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INTRODUCTION
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The entry of positive psychology into the educational process brings about the
initiation of a significant change in teachers’ approach. Reorientation means
shifting from traditional approaches to developing the best qualities of students,
people and society. The direction of educational work is focused on supporting
such teaching, which supports the mental health of students — youth and adults
alike.
Positive psychology, which began to develop significantly in the third mil¬
lennium, and in Slovakia especially in the last ten years, calls for emphasis to
be placed on the positive areas, the positive aspects of human life. Experts who
deal with education and its determinants focus on finding the context, con¬
nections and interdependence of the elements of positive psychology and edu¬
cation. The time a student spends in the school and the environment there
affect his out-of-school life.
Phenomena such as well-being, contentment, happiness, enthusiasm, resil¬
ience, love, friendship, joy, optimism, humour, resilience, altruism, empathy,
forgiveness, spirituality, and the meaning of life are part of everyone’s daily
activities. For this reason, we consider it important that teachers should begin
to deal with this phenomenon within their didactic work in the educational
environment. The movement of positive psychology does not negate, does not
deny the existence of deficits, difficulties, disorders, or problems in the lives
of individuals, but directs activity, activities to the optimal functioning of not
only students but also all actors in school life to define the resources that sur¬
round it, and then these resources will develop. Martin Seligman, the founder
of positive psychology, emphasized that positive psychology uses the same set
of tools as traditional psychology, so there is no need to create a new construct
for positive psychology. All that is needed is to “change the object of interest”
— that is, to go primarily from the “correction” of what is bad and negative in
life to the creation, and development of what is best in life. It is, therefore, a
matter of salutogenesis in life, the support of individual sources of health, hu¬
man strengths, and the development of what potentially leads to a good qual¬
ity of life in families, schools, and workplaces. It is about supporting the opti¬
mal functioning of the human being, as well as his faith and hope that it will
be successful. The direction of positive education means, above all, the search
for, detection, identification and development of positive possibilities of the
pupil, not only within the framework of his cognization, but also motivation,
emotionalization, socialization, and self-regulation.
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