The Role of the Identification and Promotion of Student Teachers’ Character Strengths in Their Professional Development

Abstract

Character strengths, defined as positive personality traits that are morally valued, are an important research topic in the field of positive psychology. In this study, 130 first-year student teachers participated in an online workshop, designed by the author, on identifying and promoting character strengths. Prior to the workshop, the students completed the VIA-IS survey on character strengths. After the workshop, they answered two open-ended questions for reflecting on the process of identification and promotion of their character strengths in relation to their personal and professional development. The students had the highest scores on the character strengths of Fairness, Kindness, Teamwork, Leadership, and Gratitude, and the lowest on Bravery, Self-regulation and Love of learning. The results of the qualitative analysis showed that the participants would most use Kindness, Fairness, Love, Teamwork and Humour in their future work, while they wished to further develop their Creativity, Perseverance, Courage and Selfregulation. The role of identification and promotion of student teachers’ character strengths in their professional development and the professional identity formation is then discussed.