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THE FIRST NATIONAL CENTER FOR POSITIVE EDUCATION WILL BE SET UP IN VARNA
06 June 2024
The first National Center for Positive Education will be set up in Varna. The press center of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) reported that the foundations for its establishment were laid at a meeting between schools and kindergartens in the region, which was also attended by the Minister of Education and Science Prof. Galin Tsokov.
The initiator for the establishment of the center was Geo Milev Secondary School Varna. Since 2022, under the management of Prof. Rumen Stamatov - a Psychology lecturer at Varna Free University and author of the Master's degree programme in Positive Psychology, the school's team has consistently worked to implement the principles of positive psychology in school education. Trainings with teachers and students are held according to the Programme for the Promotion of Well-being at School, which was adapted and provided by the professor. The results achieved in implementing the practices and activities give the school reason to search for expansion and inclusion of more educational institutions in their work. This is how the idea for establishing the National Center came about.
The participants in the meeting were welcomed by Prof. Rumen Stamatov. The vice-rector of VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar" Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eleonora Tankova thanked for the fruitful partnership with the management of Geo Milev Secondary School. She expressed her willingness for VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar" to provide academic support to the first National Center for Positive Education in Varna.
'This is the most structured programme in Bulgaria, the foundations for the first center of this kind had to be laid here, and I hope that in the coming months and years we will have many more such centers throughout the country,' said Prof. Tsokov. According to him, positive education is a trend that more and more countries around the world are turning to. 'Even the most successful educational systems, where students come at the top in the international rankings, are increasingly looking to positive education. It is interested not only in the results of the students, but also in their happiness and well-being', explained the minister. The Ministry of Education and Science adds that special focus is also placed on the relationships between children, the respect for their classmates and the team approach to work.
Prof. Galin Tsokov also presented data from worldwide studies, which show that every second child feels disadvantaged, regardless of the success they have achieved. 'This is a signal to all educational systems in the world that one should not only look at the results,' emphasized the minister. He explained that this does not mean we should not keep track of achievements, but most of all should focus our attention on children's strengths and the individual approach to each of them. Prof. Tsokov added that this is one of the most successful approaches to reducing aggression in the school environment.
The head of the Regional Department of Education in Varna - Irena Radeva, PhD, parents and teachers from Geo Milev Secondary School also took part in the meeting. They said that after positive learning has been introduced, children do not want to leave the classrooms, the time at school turns out to be insufficient for all the initiatives they are interested in.
