Gratitude Interventions and Character Strength Development in Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17102/rabsel.26.11.260303Keywords:
Gratitude interventions; character education; academic engagement; cross-cultural mechanisms; educational policyAbstract
Gratitude has emerged as an important character strength within positive psychology, with growing applications in education. This systematic review and meta-synthesis, conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines, synthesizes evidence from 24 empirical studies involving 14,285 participants across primary, secondary, and tertiary education. All statistical analyses, including meta-analytic synthesis and moderator analyses, were performed using R (version 4.3.2) in the RStudio environment. Findings indicate that structured gratitude interventions produce small-to-moderate improvements in psychological well-being (g = 0.34, 95% CI [0.26, 0.42]), social connectedness (g = 0.31, 95% CI [0.22, 0.48]), and academic engagement (g = 0.25, 95% CI [0.16, 0.34]). Effects on academic achievement were smaller (g = 0.14, 95% CI [0.05, 0.25]) and were primarily associated with increased autonomous motivation and emotional regulation. Cultural context moderated outcomes, with weaker effects in Eastern collectivistic settings, partly due to feelings of indebtedness and obligation. Mandatory implementation also reduced intervention effectiveness and could negatively affect autonomy. The findings support autonomy-supportive, culturally responsive, and voluntary approaches to gratitude interventions in education. Future research should prioritise longitudinal and cross-cultural investigations to clarify sustained effects and contextual differences.
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