Eliciting student perspectives to inform the design of positive psychology courses: a qualitative study

Undergraduate positive psychology courses are typically semester-long educational courses or units of study dedicated to providing students with an understanding of the science of wellbeing and the factors contributing to optimal human functioning. A number of universities around the world offer positive psychology courses, yet little is known about students’ perspectives of these courses. Evaluating students’ perspectives may enable educators to modify courses to better address students’ needs, which in turn, may increase engagement with, and learning in these courses. This study provides an in-depth account of students’ perspectives on a positive psychology course offered at an Australian university. After completing the course, nine students participated in focus groups to discuss their experiences. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, three superordinate categories (and 14 subcategories) were identified, namely, interest in wellbeing, beneficial to wellbeing, and balancing competing needs. Participants expressed interest in learning about wellbeing, experienced the course as beneficial for wellbeing, and recognised several challenges in delivering course content. The richness of these results supports the utility of assessing and evaluating students’ perspectives using a qualitative approach, and the emerging themes provide insights into the aspects of positive psychology courses more broadly that may enhance students’ learning and wellbeing.