Page 140 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 140
positive youth development in contexts
Students sometimes use the courage they already possess: “Courage helps
me show my confidence and self-worth”.
Kindness was identified as a strength with positive effects in terms of
Confidence when used towards others: “Kindness gives me a sense of ac-
complishment – I feel very good when I know that I am positively influencing
the people around me with my friendly attitude”; or towards students them-
selves as “being able to accept [themselves] as [they are] and not be too hard
on [themselves]”.
The role of Spirituality in building students’ self-esteem was identi-
fied as a character strength that helps students “make [their] life meaningful
and valuable in both difficult and easy situations”. The character strength
Appreciation of beauty and excellence was mentioned in the way with re-
spect to helping the students “realise that small and simple things can make
[them] happy and fulfilled”.
Character
Character strengths that can assist the students to act in line with social
norms, be aware of right and wrong, and take responsibility for their ac-
tions were Fairness (74.6%), Judgement (34.6%), Prudence (19.2%) and Self-
regulation (16.9%), according to their responses. The least frequently men-
tioned character strengths related to Character were Love of learning (1.5%),
Creativity and Curiosity (both 0.8%), while Appreciation of beauty, Hope,
and Humour were not mentioned (Table 2).
Fairness was the most frequently mentioned character strength in re-
lation to Character – nearly three-quarters of the students in the sample
recognised its role. The role of Fairness in achieving Character was identi-
fied as: “It is important to ask ourselves if we have done something right or
wrong and that we take responsibility for our actions”. Students use Fairness
when they “try to act fairly, treat everyone the same” and “act in accordance
with social norms”. They could use Fairness more when they “should admit
that [they] did something wrong, regardless of the consequences”.
Judgement was also identified as important for achieving Character:
“being able to define what is right and wrong and what is expected of me”.
One student described the interplay of Judgement, Self-regulation and
Fairness for achieving Character: “Critical thinking is necessary for deciding
what to do in certain situations. Self-control is required to control what we
will or will not do. And fairness helps us admit our mistakes and accept con-
sequences, and in this process we learn a lot”.
140
Students sometimes use the courage they already possess: “Courage helps
me show my confidence and self-worth”.
Kindness was identified as a strength with positive effects in terms of
Confidence when used towards others: “Kindness gives me a sense of ac-
complishment – I feel very good when I know that I am positively influencing
the people around me with my friendly attitude”; or towards students them-
selves as “being able to accept [themselves] as [they are] and not be too hard
on [themselves]”.
The role of Spirituality in building students’ self-esteem was identi-
fied as a character strength that helps students “make [their] life meaningful
and valuable in both difficult and easy situations”. The character strength
Appreciation of beauty and excellence was mentioned in the way with re-
spect to helping the students “realise that small and simple things can make
[them] happy and fulfilled”.
Character
Character strengths that can assist the students to act in line with social
norms, be aware of right and wrong, and take responsibility for their ac-
tions were Fairness (74.6%), Judgement (34.6%), Prudence (19.2%) and Self-
regulation (16.9%), according to their responses. The least frequently men-
tioned character strengths related to Character were Love of learning (1.5%),
Creativity and Curiosity (both 0.8%), while Appreciation of beauty, Hope,
and Humour were not mentioned (Table 2).
Fairness was the most frequently mentioned character strength in re-
lation to Character – nearly three-quarters of the students in the sample
recognised its role. The role of Fairness in achieving Character was identi-
fied as: “It is important to ask ourselves if we have done something right or
wrong and that we take responsibility for our actions”. Students use Fairness
when they “try to act fairly, treat everyone the same” and “act in accordance
with social norms”. They could use Fairness more when they “should admit
that [they] did something wrong, regardless of the consequences”.
Judgement was also identified as important for achieving Character:
“being able to define what is right and wrong and what is expected of me”.
One student described the interplay of Judgement, Self-regulation and
Fairness for achieving Character: “Critical thinking is necessary for deciding
what to do in certain situations. Self-control is required to control what we
will or will not do. And fairness helps us admit our mistakes and accept con-
sequences, and in this process we learn a lot”.
140
