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Making Learning Relevant With Case Studies

The open-ended problems presented in case studies give students work that feels connected to their lives.

To prepare students for jobs that haven’t been created yet, we need to teach them how to be great problem solvers so that they’ll be ready for anything. One way to do this is by teaching content and skills using real-world case studies, a learning model that’s focused on reflection during the problem-solving process. It’s similar to project-based learning, but PBL is more focused on students creating a product.

Case studies have been used for years by businesses, law and medical schools, physicians on rounds, and artists critiquing work. Like other forms of problem-based learning, case studies can be accessible for every age group, both in one subject and in interdisciplinary work.

You can get started with case studies by tackling relatable questions like these with your students:

• How can we limit food waste in the cafeteria?
• How can we get our school to recycle and compost waste? (Or, if you want to be more complex, how can our school reduce its carbon footprint?)
• How can we improve school attendance?
• How can we reduce the number of people who get sick at school during cold and flu season?

Addressing questions like these leads students to identify topics they need to learn more about. In researching the first question, for example, students may see that they need to research food chains and nutrition. Students often ask, reasonably, why they need to learn something, or when they’ll use their knowledge in the future. Learning is most successful for students when the content and skills they’re studying are relevant, and case studies offer one way to create that sense of relevance.

Teaching With Case Studies

Ultimately, a case study is simply an interesting problem with many correct answers. What does case study work look like in classrooms? Teachers generally start by having students read the case or watch a video that summarizes the case. Students then work in small groups or individually to solve the case study. Teachers set milestones defining what students should accomplish to help them manage their time.

During the case study learning process, student assessment of learning should be focused on reflection. Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick’s Learning and Leading With Habits of Mind gives several examples of what this reflection can look like in a classroom: 

Journaling: At the end of each work period, have students write an entry summarizing what they worked on, what worked well, what didn’t, and why. Sentence starters and clear rubrics or guidelines will help students be successful. At the end of a case study project, as Costa and Kallick write, it’s helpful to have students “select significant learnings, envision how they could apply these learnings to future situations, and commit to an action plan to consciously modify their behaviors.”

Interviews: While working on a case study, students can interview each other about their progress and learning. Teachers can interview students individually or in small groups to assess their learning process and their progress.

Student discussion: Discussions can be unstructured—students can talk about what they worked on that day in a think-pair-share or as a full class—or structured, using Socratic seminars or fishbowl discussions. If your class is tackling a case study in small groups, create a second set of small groups with a representative from each of the case study groups so that the groups can share their learning.

4 Tips for Setting Up a Case Study

1. Identify a problem to investigate: This should be something accessible and relevant to students’ lives. The problem should also be challenging and complex enough to yield multiple solutions with many layers.

2. Give context: Think of this step as a movie preview or book summary. Hook the learners to help them understand just enough about the problem to want to learn more.

3. Have a clear rubric: Giving structure to your definition of quality group work and products will lead to stronger end products. You may be able to have your learners help build these definitions.

4. Provide structures for presenting solutions: The amount of scaffolding you build in depends on your students’ skill level and development. A case study product can be something like several pieces of evidence of students collaborating to solve the case study, and ultimately presenting their solution with a detailed slide deck or an essay—you can scaffold this by providing specified headings for the sections of the essay.

Problem-Based Teaching Resources

There are many high-quality, peer-reviewed resources that are open source and easily accessible online.

• The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University at Buffalo built an online collection of more than 800 cases that cover topics ranging from biochemistry to economics. There are resources for middle and high school students.
• Models of Excellence , a project maintained by EL Education and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has examples of great problem- and project-based tasks—and corresponding exemplary student work—for grades pre-K to 12.
• The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning at Purdue University is an open-source journal that publishes examples of problem-based learning in K–12 and post-secondary classrooms.
• The Tech Edvocate has a list of websites and tools related to problem-based learning.

In their book Problems as Possibilities , Linda Torp and Sara Sage write that at the elementary school level, students particularly appreciate how they feel that they are taken seriously when solving case studies. At the middle school level, “researchers stress the importance of relating middle school curriculum to issues of student concern and interest.” And high schoolers, they write, find the case study method “beneficial in preparing them for their future.”

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Case Study in Education Research

Introduction, general overview and foundational texts of the late 20th century.

• Conceptualisations and Definitions of Case Study
• Case Study and Theoretical Grounding
• Choosing Cases
• Methodology, Method, Genre, or Approach
• Case Study: Quality and Generalizability
• Multiple Case Studies
• Exemplary Case Studies and Example Case Studies
• Criticism, Defense, and Debate around Case Study

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Case Study in Education Research by Lorna Hamilton LAST REVIEWED: 21 April 2021 LAST MODIFIED: 27 June 2018 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0201

It is important to distinguish between case study as a teaching methodology and case study as an approach, genre, or method in educational research. The use of case study as teaching method highlights the ways in which the essential qualities of the case—richness of real-world data and lived experiences—can help learners gain insights into a different world and can bring learning to life. The use of case study in this way has been around for about a hundred years or more. Case study use in educational research, meanwhile, emerged particularly strongly in the 1970s and 1980s in the United Kingdom and the United States as a means of harnessing the richness and depth of understanding of individuals, groups, and institutions; their beliefs and perceptions; their interactions; and their challenges and issues. Writers, such as Lawrence Stenhouse, advocated the use of case study as a form that teacher-researchers could use as they focused on the richness and intensity of their own practices. In addition, academic writers and postgraduate students embraced case study as a means of providing structure and depth to educational projects. However, as educational research has developed, so has debate on the quality and usefulness of case study as well as the problems surrounding the lack of generalizability when dealing with single or even multiple cases. The question of how to define and support case study work has formed the basis for innumerable books and discursive articles, starting with Robert Yin’s original book on case study ( Yin 1984 , cited under General Overview and Foundational Texts of the Late 20th Century ) to the myriad authors who attempt to bring something new to the realm of case study in educational research in the 21st century.

This section briefly considers the ways in which case study research has developed over the last forty to fifty years in educational research usage and reflects on whether the field has finally come of age, respected by creators and consumers of research. Case study has its roots in anthropological studies in which a strong ethnographic approach to the study of peoples and culture encouraged researchers to identify and investigate key individuals and groups by trying to understand the lived world of such people from their points of view. Although ethnography has emphasized the role of researcher as immersive and engaged with the lived world of participants via participant observation, evolving approaches to case study in education has been about the richness and depth of understanding that can be gained through involvement in the case by drawing on diverse perspectives and diverse forms of data collection. Embracing case study as a means of entering these lived worlds in educational research projects, was encouraged in the 1970s and 1980s by researchers, such as Lawrence Stenhouse, who provided a helpful impetus for case study work in education ( Stenhouse 1980 ). Stenhouse wrestled with the use of case study as ethnography because ethnographers traditionally had been unfamiliar with the peoples they were investigating, whereas educational researchers often worked in situations that were inherently familiar. Stenhouse also emphasized the need for evidence of rigorous processes and decisions in order to encourage robust practice and accountability to the wider field by allowing others to judge the quality of work through transparency of processes. Yin 1984 , the first book focused wholly on case study in research, gave a brief and basic outline of case study and associated practices. Various authors followed this approach, striving to engage more deeply in the significance of case study in the social sciences. Key among these are Merriam 1988 and Stake 1995 , along with Yin 1984 , who established powerful groundings for case study work. Additionally, evidence of the increasing popularity of case study can be found in a broad range of generic research methods texts, but these often do not have much scope for the extensive discussion of case study found in case study–specific books. Yin’s books and numerous editions provide a developing or evolving notion of case study with more detailed accounts of the possible purposes of case study, followed by Merriam 1988 and Stake 1995 who wrestled with alternative ways of looking at purposes and the positioning of case study within potential disciplinary modes. The authors referenced in this section are often characterized as the foundational authors on this subject and may have published various editions of their work, cited elsewhere in this article, based on their shifting ideas or emphases.

Merriam, S. B. 1988. Case study research in education: A qualitative approach . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This is Merriam’s initial text on case study and is eminently accessible. The author establishes and reinforces various key features of case study; demonstrates support for positioning the case within a subject domain, e.g., psychology, sociology, etc.; and further shapes the case according to its purpose or intent.

Stake, R. E. 1995. The art of case study research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Stake is a very readable author, accessible and yet engaging with complex topics. The author establishes his key forms of case study: intrinsic, instrumental, and collective. Stake brings the reader through the process of conceptualizing the case, carrying it out, and analyzing the data. The author uses authentic examples to help readers understand and appreciate the nuances of an interpretive approach to case study.

Stenhouse, L. 1980. The study of samples and the study of cases. British Educational Research Journal 6:1–6.

DOI: 10.1080/0141192800060101

A key article in which Stenhouse sets out his stand on case study work. Those interested in the evolution of case study use in educational research should consider this article and the insights given.

Yin, R. K. 1984. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . Beverley Hills, CA: SAGE.

This preliminary text from Yin was very basic. However, it may be of interest in comparison with later books because Yin shows the ways in which case study as an approach or method in research has evolved in relation to detailed discussions of purpose, as well as the practicalities of working through the research process.

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Case Study Compilation

The SEL Integration Approach  Case Study Compilation  was developed with and for educators who work in a K-12 school setting, including teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, SEL Directors, teacher leaders, & school principals, to provide examples of practice related to three questions:

• What does it mean to focus on social-emotional development and the creation of positive learning environments?
• How can educators integrate their approaches to social, emotional, and academic development?
• What does it look, sound, and feel like when SEL is effectively embedded into all elements of the school day?

When read one at a time, the case studies offer snapshots of social-emotional learning in action; they describe daily routines, activities, and teachable moments within short vignettes. When read together, the case studies provide a unique picture of what it takes for a school to integrate social, emotional, and academic learning across grade levels, content areas, and other unique contexts.

The Case Study Compilation includes:

• Eleven case studies:  Each case study highlights educator ‘moves’ and strategies to embed social-emotional skills, mindsets, and competencies throughout the school day and within academics. They each  conclude with a reflection prompt that challenges readers to examine their own practice. The case studies are written from several different perspectives, including teachers in the classroom and in distance learning environments, a school counselor, and district leaders.
• Reflection Guide for Professional Learning:  The Reflection Guide offers an entry point for educators to think critically about their work with youth in order to strengthen their practice. School leaders or other partners may choose to use this Reflection Guide in a variety of contexts, including coaching conversations and staff professional development sessions.

View our accompanying Quick Reference Guide , Companion Guides , and Educator & School Leader Self-Reflection Tools .

“We must resist thinking in siloed terms when it comes to social-emotional learning (SEL), academics, and equity. Rather, these elements of our work as educators and partners go hand in hand.”

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Creating Safer Schools: A Case Study

School safety and student well-being are crucial to the social, emotional, and academic development of young people. Simply put, students learn better when they feel safe. Many districts have turned to school security measures that offer visible signs or outward appearances of safety; however, other approaches — those that create positive and inclusive school climates — both support students’ well-being and more effectively result in safe learning environments.

This mixed-methods case study examines two urban school districts in the United States. After public calls to end policing in schools, leaders in these districts reformed both policy and practice to support student safety. This study sought to answer the following research questions through interviews, surveys, and in-person observations:

• How do district and school leaders make decisions about issues related to school safety practices (for example, School Resource Officer (SRO) programs)?
• What programs, policies, and/or practices are used to support student well-being and school safety in addition to or in place of SRO programs?
• How do students and school staff understand and experience school safety and well-being?
• How are students and school staff experiencing changes in school safety practices?
• What do students and school staff perceive as the policies and/or practices most needed to improve school safety and student well-being?

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Operation Pufferfish: Building and Sustaining a Department of Neighborhoods and Citizen Engagement in Lansing, Michigan

"The Toughest Beat": Investing in Employee Well-Being at the Denver Sheriff Department

Charting a Course for Boston: Organizing for Change

"Doing Something with Nothing" Trying to Make Kampala's Primary Schools Healthier and Safer Practitioner Guide

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What the Case Study Method Really Teaches

• Nitin Nohria

Seven meta-skills that stick even if the cases fade from memory.

It’s been 100 years since Harvard Business School began using the case study method. Beyond teaching specific subject matter, the case study method excels in instilling meta-skills in students. This article explains the importance of seven such skills: preparation, discernment, bias recognition, judgement, collaboration, curiosity, and self-confidence.

During my decade as dean of Harvard Business School, I spent hundreds of hours talking with our alumni. To enliven these conversations, I relied on a favorite question: “What was the most important thing you learned from your time in our MBA program?”

• Nitin Nohria is the George F. Baker Jr. Professor at Harvard Business School and the former dean of HBS.

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Case Method Project

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Bringing case method teaching to high schools & colleges: U.S. History, Government, Civics & Democracy

About the project  .

The Case Method Project is an initiative formed to achieve two goals:

• Bring case method teaching to high schools and colleges
• Use this methodology to deepen students’ understanding of American democracy

Based on the highly successful experience of Harvard Business School and other graduate and professional programs that use case-based teaching, we believe the case method can be employed to strengthen high school and college education as well, ensuring a more exciting, relevant, and effective experience for students and teachers across a range of subjects. We also believe the case method can be especially effective at engaging students with topics in history and democracy and that it presents a unique opportunity to help reverse the broad decline in civic education – and civic engagement – in the United States.

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Already working with the Case Method Project?

Connect to other educators in our network and download case materials via ShareVault .

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Interested in learning more about the Case Method Project?

Find out how to bring the case method to your school.

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Maureen O’Hern Dorchester, MA Maureen O’Hern Dorchester, MA

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“ I have had few weeks in teaching that I enjoyed as much as doing this case....My biggest dilemma now is how many cases I want to fit into the year. ”

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• What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on May 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyze the case, other interesting articles.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

TipIf your research is more practical in nature and aims to simultaneously investigate an issue as you solve it, consider conducting action research instead.

Unlike quantitative or experimental research , a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

Example of an outlying case studyIn the 1960s the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have extremely low rates of heart disease compared to the US average. It became an important case study for understanding previously neglected causes of heart disease.

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience or phenomenon.

Example of a representative case studyIn the 1920s, two sociologists used Muncie, Indiana as a case study of a typical American city that supposedly exemplified the changing culture of the US at the time.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews , observations , and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data.

Example of a mixed methods case studyFor a case study of a wind farm development in a rural area, you could collect quantitative data on employment rates and business revenue, collect qualitative data on local people’s perceptions and experiences, and analyze local and national media coverage of the development.

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis , with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyze its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Ecological validity

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

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The NCCSTS Case Collection, created and curated by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, on behalf of the University at Buffalo, contains over a thousand peer-reviewed case studies on a variety of topics in all areas of science.

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Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2021

Two cases about Hertz claimed top spots in 2021's Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies

Two cases on the uses of debt and equity at Hertz claimed top spots in the CRDT’s (Case Research and Development Team) 2021 top 40 review of cases.

Hertz (A) took the top spot. The case details the financial structure of the rental car company through the end of 2019. Hertz (B), which ranked third in CRDT’s list, describes the company’s struggles during the early part of the COVID pandemic and its eventual need to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

The success of the Hertz cases was unprecedented for the top 40 list. Usually, cases take a number of years to gain popularity, but the Hertz cases claimed top spots in their first year of release. Hertz (A) also became the first ‘cooked’ case to top the annual review, as all of the other winners had been web-based ‘raw’ cases.

Besides introducing students to the complicated financing required to maintain an enormous fleet of cars, the Hertz cases also expanded the diversity of case protagonists. Kathyrn Marinello was the CEO of Hertz during this period and the CFO, Jamere Jackson is black.

Sandwiched between the two Hertz cases, Coffee 2016, a perennial best seller, finished second. “Glory, Glory, Man United!” a case about an English football team’s IPO made a surprise move to number four.  Cases on search fund boards, the future of malls,  Norway’s Sovereign Wealth fund, Prodigy Finance, the Mayo Clinic, and Cadbury rounded out the top ten.

Other year-end data for 2021 showed:

• Online “raw” case usage remained steady as compared to 2020 with over 35K users from 170 countries and all 50 U.S. states interacting with 196 cases.
• Fifty four percent of raw case users came from outside the U.S..
• The Yale School of Management (SOM) case study directory pages received over 160K page views from 177 countries with approximately a third originating in India followed by the U.S. and the Philippines.
• Twenty-six of the cases in the list are raw cases.
• A third of the cases feature a woman protagonist.
• Orders for Yale SOM case studies increased by almost 50% compared to 2020.
• The top 40 cases were supervised by 19 different Yale SOM faculty members, several supervising multiple cases.

CRDT compiled the Top 40 list by combining data from its case store, Google Analytics, and other measures of interest and adoption.

All of this year’s Top 40 cases are available for purchase from the Yale Management Media store .

And the Top 40 cases studies of 2021 are:

1.   Hertz Global Holdings (A): Uses of Debt and Equity

2.   Coffee 2016

3.   Hertz Global Holdings (B): Uses of Debt and Equity 2020

4.   Glory, Glory Man United!

5.   Search Fund Company Boards: How CEOs Can Build Boards to Help Them Thrive

6.   The Future of Malls: Was Decline Inevitable?

7.   Strategy for Norway's Pension Fund Global

8.   Prodigy Finance

9.   Design at Mayo

10. Cadbury

11. City Hospital Emergency Room

13. Volkswagen

14. Marina Bay Sands

15. Shake Shack IPO

16. Mastercard

17. Netflix

18. Ant Financial

19. AXA: Creating the New CR Metrics

20. IBM Corporate Service Corps

21. Business Leadership in South Africa's 1994 Reforms

22. Alternative Meat Industry

23. Children's Premier

24. Khalil Tawil and Umi (A)

25. Palm Oil 2016

26. Teach For All: Designing a Global Network

27. What's Next? Search Fund Entrepreneurs Reflect on Life After Exit

28. Searching for a Search Fund Structure: A Student Takes a Tour of Various Options

30. Project Sammaan

31. Commonfund ESG

32. Polaroid

33. Connecticut Green Bank 2018: After the Raid

34. FieldFresh Foods

35. The Alibaba Group

36. 360 State Street: Real Options

37. Herman Miller

38. AgBiome

39. Nathan Cummings Foundation

40. Toyota 2010

• Principal Leadership
• Volume 18 (2017–2018)
• Principal Leadership January 2018

Changing School Culture: A Case Study

Studies show that the climate and culture of a school is linked to adults and that a poor climate and culture for the adult leaders has a direct effect on student performance. According to “Teacher Mental Health, School Climate, Inclusive Education, and Student Learning: A Review” by Christine Gray, Gabrielle Wilcox, and David Nordstokke, “Positive school climate also has the potential to contribute to teacher mental health and to provide an optimal environment to support student learning and growth.” This is the goal behind any effort at improving school culture and climate.

As the associate principal of State College Area High School in Pennsylvania, a piece of the responsibility for making culture and climate changes rested on my shoulders. However, it was our principal, Curtis Johnson, who determined that 2016 was the final year of complaining; it was time to get to the heart of the matter. His approach was unconventional, bold, and painful. But as the saying goes: “No pain and no risk—no change.” 

Johnson’s approach took on three critical steps that, in less than a year, have begun to change the culture and climate at our high school of 2,300 students (and more than 200 staff) from negative to positive. Those three steps included getting and taking critical feedback about why the culture was negative, creating a unified administrative team, and cultivating teacher leadership to create ownership. 

No Pain, No Gain

I have always believed that it’s best to get the painful part of change over with so you can move on to the good stuff, and this is exactly how we began. The first step of fixing the negative culture meant getting the perspectives of the teachers to find out why things were not good. Combining that need with the desire to create buy-in and teacher leadership, Johnson assembled a group of teachers he knew would be honest and forthright about the school’s culture issues, and he listened to their perspectives. From there, he supported this group of teacher leaders to get the faculty into discussions (minus the administrative team) to bring the issues to the surface. Using a survey and small group discussions, the faculty created a document that listed the problems they believed were causing the poor climate and culture. Once the discussions took place and the data was assembled, Johnson and his team of one associate principal and three assistant principals sat down together and went through every issue. This was where the “painful” part became a reality.

Faculty Feedback

Feedback from the faculty was bold, blunt, accusatory, and often true. It was a personally painful process sitting together and absorbing the brutal honesty of the people who we all work with each day. As a faculty, we felt like we were at fault, but as hard as it was, we had to admit that there was room for big improvement. After digesting the information and letting time ease the sting of reality, the team set to work. We started by arranging the issues according to actionable changes. After hours of discussion and brainstorming, we settled on the following areas for immediate improvement:

• Visibility. Teachers felt like they never saw the administrators. So, the principals agreed they would be in the halls between classes and at the beginning and end of the day. This sounds simple; however, it had to be balanced with the complaint that sometimes teachers couldn’t find us in our offices when they needed us.
• Communications. Teachers were frustrated with blanket “scolding” done through email or in faculty meetings. Administrators vowed they would send out blanket emails only when the majority of the faculty needed a reminder; otherwise, they would go directly to the people who were in need of a firmer reminder. 
• Relationships. The teachers felt like they were unknown by some of the administrators. We are currently a two-building high school campus, and it was true that it was hard to get to know those in the other building. To solve this, we began by having our technology people make us a faculty/staff picture album that scrolls across our computers to help us put faces to names. We hired more than 30 new people last year, so this was a way for everyone to learn new faces. With the suggestion of one of our teachers, we created a “One State” committee to create social events for the full faculty and staff. We also agreed to spend extra time in the halls having personal conversations with all members of the school. 

As I am writing these things, they appear, perhaps, a bit trivial. It seems silly that we weren’t doing them before, but as any principal knows, every minute of every day is important. “Simple” seems to be what goes out the window when the schedule gets packed. We now realize that simple changes are everything! By the end of September, we could already see and feel a difference in our school culture. Teachers were saying, “It’s nice to see you all more.” They have told us that it has been one of the most upbeat and encouraging starts to a year that they remember. (And this is no easy feat, considering we’re in the middle of a building construction project where everyone is misplaced or packed in small spaces and sharing space.) The culture is changing.

I remember thinking that Johnson was making a mistake in giving power to the negative complaints when he hatched this plan. I was wrong. The faculty needed to see and hear our hearts and know that we were willing to face difficult feedback to bring us all together as “one state.” We have more work to do, and things aren’t perfect. However, our principal was bold enough to take feedback that we knew would hurt, lead his team to make changes together, and use his teacher leaders to cultivate ownership in the process of making positive changes in the climate and culture of one high school. 

Kathy Pechtold is the associate principal of State College Area High School in Pennsylvania, where she has served as a teacher, dean of students, and assistant principal prior to her current role.

Making It Work

Three things principals can do to improve the culture and climate at their schools:

• Build a strong team that works together. But, be prepared to take tough feedback and empower teacher leaders.
• Build solid relationships. Don’t let teachers feel they are “unknown.” Make an effort to greet and talk with each person as often as you can, even though it takes time.
• Get back to the simple steps. Be visible by building culture issues into your schedule. Avoid sending blanket emails when you only need to address specific individuals. Remember, face-to-face interaction is often best.

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A case study of ‘The Good School:’ Examples of the use of Peterson’s strengths-based approach with students

Mathew a. white.

a St Peter’s College , St Peters, 5069, Adelaide, Australia

b Melbourne Graduate School, The University of Melbourne , 100 Leicester Street, Parkville, 3010, Victoria, Australia

Lea E. Waters

This applied case study centers on two aspects of Peterson’s research as introduced into a large K-12 school in Australia: (i) creating enabling institutions and (ii) applications of character strengths. The paper describes five character strengths initiatives. Four of the strengths initiatives have been integrated into existing school experiences such as English curriculum, school sport, student leadership, and counseling. The fifth initiative involved a brand new program which introduced a Positive Education Curriculum for years K-10. We describe these five initiatives and then explain how students at the school may experience these in a more holistic and integrated way. We hope that this article will act as a fitting tribute to the legacy of Christopher Peterson.

Introduction

As one of the founders in the field of positive psychology, Christopher Peterson’s research has contributed to the rapid growth of positive education, defined as the application of positive psychological interventions in educational settings (Green, Oades, & Robinson, 2011 ). This paper focuses upon two of Peterson’s contributions – as applied to schools – enabling institutions and character strengths. We write from a practitioner lens and present a practical paper that shares some examples of the ways in which the Values-In-Action (VIA) classification system was embedded in various facets of a Kindergarten-12 school such as English curriculum, school sport, student leadership, counseling, and a new Positive Education curriculum.

Schools as enabling institutions

According to Peterson ( 2006 ), positive psychological interventions should not only be applied at the individual level but can also be directed at the institutional level to develop what he termed ‘enabling institutions.’ In his conceptualization of an enabling institution, he argued that virtues should be present within individual members of an institution and at the collective level. Peterson ( 2006 ) argued that schools need to be enabling institutions. More specifically, he identified ‘The Good School’ (p. 284) as one that fosters academic excellence whilst also contributing to moral fulfillment and he stated that schools must include ‘much more than the teaching of multiplication and verb conjugation’ (p. 284). According to Peterson ( 2006 ), schools must have moral goals that guide their members to be caring, responsible and productive people in society. While Peterson acknowledged the importance of ameliorating suffering and negative experiences in schools such as bullying, substance abuse and other unhealthy behaviors, he urged schools to go beyond this ‘police department’ (p. 284) mode to put in place practices that systematically build character and well-being.

Character strengths in schools

How can schools be enabling institutions that build virtue? One approach may be to foster the development of character strengths. Character strengths are defined by Brdar and Kashdan ( 2010 ) as ‘pre-existing qualities that arise naturally, feel authentic ( and ) are intrinsically motivating to use’ (p. 151). Peterson ( 2006 ) argued that ‘we should develop and use as many strengths of character as possible’ (p. 157) and he also advocated that schools are ideal institutions to teach character. Character education seeks to insure that a student’s academic abilities are developed in unison with his/her character (Berkowitz & Bier, 2004 ; Lickona, 1993 ) which aligns with the positive education movement (Seligman, Ernst, Gillham, Reivich, & Linkins, 2009 ). Benninga, Berkowitz, Kuehn, and Smith ( 2006 ) argue that the experiences that students have at school can build character.

In order for schools to explicitly teach character, a well-planned curriculum is needed and the same level of research and planning that currently goes towards developing curricula for traditional academic subjects is required for developing character education (Waters, 2011 ; Waters & Scholes, 2013 ). Yet, Berkowitz and Bier ( 2004 ) argue that the field of character education lacks solid theory and research. In support of this claim, Leming’s ( 1997 ) review of 12 character education programs concluded that there was a lack of explicit theoretical perspectives for character education.

The school in the current case study turned to Peterson and Seligman’s ( 2004 ) classification system of virtues as a guiding framework for a strengths-based approach because of the theoretical development and empirical backing of the classification system. The VIA framework was developed by Peterson and Seligman ( 2004 ) with advice from a team of 40 contributors following five years of research development that used diverse research methods in order to find if there were a set of character strengths that are ubiquitous and morally valued across cultures. The development of the classification system included analysis of all major world religions for the virtues written about in scriptures, analysis of classic children stories from various cultures in order to identify the virtues displayed by the positive role models in the story, exploration of accounts of virtue by philosophers such as Aristotle, examination of contemporary virtue inventories (e.g. the Boy Scout codes), and analysis of the empirical research.

Following their analyses of the above sources, Peterson and Seligman ( 2004 ) theorized that there are six overarching virtues that are valued by all human beings. Within these six virtues, there are 24 subordinate, empirically measurable, character strengths: Humanity (love, kindness, and social intelligence), Wisdom and Knowledge (creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, and perspective), Temperance (forgiveness, self-regulation, prudence, and humility), Transcendence (hope, humur, gratitude, spirituality, and appreciation of beauty and excellence), Justice (leadership, fairness, and citizenship) and Courage (zest, bravery, perseverance, and honesty). 1

Peterson and Seligman’s ( 2004 ) theory has been tested empirically and it has been found to be positively related to well-being outcomes in youth samples. For example, in a cross-sectional study conducted with middle school students in the United States of America, Park and Peterson ( 2008 ) found that the character strengths of persistence, honesty, prudence, and love were negatively correlated with aggression, anxiety, and depression. Duckworth and Seligman ( 2005 ) looked at the specific character strength of self-discipline and its relationship to academic performance in eighth graders in USA. The results of their longitudinal study showed that self-discipline out-predicted IQ on academic performance. In a sample of Croatian university students, Brdar and Kashdan’s ( 2010 ) cross-sectional study found significant, positive relationships between the strengths of zest, curiosity, gratitude, and optimism/hope with life satisfaction, subjective vitality and a pleasurable, engaging, and meaningful existence. 2 In a cross-sectional online study of 501 Australian high-school students (aged 15–18 years), temperance, vitality, and transcendence were positively associated with well-being and happiness (Toner, Haslam, Robinson, & Williams, 2012 ). 3 These studies show a positive relationship between character strengths and well-being. However, the cross-sectional designs mean that causal conclusions cannot be drawn and it is still unclear if character strengths lead to well-being, if well-being fosters character strengths, or if the relationships are influenced by a third, unmeasured, variable.

The use of VIA character strengths framework to foster well-being in school students is relatively new and in addition to the four cross-sectional studies discussed above, three school-based intervention studies have been published. The Strath-Haven Positive Psychology program uses Peterson and Seligman’s ( 2004 ) VIA framework and was evaluated by Seligman et al. ( 2009 ) with 347 year 9 students in the USA using randomized control trials. Students were randomly allocated to Language Arts classes that contained the character strengths curriculum (intervention group) or the standard Language Arts classes (control group). The strengths program assisted students to identify their signature character strengths and to increase students’ use of these strengths in daily life. Pre-test to post-test between group comparisons revealed that the students in the character strengths curriculum reported greater enjoyment and engagement in school and these results endured through the two years post intervention at the end of the program. But there was no change in their levels of depression and anxiety. Teacher reports suggested that the program improved the strengths in students that related to learning and engagement in school such as curiosity, love of learning, and creativity. This is an important finding because teachers were blind to which students participated in the intervention group.

Proctor et al. ( 2011 ) examined the impact of Strengths Gym on life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and self-esteem in middle school students (Year 8 and Year 9) from two schools in the United Kingdom. The Strengths Gym is a character strengths program that is based on the VIA framework. The researchers tested the effectiveness of the Strengths Gym using a quasi-experimental design which compared changes in satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and self-esteem over time between the intervention group ( n  = 218) and the control group ( n  = 101). Adolescents who participated in the character strengths-based exercises experienced significant increases in life satisfaction and positive affect from baseline to post-test when holding baseline levels of life satisfaction, age, gender, and grade constant. There were no effects for negative affect.

Madden, Green, and Grant ( 2011 ) designed and evaluated a strengths-based coaching program for primary school children (Grade 5; N  = 38) in an all-boys, private school in Australia. The program was based upon the VIA character strengths framework and used the VIA-youth survey (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2006 ). A within-subject design was used to evaluate the program whereby students were pre-tested and post-tested on hope and engagement. At post-test, students reported increases in hope and engagement. However, the study did not use a control group and so the authors cannot suggest causal interpretations. It may be that these increases in hope and engagement occurred due to factors other then character strengths.

Caution is required before generalizing the results of these studies given they were conducted within specific school settings, at only a few year levels and only tested in schools that are in Western countries. A greater body of evidence is needed to evaluate the use of VIA strengths framework across junior, middle and senior schools, across different school systems (e.g. public schools and private schools), in different countries, and with students of various cultures. We hope that this body of research will grow over time and a recent bibliometric analysis of the field of positive psychology shows that research in positive education is on the rise (Rusk & Waters, 2013 ) which suggests that we may see more research on the use of character strengths in schools.

Although it is clear that more substantial research is required into the effectiveness of the VIA framework (Quinlan, Swain, & Vella-Brodrick, 2012 ), the school presented in the case study below was satisfied with the positive results of the early research, and, thus, became an ‘early change adopter’ of the framework. There is an important tension to acknowledge here between the timelines taken in research to replicate the initial affirmative findings of the VIA Classification system and the desire for schools to employ positive practices. Ideally, implementation of the VIA in schools would happen only after the positive research findings have been replicated over time. However, it is not always feasible for schools to wait for the slow research process to unfold and schools’ do not wish to deprive their students in programs that might boost well-being.

The school in this case study is aware of the need to keep abreast of new research and to adapt the character strengths initiatives as new findings come to light by following a continuous improvement model. The school has a number of staff members who hold PhD’s and Masters Degrees and are trained in research methods, this team have taken on responsibility to keep abreast of ongoing research on character strengths and to use this research to continually adapt and improve the character strengths program.

In this paper, we seek to contribute to the growth of the field from an applied approach by presenting a case study that describes examples of strengths-based school initiatives. The paper describes five character-strengths initiatives. Four of the strengths initiatives have been integrated into existing school experiences such as English curriculum, school sport, student leadership, and counseling. The fifth initiative involved a brand new program which introduced a Positive Education Curriculum. The five initiatives will be described below.

The case: St Peter’s College, Adelaide, Australia

St Peter’s College was established in 1847 and is a K-12 private, boys’ school (enrollment n  = 1299) in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The school hosts both day and boarding students and is a non-selective school founded by the Anglican Church. In 2011, the Headmaster, Simon Murray, and the Senior Leadership Team, in consultation with the Council of Governors, made the decision to adopt positive psychology as a key approach to underpin their new strategic direction. Recognizing that the school had over 160 year history of fostering character development focusing on science of strengths was a key philosophy adopted across the school. In the past three years, character strengths have been woven into five student initiatives at the school. Some of these initiatives include the larger student body (e.g. sport and the Positive Education Curriculum) whereas other programs have been used with smaller, specific samples (e.g. eighth grade English Literature, senior school student leaders, and students who seek counseling).

Character strengths in English literature

In the study of English literature, students are expected to engage with the meanings and themes of literature. Teachers assist this process by applying a variety of interpretative tools in order to understand the authorial intent behind its composition. At St Peter’s College, teachers in eighth grade and eleventh grade have applied the VIA Character Strengths Model as a further tool to explore whether an understanding of character strengths deepens students’ text analysis of characterization in film and fiction writing.

Character strengths lessons were designed based upon Peterson and Seligman’s ( 2004 ) model. Students completed the Youth version of the VIA character strengths survey, thereby finding out their five dominant strengths, and well as their rank order profile of all 24 character strengths. The class was given an opportunity to discuss their signature strengths in pairs, encouraged to reflect on whether they would recognize those strengths within themselves. This process was then widened and applied to the whole class. Students were asked to write their names on five stickers and then place their stickers on their top five strengths across a display board that contained the whole 24 strengths. This allowed the students to communicate their strengths in a social and interactive way, as well as giving them an insight into similarities between different boys. The class then examined the group’s strengths profile as a whole.

This class activity was followed by a homework task, which required boys to reflect on an event in their past which saw them display one or more of their signature character strengths. This memory was then to be recounted in writing for homework.

In eighth grade, the students use the VIA framework to analyze Tim Burton’s film ‘Edward Scissorhands’ and Franz Kafka’s novella ‘The Metamorphosis’– two works selected because of their artistic merit and thematic congruency. In eleventh grade, the students explored the characters in Shakespeare’s play ‘King Lear’ using the VIA Classification system. First, the teacher discussed plot, thematic motifs, and characters in order to secure a basic understanding of the text with students. The students were then asked to write analytically (following the Statement – Evidence – Analysis structure) about how the writer/director presented the characters in each work. Specifically, students were asked to explore the characters from a ‘character strength’ perspective.

The teachers observed that study of characterization using the VIA classification framework allowed student to ‘more readily step into the life of the character and to understand how the character feels.’ The teachers’ assessment was that students were more easily able to relate to characters from ‘Edward Scissorhands,’ ‘The Metamorphosis,’ and ‘King Lear’ because they could identify character strengths in the text characters that were also in themselves. Students also drew similar conclusions about the use of the VIA Classification system as a useful learning tool in English Literature. For example, one student commented:

I think that you can relate it to your own life. If you take the test and see what your own character strengths are and then you look at any fictional character like King Lear who is such a big and powerful character; but, you can still see that maybe if he finds it hard to express love. It makes you think, well where do I fit in expressing love and having love for other people.

A strengths-based approach in sport

Sport is a central and high-profile aspect of the culture at St Peter’s College. Sport is used as an activity to form school spirit and to connect positively with teachers outside of the classroom. Every student is required to play at least one school sport, training sessions are held at school, and all teachers are required to coach a sport. Many boys are in multiple sports teams. Research has shown a significant relationship between optimism and sporting performance (Lane, Thelwell, & Devonport, 2009 ; Norlander & Archer, 2002 ; Seligman, Nolen-Hoeksema, Thorton, & Thorton, 1990 ), yet some of the coaching of sport at St Peter’s College was occurring from a deficit-based approach with coaches focusing on correcting the weaknesses and errors of the student athletes rather than building up strengths and optimism.

In 2011, the school conducted a systematic review of coaching methods. Following this review, they worked with Mr Mathew Scholes 4 to implement the Positive Sports Coaching © (PSC) program. PSC was introduced as an innovative and positive way to coach sport that was aimed to enhance individual student engagement in sport and aligned with the overall well-being goal of the school. The program is built around the science of character strengths, optimism, and process praise. The program equips teachers, coaches, and players with strengths-based approaches for building sporting skills, team dynamics, and student well-being.

The school invested in training all Directors of Sport, the majority of teacher-coaches, and the key external sports coaches in the first half of 2012. The school also trained all students from year 8 through to year 12. Student sports captains and leaders were given two additional two-hour workshops and a one-hour debrief session with the Director of the PSC program.

The strength-based principles of the PSC program have been in place at St Peter’s for 18 months and the students, teachers, and parents are reporting positive benefits. One theme that has been reported back to the Director of Sport and the Director of Well-being and Positive Education is the use of strength-based praise amongst students on the field with many students now commenting, in the midst of the game, on the strengths that they see in other players such as courage, persistence, and team work. The coaches have infused strength-based language into their written game reports and this has broadened the types of players who now receive mention at the end of the game to include those who showed sporting prowess and those who showed strength of character. One coach commented on his focus of the role of character strength of forgiveness and has reported that the boys now quickly forgive each other for mistakes during the game which then allows them to re-focus more successfully on game strategy. He has also found that because forgiveness has become a major strength of the team’s culture, that boys feel more confident to take risks during the game which has extended their skills.

Students have observed that a strength-based approach has encouraged them to be more resilient following a loss because they draw upon strengths such as hope and persistence. Students made comments such as: ‘I am able to see the strengths of my team more easily;’ ‘We focus more on our strengths and how to use these to win and encourage each other now;’ and ‘Team spirit is much stronger since using the positive wheel.’

Using character strengths with senior students who hold leadership positions

Under the direction of the School Captain and Vice-Captain, the St Peter’s College student leadership group has explored leadership concepts using the VIA character strengths profile (Park et al., 2006 ). The School Captain and Vice-Captain invited the student leaders from all year levels in the school ( n  = 37) to participate in a half-day workshop to complete the VIA survey and used this as the starting point to co-create their leadership vision, mission, and goals for the year. The school leaders reflected on their signature strengths and how these can shape their individual leadership and form the collective leadership characteristics of the team. The student leaders were invited to reflect on the following questions: (i) When do you feel that you are able to use your strengths? (ii) Do you think any of your character strengths will inhibit your role as a leader? (iii) How can you use your strengths to spot the strengths in others? We believe that the student leadership strengths model enabled the team to quickly connect with each other and focus on how the dominant strengths of the team could either enhance or inhibit the group achieving their vision, mission, and goals.

Staff working with these students observed that the VIA model encouraged the student leaders to consider their roles from a ‘character’ perspective so that students see the operational/task aspects of their students leadership (e.g. monitoring the junior boys adherence to uniform regulations) and see the need to build character strengths and relationships in junior students (e.g. using wisdom to helping the junior boys with their studies). The student leaders were encouraged to consider how leadership can be improved by incorporating strengths such as forgiveness, humility, love, and temperance.

Strengths-based approach to student counseling

Character strengths can act as protective factors which help to mitigate psychopathology and enable flourishing (Park & Peterson, 2008 ). The school counselors have adopted a strengths-based approach and have worked hard to ‘re-language’ their counseling practice and expand their vocabulary to highlight student strengths, to frame problems from a strengths perspective as well as helping students to see potential strengths in their weaknesses. For example, a student who sees the counselor for his difficulty in sitting still in class or because he plays too roughly in the school yard can be helped by the counselor to understand these problems from deficit-based explanations (e.g. a lack of patience, lack of self-discipline, and lack of focus). But, the counselor can also facilitate a strengths-based interpretation such as having too much zest. Through this approach the student learns about his problems, but also about his strengths how his zest is a good quality but requires tempering in certain situations.

By adopting a strengths-based approach, the school counselors have now added therapeutic techniques from well-being therapy (WBT) to supplement cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) (Ruini & Fava, 2012 ). What this means is that the previous focus on assisting students to identify unhelpful and dysfunctional beliefs is now complemented with assisting students to surface adaptive strengths-based thinking. For example, if a student comes for counseling because he is experiencing distress in balancing his homework with his non-school obligations, the counselors will use CBT to help the student identify unhelpful or dysfunctional beliefs such as ‘I can’t cope with all the pressure’; ‘I am not smart enough;’ or ‘I am going to fail.’ By bringing these unhelpful thoughts into the student’s awareness, the counselor is able to help a student identify his automatic negative thoughts patterns such as: over generalizing and over personalizing.

In taking a strength-based approach, the counselors have added to their practice and, after surfacing and disputing unhelpful and dysfunctional beliefs they can use a WBT approach and ask questions that help to surface adaptive strength-based thoughts. For example, they may ask the student to talk about a time where the student did successfully balance their homework with their non-school obligations, ask the student what strengths they used at that time and ask the students to explore what they were thinking at that time. Examples of adaptive thoughts that might be surfaced from these positive examples include: ‘This is really tough, but if I use good time management skills and reach out to my friends, I will cope with this’ and ‘In the past I have achieved balance by using my strengths of self-regulation and hope.’ In this way, the counselors have helped the students to dispute the negative thoughts and have helped to connect the students with their own positive and adaptive thinking. The student can use this adaptive thinking the next time he experiences challenges.

The strengths-based approach has also expanded the diagnostic surveys given to students so that in addition to the standard measures of depression, anxiety symptoms, and stress levels, the school counselors also now administer the character strengths surveys and uses other positive psychological interventions. The interventions undertaken with students are now taken from the positive psychotherapy work of Seligman, Rashid, and Parks ( 2006 ) and Rashid ( 2009 ). This includes positive introductions, where the student is asked to identify his strengths, gratitude journals, family tree of strengths, savoring assignment, and putting strengths in action plan.

Positive education curriculum: From welfare to well-being

After 18 months planning, internal and external consultation, and staff training, St Peter’s College launched whole-school Positive Education curriculum. After significant professional development in well-being St Peter’s College staff have recognized that the world their students will graduate into will be one with many challenges. It was no longer satisfactory to rely solely on the traditional pastoral model (which was designed over 90 years ago). 5 Instead, the school recognized it could be doing more to systematically teach well-being competencies in order to prepare students to face adversity as well as assisting them to thrive during good times in their lives.

The St Peter’s College Positive Education curriculum is a developmental program that takes place within the School’s Anglican context. Overall, the curricula’s purpose was to enhance existing traditional pastoral approaches at the school with evidence-based approaches demonstrated to have impact. The aim was to boost students’ positive experience of school, engagement with learning, and develop their social-emotional development in an organized way (Noble, McGrath, Wyatt, Carbines, & Robb, 2008 ).

St Peter’s College Positive Education curriculum is unique in that it adopts a whole school systems approach to well-being and character strengths embedded within the schools strategic direction. Rather than relying on a handful of isolated programs, the curriculum is scoped and sequences and is linked to the School’s overall vision, mission, and operational goals in a coherent theoretical framework. Integration of the Positive Education curriculum was achieved by first educating the staff in the benefits of positive psychology and resilience 6 to de-mystify the program. Next, a collaborative inter-disciplinary team of over 55 staff in Junior and Senior Schools from K – Year 10 designed the Positive Education Curriculum.

The Positive Education curriculum includes one timetabled lesson per week (50 min) that focuses on teaching a systematic set of well-being capabilities employing four well-being programs and is reinforced in traditional pastoral models and student–mentor relationships throughout the school. In designing the curriculum, staff considered existing evidence-based programs that aligned with positive education programs, used contemporary well-being theory, and took a strength-based approach including McGrath and Noble ( 2003 ) Bounce Back! For Reception – Year 5, Boniwell and Ryan ( 2012 ) Personal Well-Being Lessons for Secondary Schools in Year 7, Gillham, Reivich, and Jaycox ( 2008 ) Penn Resilience Program in Year 8 and Reivich et al. ( 2007 ) Strath Haven Positive Psychology Curriculum in Year 10.

This curriculum is taught from Kindergarten – Year 10. In each of these year levels, the students are introduced to the VIA framework in ways that are developmentally appropriate. For example, in the Junior School, a number of activities have been devised to connect students with character strengths including: strengths hands where teachers ask students to write their names on a traced version of their own hand and then write their top five strengths on their fingers as well as an example of how they use their strengths in the palm; strengths trains with each caboose representing a student’s strengths; strengths stars showing that students can ‘shine’ when they use their strengths; strengths trees for each class that forms a forest of strengths in the entrance to the Junior School with trees from all classes represented; and strengths shields to represent the strengths students can use when adversity strikes; Australian Rules Football shirts that nominate students strengths and form a visual representation of being part of the ‘class team’ that knows its collective strengths.

In the middle years, strengths activities have included the following: completing the strengths survey, exploring the difference between strengths and talents, spotting individual and class strengths, discussion of signature strengths in context of real-life and hypothetical scenarios (social, sporting and class room) clustering students into groups of ‘virtues’ and inviting them to compare the virtues each students identifies with, reflecting on paragons of strengths and reflecting on the strengths of others.

Bringing it all together

In order to outline the strengths-based changes that have been undertaken at St Peter’s College over the past three years, we have written about each of the initiatives separately so that teachers, school leaders, and administrators can gain ideas for how to infuse character strengths in particular areas across the school. Yet, in practice, the school has adopted the ‘shotgun’ approach to strengths suggested by Fordyce ( 1977 , 1983 ) in that it has used multiple initiatives rather than one universal program. The students have, therefore, been exposed to character strengths via multiple initiatives across contexts. Over time, what we have observed is that these separate initiatives have combined to create a cultural tipping point where the strengths initiatives across the school are fusing to create a strengths-based culture. In this way, we believe we are moving towards Peterson’s ( 2006 ) ideal of an ‘enabling institution’ which fosters strengths within the individual members and also at the collective level.

In considering these new approaches through the eyes of our students, a typical picture may be a boy learning about his own character strengths, the character strengths of his fellow students, and the character strengths of his teachers through the Positive Education curriculum (Kindergarten – Year 10). The student then explores the use of his strengths on the sports field as well as having his strengths identified and valued by the coach after the game. If he is a sports captain (28% of students are sports captains), he will receive additional strengths-based training. If he is a student in a leadership position (23% of students in the school are in leadership positions), he will explore his own strengths and how these can be deployed in his leadership role. In eighth and eleventh grades, he will analyze famous characters in English Literature through the VIA model. If he requires assistance from the school counselors, they will use traditional diagnostic models to make clinical assessments but will also administer the VIA to help him explore how he can use his signature strengths to cope. Given that all staff have been trained in the VIA model, it is hoped that there will be many informal, spontaneous strengths-based conversations in the corridors, study hall, library, school yard, drama class, sporting field, and so forth.

Of course, we do not want to paint a falsely optimistic picture. Creating strength-based change at our school has been a complex and lengthy process. There has been healthy skepticism and some teachers have adopted the strengths-based approach more quickly than others. It has taken three years but we are now at the stage where nearly all students and staff in the school have identified their signature strengths.

Christopher Peterson played a foundational role in the development of positive psychology and positive education. Characteristically humble, in our personal conversations with Chris, he always delighted in hearing our stories of how we used the VIA framework with young people to develop greater virtue, self-efficacy, and well-being. The hope that schools, their staff, and students could reimagine their futures as enabling institutions through a strengths-based approach energized him and reaffirmed his mission to help us appreciate that ‘other people matter.’ We hope that this article is an adequate legacy to Professor Peterson and we know that his legacy lives on in the lives of hundreds of students and staff at St Peters’ College, Australia.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Simon Murray (Headmaster) of St Peter’s College, the Senior Leadership Team, Zoë Alford (St Peter’s College School Psychologist), David McShane (School Counselor), the English Department, all staff, John Vrodos (School Captain) and Tom McNeil (Vice-Captain).

1. For more detailed information about the VIA, including peer reviewed research on its use, visit the VIA website at www.viacharacter.org

2. Brdar and Kashdan’s ( 2010 ) factor analysis suggested four overarching virtues, rather than six. The four virtues were defined as Interpersonal Strengths, Fortitude, Vitality, and Cautiousness. The twenty-four character strengths were all validated in Brdar and Kashdan’s factor analysis.

3. Toner et al. ( 2012 ) found a five-factor virtue structure: Temperance, Vitality, Curiosity, Interpersonal Strengths, and Transcendence. The twenty-four character strengths were all validated in the factor analysis.

4. Positive Sports Coaching: www.positivesportscoaching.com.au .

5. Pastoral care is an approach common in many Australian Independent Schools. It refers to systems, processes, and ways teachers nurture students beyond teaching traditional academic lessons. Each student at St Peter’s College will belong to a House and have a mentor who liaises with the Head of House and others. The objective is to insure that students don’t fall between the cracks and communicates regularly with parents. The team includes teaching staff, clergy, and counselors.

6. One hundred and fifty staff were trained in positive psychology and resilience by a team from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Do Your Students Know How to Analyze a Case—Really?

Explore more.

• Case Teaching
• Student Engagement

J ust as actors, athletes, and musicians spend thousands of hours practicing their craft, business students benefit from practicing their critical-thinking and decision-making skills. Students, however, often have limited exposure to real-world problem-solving scenarios; they need more opportunities to practice tackling tough business problems and deciding on—and executing—the best solutions.

To ensure students have ample opportunity to develop these critical-thinking and decision-making skills, we believe business faculty should shift from teaching mostly principles and ideas to mostly applications and practices. And in doing so, they should emphasize the case method, which simulates real-world management challenges and opportunities for students.

To help educators facilitate this shift and help students get the most out of case-based learning, we have developed a framework for analyzing cases. We call it PACADI (Problem, Alternatives, Criteria, Analysis, Decision, Implementation); it can improve learning outcomes by helping students better solve and analyze business problems, make decisions, and develop and implement strategy. Here, we’ll explain why we developed this framework, how it works, and what makes it an effective learning tool.

The Case for Cases: Helping Students Think Critically

Business students must develop critical-thinking and analytical skills, which are essential to their ability to make good decisions in functional areas such as marketing, finance, operations, and information technology, as well as to understand the relationships among these functions. For example, the decisions a marketing manager must make include strategic planning (segments, products, and channels); execution (digital messaging, media, branding, budgets, and pricing); and operations (integrated communications and technologies), as well as how to implement decisions across functional areas.

Faculty can use many types of cases to help students develop these skills. These include the prototypical “paper cases”; live cases , which feature guest lecturers such as entrepreneurs or corporate leaders and on-site visits; and multimedia cases , which immerse students into real situations. Most cases feature an explicit or implicit decision that a protagonist—whether it is an individual, a group, or an organization—must make.

For students new to learning by the case method—and even for those with case experience—some common issues can emerge; these issues can sometimes be a barrier for educators looking to ensure the best possible outcomes in their case classrooms. Unsure of how to dig into case analysis on their own, students may turn to the internet or rely on former students for “answers” to assigned cases. Or, when assigned to provide answers to assignment questions in teams, students might take a divide-and-conquer approach but not take the time to regroup and provide answers that are consistent with one other.

To help address these issues, which we commonly experienced in our classes, we wanted to provide our students with a more structured approach for how they analyze cases—and to really think about making decisions from the protagonists’ point of view. We developed the PACADI framework to address this need.

PACADI: A Six-Step Decision-Making Approach

The PACADI framework is a six-step decision-making approach that can be used in lieu of traditional end-of-case questions. It offers a structured, integrated, and iterative process that requires students to analyze case information, apply business concepts to derive valuable insights, and develop recommendations based on these insights.

Prior to beginning a PACADI assessment, which we’ll outline here, students should first prepare a two-paragraph summary—a situation analysis—that highlights the key case facts. Then, we task students with providing a five-page PACADI case analysis (excluding appendices) based on the following six steps.

Step 1: Problem definition. What is the major challenge, problem, opportunity, or decision that has to be made? If there is more than one problem, choose the most important one. Often when solving the key problem, other issues will surface and be addressed. The problem statement may be framed as a question; for example, How can brand X improve market share among millennials in Canada? Usually the problem statement has to be re-written several times during the analysis of a case as students peel back the layers of symptoms or causation.

Step 2: Alternatives. Identify in detail the strategic alternatives to address the problem; three to five options generally work best. Alternatives should be mutually exclusive, realistic, creative, and feasible given the constraints of the situation. Doing nothing or delaying the decision to a later date are not considered acceptable alternatives.

Step 3: Criteria. What are the key decision criteria that will guide decision-making? In a marketing course, for example, these may include relevant marketing criteria such as segmentation, positioning, advertising and sales, distribution, and pricing. Financial criteria useful in evaluating the alternatives should be included—for example, income statement variables, customer lifetime value, payback, etc. Students must discuss their rationale for selecting the decision criteria and the weights and importance for each factor.

Step 4: Analysis. Provide an in-depth analysis of each alternative based on the criteria chosen in step three. Decision tables using criteria as columns and alternatives as rows can be helpful. The pros and cons of the various choices as well as the short- and long-term implications of each may be evaluated. Best, worst, and most likely scenarios can also be insightful.

Step 5: Decision. Students propose their solution to the problem. This decision is justified based on an in-depth analysis. Explain why the recommendation made is the best fit for the criteria.

Step 6: Implementation plan. Sound business decisions may fail due to poor execution. To enhance the likeliness of a successful project outcome, students describe the key steps (activities) to implement the recommendation, timetable, projected costs, expected competitive reaction, success metrics, and risks in the plan.

“Students note that using the PACADI framework yields ‘aha moments’—they learned something surprising in the case that led them to think differently about the problem and their proposed solution.”

PACADI’s Benefits: Meaningfully and Thoughtfully Applying Business Concepts

The PACADI framework covers all of the major elements of business decision-making, including implementation, which is often overlooked. By stepping through the whole framework, students apply relevant business concepts and solve management problems via a systematic, comprehensive approach; they’re far less likely to surface piecemeal responses.

As students explore each part of the framework, they may realize that they need to make changes to a previous step. For instance, when working on implementation, students may realize that the alternative they selected cannot be executed or will not be profitable, and thus need to rethink their decision. Or, they may discover that the criteria need to be revised since the list of decision factors they identified is incomplete (for example, the factors may explain key marketing concerns but fail to address relevant financial considerations) or is unrealistic (for example, they suggest a 25 percent increase in revenues without proposing an increased promotional budget).

In addition, the PACADI framework can be used alongside quantitative assignments, in-class exercises, and business and management simulations. The structured, multi-step decision framework encourages careful and sequential analysis to solve business problems. Incorporating PACADI as an overarching decision-making method across different projects will ultimately help students achieve desired learning outcomes. As a practical “beyond-the-classroom” tool, the PACADI framework is not a contrived course assignment; it reflects the decision-making approach that managers, executives, and entrepreneurs exercise daily. Case analysis introduces students to the real-world process of making business decisions quickly and correctly, often with limited information. This framework supplies an organized and disciplined process that students can readily defend in writing and in class discussions.

PACADI in Action: An Example

Here’s an example of how students used the PACADI framework for a recent case analysis on CVS, a large North American drugstore chain.

The CVS Prescription for Customer Value*

PACADI Stage

Summary Response

How should CVS Health evolve from the “drugstore of your neighborhood” to the “drugstore of your future”?

Alternatives

A1. Kaizen (continuous improvement)

A2. Product development

A3. Market development

A4. Personalization (micro-targeting)

Criteria (include weights)

C1. Customer value: service, quality, image, and price (40%)

C2. Customer obsession (20%)

C3. Growth through related businesses (20%)

C4. Customer retention and customer lifetime value (20%)

Each alternative was analyzed by each criterion using a Customer Value Assessment Tool

Alternative 4 (A4): Personalization was selected. This is operationalized via: segmentation—move toward segment-of-1 marketing; geodemographics and lifestyle emphasis; predictive data analysis; relationship marketing; people, principles, and supply chain management; and exceptional customer service.

Implementation

Partner with leading medical school

Curbside pick-up

Pet pharmacy

E-newsletter for customers and employees

Employee incentive program

CVS beauty days

Expand to Latin America and Caribbean

Healthier/happier corner

Holiday toy drives/community outreach

*Source: A. Weinstein, Y. Rodriguez, K. Sims, R. Vergara, “The CVS Prescription for Superior Customer Value—A Case Study,” Back to the Future: Revisiting the Foundations of Marketing from Society for Marketing Advances, West Palm Beach, FL (November 2, 2018).

Results of Using the PACADI Framework

When faculty members at our respective institutions at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and the University of North Carolina Wilmington have used the PACADI framework, our classes have been more structured and engaging. Students vigorously debate each element of their decision and note that this framework yields an “aha moment”—they learned something surprising in the case that led them to think differently about the problem and their proposed solution.

These lively discussions enhance individual and collective learning. As one external metric of this improvement, we have observed a 2.5 percent increase in student case grade performance at NSU since this framework was introduced.

Tips to Get Started

The PACADI approach works well in in-person, online, and hybrid courses. This is particularly important as more universities have moved to remote learning options. Because students have varied educational and cultural backgrounds, work experience, and familiarity with case analysis, we recommend that faculty members have students work on their first case using this new framework in small teams (two or three students). Additional analyses should then be solo efforts.

To use PACADI effectively in your classroom, we suggest the following:

Advise your students that your course will stress critical thinking and decision-making skills, not just course concepts and theory.

Use a varied mix of case studies. As marketing professors, we often address consumer and business markets; goods, services, and digital commerce; domestic and global business; and small and large companies in a single MBA course.

As a starting point, provide a short explanation (about 20 to 30 minutes) of the PACADI framework with a focus on the conceptual elements. You can deliver this face to face or through videoconferencing.

Give students an opportunity to practice the case analysis methodology via an ungraded sample case study. Designate groups of five to seven students to discuss the case and the six steps in breakout sessions (in class or via Zoom).

Ensure case analyses are weighted heavily as a grading component. We suggest 30–50 percent of the overall course grade.

Once cases are graded, debrief with the class on what they did right and areas needing improvement (30- to 40-minute in-person or Zoom session).

Encourage faculty teams that teach common courses to build appropriate instructional materials, grading rubrics, videos, sample cases, and teaching notes.

When selecting case studies, we have found that the best ones for PACADI analyses are about 15 pages long and revolve around a focal management decision. This length provides adequate depth yet is not protracted. Some of our tested and favorite marketing cases include Brand W , Hubspot , Kraft Foods Canada , TRSB(A) , and Whiskey & Cheddar .

Art Weinstein , Ph.D., is a professor of marketing at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has published more than 80 scholarly articles and papers and eight books on customer-focused marketing strategy. His latest book is Superior Customer Value—Finding and Keeping Customers in the Now Economy . Dr. Weinstein has consulted for many leading technology and service companies.

Herbert V. Brotspies , D.B.A., is an adjunct professor of marketing at Nova Southeastern University. He has over 30 years’ experience as a vice president in marketing, strategic planning, and acquisitions for Fortune 50 consumer products companies working in the United States and internationally. His research interests include return on marketing investment, consumer behavior, business-to-business strategy, and strategic planning.

John T. Gironda , Ph.D., is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. His research has been published in Industrial Marketing Management, Psychology & Marketing , and Journal of Marketing Management . He has also presented at major marketing conferences including the American Marketing Association, Academy of Marketing Science, and Society for Marketing Advances.

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Critical Literacies pp 79–104 Cite as

Case Studies in the Middle School Classroom

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In this chapter, I present three qualitative case studies that I conducted at a middle school over the course of one semester. I start with the cases of Ms. Young and Mr. Brown, who are Reading/English Language Arts teachers. After discussing their instructional approaches and what I learned from observing these two educators, I conclude this chapter with the third case, Ms. Grant. Ms. Grant is the ESL teacher who works with the regular classroom teachers.

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What Is a Case Study?

Weighing the pros and cons of this method of research

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Cara Lustik is a fact-checker and copywriter.

Verywell / Colleen Tighe

• Pros and Cons

What Types of Case Studies Are Out There?

Where do you find data for a case study, how do i write a psychology case study.

A case study is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes of behavior. Case studies can be used in many different fields, including psychology, medicine, education, anthropology, political science, and social work.

The point of a case study is to learn as much as possible about an individual or group so that the information can be generalized to many others. Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective, and it is sometimes difficult to generalize results to a larger population.

While case studies focus on a single individual or group, they follow a format similar to other types of psychology writing. If you are writing a case study, we got you—here are some rules of APA format to reference.  

At a Glance

A case study, or an in-depth study of a person, group, or event, can be a useful research tool when used wisely. In many cases, case studies are best used in situations where it would be difficult or impossible for you to conduct an experiment. They are helpful for looking at unique situations and allow researchers to gather a lot of˜ information about a specific individual or group of people. However, it's important to be cautious of any bias we draw from them as they are highly subjective.

What Are the Benefits and Limitations of Case Studies?

A case study can have its strengths and weaknesses. Researchers must consider these pros and cons before deciding if this type of study is appropriate for their needs.

One of the greatest advantages of a case study is that it allows researchers to investigate things that are often difficult or impossible to replicate in a lab. Some other benefits of a case study:

• Allows researchers to capture information on the 'how,' 'what,' and 'why,' of something that's implemented
• Gives researchers the chance to collect information on why one strategy might be chosen over another
• Permits researchers to develop hypotheses that can be explored in experimental research

On the other hand, a case study can have some drawbacks:

• It cannot necessarily be generalized to the larger population
• Cannot demonstrate cause and effect
• It may not be scientifically rigorous
• It can lead to bias

Researchers may choose to perform a case study if they want to explore a unique or recently discovered phenomenon. Through their insights, researchers develop additional ideas and study questions that might be explored in future studies.

It's important to remember that the insights from case studies cannot be used to determine cause-and-effect relationships between variables. However, case studies may be used to develop hypotheses that can then be addressed in experimental research.

Case Study Examples

There have been a number of notable case studies in the history of psychology. Much of  Freud's work and theories were developed through individual case studies. Some great examples of case studies in psychology include:

• Anna O : Anna O. was a pseudonym of a woman named Bertha Pappenheim, a patient of a physician named Josef Breuer. While she was never a patient of Freud's, Freud and Breuer discussed her case extensively. The woman was experiencing symptoms of a condition that was then known as hysteria and found that talking about her problems helped relieve her symptoms. Her case played an important part in the development of talk therapy as an approach to mental health treatment.
• Phineas Gage : Phineas Gage was a railroad employee who experienced a terrible accident in which an explosion sent a metal rod through his skull, damaging important portions of his brain. Gage recovered from his accident but was left with serious changes in both personality and behavior.
• Genie : Genie was a young girl subjected to horrific abuse and isolation. The case study of Genie allowed researchers to study whether language learning was possible, even after missing critical periods for language development. Her case also served as an example of how scientific research may interfere with treatment and lead to further abuse of vulnerable individuals.

Such cases demonstrate how case research can be used to study things that researchers could not replicate in experimental settings. In Genie's case, her horrific abuse denied her the opportunity to learn a language at critical points in her development.

This is clearly not something researchers could ethically replicate, but conducting a case study on Genie allowed researchers to study phenomena that are otherwise impossible to reproduce.

There are a few different types of case studies that psychologists and other researchers might use:

• Collective case studies : These involve studying a group of individuals. Researchers might study a group of people in a certain setting or look at an entire community. For example, psychologists might explore how access to resources in a community has affected the collective mental well-being of those who live there.
• Descriptive case studies : These involve starting with a descriptive theory. The subjects are then observed, and the information gathered is compared to the pre-existing theory.
• Explanatory case studies : These   are often used to do causal investigations. In other words, researchers are interested in looking at factors that may have caused certain things to occur.
• Exploratory case studies : These are sometimes used as a prelude to further, more in-depth research. This allows researchers to gather more information before developing their research questions and hypotheses .
• Instrumental case studies : These occur when the individual or group allows researchers to understand more than what is initially obvious to observers.
• Intrinsic case studies : This type of case study is when the researcher has a personal interest in the case. Jean Piaget's observations of his own children are good examples of how an intrinsic case study can contribute to the development of a psychological theory.

The three main case study types often used are intrinsic, instrumental, and collective. Intrinsic case studies are useful for learning about unique cases. Instrumental case studies help look at an individual to learn more about a broader issue. A collective case study can be useful for looking at several cases simultaneously.

The type of case study that psychology researchers use depends on the unique characteristics of the situation and the case itself.

There are a number of different sources and methods that researchers can use to gather information about an individual or group. Six major sources that have been identified by researchers are:

• Archival records : Census records, survey records, and name lists are examples of archival records.
• Direct observation : This strategy involves observing the subject, often in a natural setting . While an individual observer is sometimes used, it is more common to utilize a group of observers.
• Documents : Letters, newspaper articles, administrative records, etc., are the types of documents often used as sources.
• Interviews : Interviews are one of the most important methods for gathering information in case studies. An interview can involve structured survey questions or more open-ended questions.
• Participant observation : When the researcher serves as a participant in events and observes the actions and outcomes, it is called participant observation.
• Physical artifacts : Tools, objects, instruments, and other artifacts are often observed during a direct observation of the subject.

If you have been directed to write a case study for a psychology course, be sure to check with your instructor for any specific guidelines you need to follow. If you are writing your case study for a professional publication, check with the publisher for their specific guidelines for submitting a case study.

Here is a general outline of what should be included in a case study.

Section 1: A Case History

This section will have the following structure and content:

Background information : The first section of your paper will present your client's background. Include factors such as age, gender, work, health status, family mental health history, family and social relationships, drug and alcohol history, life difficulties, goals, and coping skills and weaknesses.

Description of the presenting problem : In the next section of your case study, you will describe the problem or symptoms that the client presented with.

Describe any physical, emotional, or sensory symptoms reported by the client. Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions related to the symptoms should also be noted. Any screening or diagnostic assessments that are used should also be described in detail and all scores reported.

Your diagnosis : Provide your diagnosis and give the appropriate Diagnostic and Statistical Manual code. Explain how you reached your diagnosis, how the client's symptoms fit the diagnostic criteria for the disorder(s), or any possible difficulties in reaching a diagnosis.

Section 2: Treatment Plan

This portion of the paper will address the chosen treatment for the condition. This might also include the theoretical basis for the chosen treatment or any other evidence that might exist to support why this approach was chosen.

• Cognitive behavioral approach : Explain how a cognitive behavioral therapist would approach treatment. Offer background information on cognitive behavioral therapy and describe the treatment sessions, client response, and outcome of this type of treatment. Make note of any difficulties or successes encountered by your client during treatment.
• Humanistic approach : Describe a humanistic approach that could be used to treat your client, such as client-centered therapy . Provide information on the type of treatment you chose, the client's reaction to the treatment, and the end result of this approach. Explain why the treatment was successful or unsuccessful.
• Psychoanalytic approach : Describe how a psychoanalytic therapist would view the client's problem. Provide some background on the psychoanalytic approach and cite relevant references. Explain how psychoanalytic therapy would be used to treat the client, how the client would respond to therapy, and the effectiveness of this treatment approach.
• Pharmacological approach : If treatment primarily involves the use of medications, explain which medications were used and why. Provide background on the effectiveness of these medications and how monotherapy may compare with an approach that combines medications with therapy or other treatments.

This section of a case study should also include information about the treatment goals, process, and outcomes.

When you are writing a case study, you should also include a section where you discuss the case study itself, including the strengths and limitiations of the study. You should note how the findings of your case study might support previous research. 

In your discussion section, you should also describe some of the implications of your case study. What ideas or findings might require further exploration? How might researchers go about exploring some of these questions in additional studies?

Need More Tips?

Here are a few additional pointers to keep in mind when formatting your case study:

• Never refer to the subject of your case study as "the client." Instead, use their name or a pseudonym.
• Read examples of case studies to gain an idea about the style and format.
• Remember to use APA format when citing references .

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach .  BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011;11:100.

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach . BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011 Jun 27;11:100. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-11-100

Gagnon, Yves-Chantal.  The Case Study as Research Method: A Practical Handbook . Canada, Chicago Review Press Incorporated DBA Independent Pub Group, 2010.

Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods . United States, SAGE Publications, 2017.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."