Chue, Kah Loong

The positive psychology movement has led to an increasing number of individuals, organizations and countries to recognize the importance of supporting and promoting the state of wellbeing in adolescents. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to have a valid and reliable measurement of wellbeing. Several instruments have been developed for this purpose, each differing on the number and type of domains. However, many of these instruments were developed in western societies and therefore, highly dependent on the needs and priorities of these cultures. These instruments may or may not be relevant in the Asian context. Using Hofstede’ proposed cultural dimensions, which include Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/Short Term Orientation and Indulgence/Restraint, this chapter will examine the various types of instruments that were designed to measure wellbeing in adolescents and their validity in Asian societies. The review suggests that more evidence-based evaluations of measurement tools are required to ensure that the instruments are well-suited for the different socio-cultural contexts.

As technology progresses, online learning is becoming prevalent in schools as a tool for education. Teachers can now develop their teaching content that enhances learning in both synchronous and asynchronous online environments. Teachers who implemented these learning models have had to grapple with unfamiliar challenges, such as the lack of student motivation. Although there have been past recommendations for the development and conduct of effective online lessons, very few studies have viewed it from a motivational perspective. Thus, this chapter complements these suggestions by recommending strategies based on the motivational framework of self-determination theory. Self-determination theory posits that an individual’s motivation lies along a continuum ranging from amotivation to extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation. For a student to develop intrinsic motivation, the structural and interpersonal environment must be conducive to facilitate a sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness. Notably, there are sufficient differences between face-to-face and home-based learning such that additional strategies may need to be implemented. Three additional strategies that are aligned to the tenets of self-determination theory are suggested for home-based learning. As more schools embark on the practice of online learning, it is important for these strategies to be utilized and tested in the online environment.