A21 Academy Launches Appreciative Living Study

Study of Appreciative Living
Inspired by: The Joy of Appreciative Living by Jacqueline Helm
Adapted for Middle School & High School

Goal
Our overall goal is to use Appreciative Inquiry principles and Jacqueline Helm’s 28-day study as a guideline to perform a study with our students to observe the effects of three exercises. We want to obtain data that outlines the progress (if any) of each student’s well-being, performance in sports, performance in the classroom and the overall culture of the school after performing these positive and appreciative living exercises. We then plan to share our data and process with educational organizations globally to assist all schools with creating a more positive culture.

Study Participants at A21 Academy
Population of Students:
Grade 9 - 12 - 27 Canada, Australia, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic & Iceland
Grade 6 - 8 - 18 total from Canada & USA

Baseline and Metrics
All students will complete baselines and be re-evaluated after each phase using:

1. Oxford Happiness Survey
2. Flourishing Schools study
3. VIA Character Survey
4. Personal reflections for qualitative data after each phase
5. Athletic combine testing using Smartspeed
6. Academic measures will include grades, late assignments, attendance