Positive Education in Spain: A Review of its Empirical Evidence

Introduction. Positive Education has burst into Spanish schools, demanding a change of focus on educational priorities and goals and prompting the implementation of new practices, as is the case of Happy Classrooms program. Positive Education has established as its main goal the child`s well-being improvement through the use of techniques adapted from Positive Psychology. The objective of this study has been to analyze the empirical evidence that supports this model in Spain. Method. We reviewed all empirical studies carried out in the Spanish school context that provide results on the effects of the implementation of Positive Education programs. Results. Seventeen studies were identified and analyzed. They often present serious methodological limitations. None of them provides clear evidence of improvements in school performance, and only some provide partial evidence of improvement in aspects of individual well-being. Discussion. This does not seem sufficient to justify the implementation of Positive Education programs in Spanish schools.