Positive Psychology as an Important Component of Educational Leadership

Abstract

The article examines the importance of using positive psychology for effective leadership in education. It has been established that positive psychology is completely built on the life-affirming reserve of the individual, the actualization of his/her internal resources, a change in the focus of perception of reality and ways of thinking, which is formed on the basis of positive self-acceptance, self-confidence and one's strengths, awareness of one's own life goals, the establishment of harmonious relations with other people, etc. This contributes to the creation of a positive organizational climate, building and maintaining positive relationships, and positive communication, encouraging a positive attitude to work processes and, as a result, optimizing the work of the entire educational organization.
The author clarifies the meaning of the concepts "educational leadership" and "educational leader", as well as outlines an educational leader's main qualities and skills. It was revealed that the effectiveness of the educational leader largely depends on the strengthening of psychological and ethical foundations, which are based on positive values and orientations, on his/her ability to find positive factors that would contribute to the safe functioning, effective activity and development of not only the teacher but also the educational institution, the teaching staff and each individual employee. The analysis of studied scientific sources proved that positive psychology has recently begun to gain popularity. Such psychology explores the strengths of organizations and individual organizational members and focuses on topics such as well-being, effective problem-solving, creativity, positive emotions, confidence and optimism.
It is established that the application of positive psychology in the educational field can contribute to a sense of community, which is built on cooperation and respect; confidence in solving complex tasks; optimism about the likelihood of success now and in the future, resilience against problems and challenges.
It was concluded that the use of positive psychology by an educational leader contributes to high results in educational activities, strong labor discipline, low staff turnover, absence of tension and conflict in the team, reduction of stressful situations in education, increased creativity, motivation, development of a number of competencies necessary for cope with specific and non-specific circumstances and be able to respond to new challenges.