benefits of a strengths-supporting school culture to teachers’ work-life quality.