Four miles away but worlds apart: a case study involving delivery of a positive psychology intervention in two schools

Purpose: Mental illness can have large societal and individual costs, particularly for children. Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) delivered in schools may prevent the development of mental illness, although significant barriers to their implementation can exist. This paper aims to demonstrate the impact of some of these factors. Design/methodology/approach: The current case study describes delivery of a multi-component PPI – the Hummingbird Project, in two out of 18 schools in the North West of England that participated in year 1 of the project that, despite being only four miles apart, had very different profiles and with one (School 1) significantly more “disadvantaged” than the other. There were also differences in selection criteria, with School 1 selecting students based on “perceived need” from Years 7–9 (n = 70), as compared to all Year 7 s (n = 85) selected by School 2. Findings: Significant benefits of the PPI and in both schools were found. The PPI increased well-being, resilience, hope and satisfaction in School 1, as compared to just an increase in hope in School 2. The effects of the PPI were moderated by individual and school-related factors. Originality/value: The results, alongside observations made during delivery of the PPI and from feedback received from both schools, are discussed in relation to how positive education seems to gain greater traction in more privileged schools.

Citation

Platt, I. A., Tytherleigh, M. Y., Hochard, K. D., Carson, J., Kannangara, C., & McFaul, C. (2026). Four miles away but worlds apart: a case study involving delivery of a positive psychology intervention in two schools. Mental Health and Social Inclusion, vol(issue), pages. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-05-2026-0161

Publisher

Emerald

Journal

Mental Health and Social Inclusion

URI

https://chesterrep.openrepository.com/handle/10034/630104

DOI

10.1108/mhsi-05-2026-0161

Type

Article

Language

en

Description

This author accepted manuscript is deposited under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) licence. This means that anyone may distribute, adapt, and build upon the work for non-commercial purposes, subject to full attribution. If you wish to use this manuscript for commercial purposes, please contact permissions@emerald.com

ISSN

2042-8308

EISSN

2042-8316

Additional Links

https://www.emerald.com/mhsi/article/doi/10.1108/MHSI-05-2026-0161/1380654/Four-miles-away-but-worlds-apart-a-case-study