Connecting Sustainable Human Development and Positive Psychology through the Arts in Education: A Systematic Review

Citation: Vazquez-Marin, P.; Cuadrado, F.; Lopez-Cobo, I. Connecting Sustainable Human Development and Positive Psychology through the Arts in Education: A Systematic Review. Sustainability 2023,15, 2076. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032076 Academic Editor: Vasiliki Brinia Received: 18 November 2022 Revised: 9 January 2023 Accepted: 13 January 2023 Published: 21 January 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Systematic Review Connecting Sustainable Human Development and Positive Psychology through the Arts in Education: A Systematic Review Pedro Vazquez-Marin 1, Francisco Cuadrado 2and Isabel Lopez-Cobo 3,* 1Department of Social Sciences, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, 41704 Sevilla, Spain 2Communication and Education Department, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, 41704 Sevilla, Spain 3Department of Didactics and Educational Organization, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Seville, 41013 Sevilla, Spain *Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Positive psychology and sustainable human development seek to improve the well-being of the individual. To achieve this well-being at the education level, positive education seeks to develop character strengths, and education for development facilitates the development of competencies. Moreover, the literature has demonstrated that the arts in positive education develop individual character strengths, socioemotional competencies and students’ relationship with their environment. Accordingly, in this systematic review, we aim to connect positive psychology and sustainable human development by evaluating the arts in education, based on the concepts of well-being. The results indicate that there are points of confluence between subjective and sustainable well-being, and illuminate the links and their connections between competencies and character strengths, with critical thinking functioning as an important connector between the two. Since character strengths are measurable and educable, we advocate their use as a tool to measure the human development index (HDI) in the education of a specific community. Thus, we are able to evaluate whether the competencies for development are achieved, as well as their role as determinants of the overall wellbeing of the individual. On the other hand, our work highlights the need to increase the number of investigations in this field to enable an empirical evaluation of how these connections are established and if they are efficient and durable. Keywords: well-being; sustainable human development; positive psychology; arts; positive education; human development index; bibliographic review; competencies; education; UNESCO 1. Introduction 1.1. Positive Psychology and Sustainable Human Development as a Frame of Reference Positive psychology, promoted by Seligman [ 1 ], presents a model of well-being. In positive psychology, research is carried out through the personal strengths that determine our patterns of behavior, emotions and thoughts, and our reactions to environmental situations. The strengths of character are summarized in six universal positive traits called “virtues”. As these virtues are very general and abstract, to measure them, they are defined by 24 strengths. For our study, this model of strengths is the most appropriate due to its global nature, excellent theoretical and empirical support and sufficient development in the educational world through positive education [2]. We present the virtues and strengths of character, according to Seligman and Peterson [2], in Table 1. According to positive psychology, well-being and personal development are united processes. Seligman [ 3 , 4 ] states that, to achieve happiness or well-being, these personal strengths and abilities must be developed, thereby achieving balance and satisfaction in life. Sustainability 2023,15, 2076. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032076 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 2 of 23 Table 1. Virtues and strengths of character, according to Seligman and Peterson [2]. Virtues Strengths 1Wisdom and knowledge 1 Curiosity, open to experience, interest in the world 2 Love of learning 3Open-mindedness, judgement, critical thinking 4Creativity, originality, practical intelligence, insight 5 Perspective 2Courage 6 Courage 7 Persistence, industry, perseverance 8 Integrity, authenticity, honesty 9Vitality, enthusiasm, energy, passion, vigor 3Humanity 10 Kindness, generosity, compassion, altruistic love, kindness, caring 11 Love 12 Social intelligence, personal intelligence, emotional intelligence 4Justice 13 Citizenship, social responsibility, loyalty, teamwork 14 Impartiality and equity 15 Leadership 5Temperance 16 Forgiveness, clemency 17 Prudence, discretion, caution 18 Humility and modesty 19 Self-control 6Transcendence 20 Enjoy beauty and excellence 21 Spirituality, purpose, faith, religiosity 22 Gratitude 23 Humor and mischief 24 Hope, optimism, foresight Human development, on the other hand, entails growth that can also meet the needs of people, improving their capabilities as a means to achieve well-being. However, this human development must not only affect the person, but also what surrounds the person, i.e., his or her environment; that is, it places the person in a scenario where goods cease to be the center of attention, to be replaced by people [5]. 1.2. Subjective Well-Being and Sustainable Well-Being: Confluences from Positive Education and Development Seligman [ 3 ] (pp. 346–347) distinguishes three aspects of the concept of “happiness”: pleasure, commitment and meaning. People who believe they have a happier and fuller life are those who orient their lives towards these three aspects, especially the last two. Therefore, happiness is found in the balance between these three aspects [6–9]. Well-being is considered in positive psychology the equivalent to happiness, or “subjective well-being”, a state defined by each individual with two components: the emotional Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 3 of 23 component (both positive and negative emotions) and the cognitive component, or thinking (if we do well in life, we feel happy) [10]. Psychological well-being provides benefits not only at the individual level but also at the social and community levels [ 11 ]. Therefore, happiness is an inner attitude not only of pleasure, meaning and personal commitment but also of relationships with others, conferring socioemotional properties as part of the strengths. This is the social objective of happiness. Thus, positive education that is born from positive psychology [ 12 ] is a model for the development of socioemotional competencies, feelings and strengths to achieve and improve well-being [ 13 ]. With positive education, the psychological plane is integrated with that of human development [ 12 , 14 ]. This shift towards human development is linked to the flourishing and growth of both individuals and their contexts and their achievement of happiness, highlighting the “care of oneself” (personal development) as a prerequisite to the care for others [ 15 ]. From this positive education, we deduce that human development is linked to eudaimonic happiness and personal and moral virtues [3,13]. According to education for development, well-being is defined as “personal fulfilment and development in all its dimensions (physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social) to a degree that enables a valuable and pleasant life”. Therefore, human development is a multidimensional process (economic, social, cultural, political and environmental), with an integrative, systemic and sustainable nature [ 16 ] (p. 33). On the other hand, in this pursuit of well-being, education for development is defined as “an educational process (formal, nonformal and informal) constantly directed, through knowledge, attitudes and values, to promote a global citizenship that generates a culture of solidarity, committed to the fight against poverty and exclusion, as well as the promotion of human and sustainable development” [17,18] (p. 13). Such a broad definition requires more specificity than the broad concept of satisfaction of needs. Although the meaning of well-being is not exactly the same, we start from the basis that both positive psychology and sustainability share the same objective: seeking well-being [ 19 , 20 ]. Therefore, we believe that both disciplines can benefit from each other to produce a better definition of well-being [21]. The person and his or her environment are the two areas in which the individual carries out his or her human development. In their environment, defined as not only a personal environment but also a social environment, people thrive when they reach the highest levels of well-being [ 6 , 22 ]. Environmental sustainability offers various contributions to the definition of well-being by adopting a more systemic approach and incorporating points of view about society, time and the environment [ 19 , 21 ]. Thus, sustainable well-being occurs when individual and subjective well-being coincide with those of other individuals in an environment. This definition is compatible with that of positive psychology’s well-being [ 23 ]. The importance of the social environment and the inclusion of diversity emphasizes the positive value of the differences that Lopez-Cobo, Gómez-Hurtado, and Ainscow [ 24 ] have suggested promote human development. According to this systemic concept of human development, and by combining it with that of positive psychology, we arrive at a definition of sustainable and positive well-being where individual, social and environmental needs are interrelated. 1.3. Competencies and Strengths of Character as Tools for Positive Education and Sustainable Development We find antecedents in the search for confluence between positive education and education for development in the objectives of the Muscat Agreement, the 2015 World Forum on Education and the working group for the post-2015 development agenda, continuing the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (2000–2015), where all education was linked to sustainable development [25]. Positive education cultivates the fundamental strengths of character for each area of well-being in PERMA [ 2 , 4 , 26 , 27 ]. Every individual has main strengths that reflect who we Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 4 of 23 are. The objective of positive education is, therefore, to promote well-being by helping students identify and apply their different strengths. On the other hand, education for development, following the declaration of Aichi- Nagoya (2014), recognizes that education facilitates the acquisition of the “knowledge, skills, attitudes, competencies and values necessary to face related challenges to global citizenship and local, current and future contextual challenges” [ 28 ] (p. 2). This is how UNESCO itself defends itself, stating that one of the imperatives of education of the post-2015 agenda is “to improve the possibilities of acquiring knowledge and skills for sustainable development, global citizenship and the world of work” [ 29 ] (p. 4). It places training to foster the exercise of individual capacities at the top of its educational priorities [ 30 ]. Therefore, in the report “Teaching and learning. Towards a cognitive society” [ 31 ], the foundations of what will become lifelong learning and competencies are established [32]. The World Programme on Education for Sustainable Development, approved by the General Conference of UNESCO in 2014, indicates the fundamental competencies to be acquired by students of all ages: critical analysis, systemic reflection, collaborative decision-making and sense of responsibility for present and future generations [ 29 ] (p. 12). Competency-based education facilitates a holistic approach that makes it possible to educate comprehensively [ 33 ], allowing the individual to take responsibility for his or her own learning, from being a consumer of knowledge to a creator of it [ 34 ]. For this approach, it is essential to train the skills that should be the objective of education [ 30 ]. Numerous studies have been carried out to identify and define the necessary competencies for sustainable development, among which those of [35–41] stand out. The four competencies for sustainability prioritized by UNESCO and developed in [ 42 ] have specific components that Murga-Menoyo [ 30 ] has identified. Table 2presents each of the components that this author has assigned to the different competencies. Table 2. Competencies for sustainability and its components, according to Murga-Menoyo [30]. Competencies [43] (p. 12) Components 1Critical analysis 1.1 Critical thinking 1.2 Ethical commitment 1.3 Intellectual commitment 2Systemic reflection 2.1 Systemic thinking 2.2 Relational thinking 2.3 Holistic thinking 2.4 Feeling of belonging to the community of life 3Collaborative decision-making 3.1 Argument skills 3.2 Participatory skills 3.3 Democratic commitment and universal human rights 4 Sense of responsibility for present and future generations 4.1 Ethical commitment 4.2 Social commitment 4.3 Anticipatory thinking 4.4 Synchronous and diachronic thinking 4.5 Universal responsibility 4.6 Compassion and care Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 5 of 23 1.4. Confluences of the Arts in Positive Education and Education for Development The arts in education are linked to positive psychology and have been used to show that the study of the arts, such as music, empowers the fundamental strengths for the achievement of eudaimonic happiness and well-being [ 44 , 45 ]. Other studies that we use as a reference are [46–52]. This confluence of the emotional education in the arts with positive education contributes to the happiness of individuals and their personal and social well-being, developing the integral personality of students to face daily challenges and emotional intelligence when working with values [ 52 ], according to Álvarez Fernández [ 53 ] and Renom Plana [ 54 ]. The objectives of UNESCO concerning artistic education are collected in two documents, the “Roadmap” of the first World Conference of UNESCO for art education in 2006, and the Seoul Agenda, where an action plan was created [ 43 , 55 ]. The challenge is now to implement art education in a coherent way in the long term [56]. 2. Methodology According to what is expressed in the Theoretical Framework, which reflects the academic works published to date in this field, it is necessary to look for a relationship between the different constructs that will allow establishing the basis for future research and interventions in the educational and social field. We intend, based on the literature, to connect positive psychology and sustainable human development. This connection will be carried out through the arts in positive education, using the concepts of well-being and development of both paradigms. Both positive psychology and sustainable human development formulate their own respective educational theories, which we connect through the strengths of character in positive education and competencies for sustainability. Hence, we carried out a systematic review of the literature using the umbrella of the PRISMA model [ 57 ] and the checklists of the CASP model [ 58 ] in the Web of Science (WOS) and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases. We assigned each article an ID that begins with “W” or “E”, depending on whether it was found in the WOS (W) or ERIC (E) database. 2.1. Identification: Search Terms To identify the search terms, we used the PICo criteria [ 59 ] for their reliability through keyword searches, based on the following PICo elements: participants, interventions and comparators. • Participants: Children, youth and adult students engaged in primary, secondary or university education in formal, nonformal or informal education fields and in settings with low, medium or high social involvement. •Intervention: •Arts in education studies linked to character strengths. - Positive education studies related to the arts in education. - Studies of the relationship between the competence for sustainability and an operational breakdown of the character strengths of positive education in the context of the arts. • Comparators: In terms of the search, we considered alternative interventions that contextualized the search within positive education and sustainable development in the arts. To organize our search, we classified the terms into five constructs: Positive Psychology, Education, Arts, Skills, and Sustainable Human Development. For each construct, we considered the following search terms: positive psychology (character strengths, values in action, positive psychology, eudaimonic happiness, happiness, well-being, eudaimonic well-being, and wellness), education (education, and positive education), arts (arts, arts-based education, education through arts, arts education, artistic Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 6 of 23 education, arts in education, and arts-based programs), competences (skills, key competences, educational competences, emotional competences, social competences, cognitive competences, and basic skills), and sustainable human development (sustainable human development, and UNESCO). By combining the nine terms related to positive psychology, the two terms related to education, the seven terms related to the construct of arts in the educational context, the seven search terms related to the key competencies and the two keywords related to sustainable human development, we performed a total of 1764 searches in each database (WOS and ERIC) using the Boolean operator AND. These searches provided 53 articles in the WOS database and 48 references in ERIC, of which 43 were articles and 5 were books. 2.2. Screening Before applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria, those articles that were duplicates (n = 8) or written before 2016 (n = 4) were eliminated using Microsoft Excel software. We decided to start the search for articles from 2016 because, on 1 January 2016, the world officially started implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Of the 101 initial references, 89 remained. 2.3. Eligibility 2.3.1. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria Inclusion criteria •Pragmatic criteria: #Languages: English and Spanish. #Studies of student population among children, youth and adults. # Research of the articles carried out in a formal school environment (primary or secondary or equivalent in other countries), university, adult training or nonformal or informal environments. #Publication date: Articles published after 1 January 2016 and until 2022. # Publication type: Quantitative and qualitative articles and literature reviews. Papers, journal articles, indexed articles and book chapters, whether indexed or not in Scholarly Publishers Indicators (SPI). •Quality criteria: # CASP checklist: the ten questions of the CASP tool were answered, focusing on different methodological aspects, such as, whether the research methods were appropriate or whether the findings found by the authors were well presented and relevant. #Reference databases: WOS, ERIC. # Journals from quartiles 1 to 4 and nonindexed journals of authors of relevant prestige. Book articles and congress communications. # The objectives of the studies of the selected articles are in line with the objectives of our research. Exclusion criteria: •Articles that do not reach the quality threshold. •Duplicate articles. • Population whose educational context is too informal and whose population is teaching staff. •Research of the articles carried out with young children or a very young population. •Articles published before 2016. •Articles that are only indexed in reference databases, other than WOS and ERIC. •Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral theses. • The objectives of the studies of the selected articles are not in line with the objectives of our research. Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 7 of 23 2.3.2. Phases of the Review: Traceability We applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria in four phases: 1. Identification of articles in WOS and ERIC databases. 2. Screening of articles. Studies in languages other than English or Spanish were excluded (n = 4). Of the 89 references, 85 were left: 43 in WOS and 37 in ERIC, of which 32 were articles and 5 books. We proceeded to read the abstracts. In this process, we screened the studies that were directly related to the constructs under study. Thus, 37 articles and 4 books were eliminated. The remaining references were subject to the next screening (29 from WOS and 14 from ERIC, of which 13 were articles and 1 was a book). 3. Eligibility of articles. We proceeded to read the complete texts. To guarantee their eligibility, we applied the CASP checklist to not only each selected article but also the different stages of our review. 4. In this last phase, 19 references provided conclusions that correspond to our research question: 13 from WOS and 6 from ERIC. We present a summary of the selected articles in Table 3. Table 3. Summary table of selected articles. ID * Title Author & Year Type ** Journal/Book Published Participants Methodology Sources W6 Artist Stories of Studio Art Thinking over Lifetimes of Living and Working Johnston and Lane 2019 [60]J International Journal of Education & the Arts, 20 (19) Six participants born in the 1940s, 1950s or 1960s Reports— Research Narrative inquiry. Interviews. W18 Improvised eco-theater as educational tool for the environmental awareness of elementary students Andrikopoulou and Koutrouba 2017 [61] CP 9th International Conference on Education and new Learning Technologies EDULEARN17 2818–2827 28 students from two classes at a primary school (10–11 years), their teacher and the researcher Action research Questionnaires were given to students at the beginning and end of the program. W19 Prospective Music Teacher Training: Factors Contributing to Creation of Positive State in the Process of Vocal Education Rauduvaite and Yao 2020 [62] CP 13th Annual International Scientific Conference on Rural Environment, Education, Personality (REEP). Rural Environment, Education, Personality. Dislere, V. (ed.). 13, 115–122. 245 respondents; ten music education students were interviewed. Students were future music teachers (singing). Quantitative and qualitative Analysis of sources of academic literature. Quantitative (written questionnaire with closed questions) and qualitative (written questionnaire with open questions, semi-structured interviews). Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 8 of 23 Table 3. Cont. ID * Title Author & Year Type ** Journal/Book Published Participants Methodology Sources W20 Do arts subjects matter for secondary school students’ well-being? The role of creative engagement and playfulness Clarke and Basilio 2018 [63] J Thinking Skills and Creativity. 29, 97–114 KS3 (n = 201; 105 hombres) between 11 and 12 years old. KS4 (n = 74; 29 hombres) between 15 and 16 years old. Qualitative Questionnaire combining measures of creative commitment, subjective well-being and joy. Validated instruments were used to measure well-being (McLellan & Steward, 2015) and individual joy (PSYA young adult joy scale; Barnett, 2007). W23 The greatest benefit of Art workshop: Well-being literature review Goldstein 2019 [64]R ERD 2018–6th International Conference— “Education Reflection, Development, Sixth Edition”. The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences EpSBS. 63, 505–512. High school students from Israel during an arts workshop (number, age or gender not indicated). Quantitative and qualitative Semi-structured interviews, analysis of texts with photographs of final projects, position papers written by students during their work, well-being assessment questionnaires. W24 Role of art education in peace building efforts among out-of-school youth affected by armed conflict in Zamboanga city, Philippines Labor 2018 [ 65 ] J Journal of International Development 30(7) 1186–1202 34 students between 15 and 24 years old. Fourteen were women and the rest were men. Descriptive and qualitative Guiding questions to guide the flow of the interviews. Observation records were used to validate the information mentioned in the transcripts of the discussions. W25 The Positive Effects of a Combined Program of Creative Dance and Brain-Dance on Health-Related Quality of Life as Perceived by Primary School Students Theocharidou et al. 2018 [66]J Physical Culture and Sport Studies and Research 79 (1), 42–52 16 students in fifth grade and 16 in sixth grade, all elementary students. There were 16 boys and 16 girls. 2 were 10 years old, 13 were 11 years old and 16 were 12 years old. Quasiexperimental study. Although there was a lack of random sampling, different domains were investigated in real and non-artificial circumstances. Kidscreen-52 Questionnaire (the full version takes between 15 and 20 min to complete). Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 9 of 23 Table 3. Cont. ID * Title Author & Year Type ** Journal/Book Published Participants Methodology Sources W29 Exploring the relationship between making and teaching art Garber et al. 2020 [67]J/R International Journal of Education through Art 16 (3), 435–457 19 teachercreators, including the 6 researchers. Their ages ranged between 20 and 60 years; twelve were women, seven men. Qualitative review. This study was designed, in part, using a case study methodology. A “case” is defined as a group of individuals who provided information on the phenomenon of the interinfluences of doing and teaching. Interviews and diaries. The interviews were semi-structured and were often complemented with follow-up questions. W30 The Role of Art Education in the Improvement of Employment Competitiveness of Deaf College Students Lan 2018 [68] CP Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Art Studies: Science, Experience, Education (ICASSEE 2018) Zhang, Y; Rumbal, I; Zhang, M (Ed.) Collection: Advances in Social Science Education and Humanities Research 284, 879–883 Deaf university students Descriptive paper as a theoretical framework on practice in China in different universities. Not specified W45 Does music soothe the soul? Evaluating the impact of a music education program in Medellin, Colombia Gómez- Zapata, Herrero-Prieto, and Rodríguez- Prado 2021 [69] J Journal of Cultural Economics 45(1), 63–104 150 students who were admitted for the first time to the program in 2010 (baseline), at least 14 years old at that time and remained in the program for at least one full academic year (1 year). Quasiexperimental. The empirical information used in this research was obtained from a survey designed specifically for the case study. Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 16 of 23 Table 5. Strengths of character in relation to the components of competencies for sustainability. Virtues * 1 2 3 4 5 6 Competencies * Character Strengths * 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 * The numbers corresponding to Virtues, Character Strengths, Competences and Components of Competences are related to Tables 1and 2. Note: White means less overlap between Character Strengths and components of competencies for sustainability. Black means the links found between competencies for sustainability and character strengths. Gray is the links found between the components of the competencies for sustainability and the character strengths. Clearly, there is a set of character strengths that are related to most of the competencies for sustainability. However, the absence of a connection between strength 9 (vitality, enthusiasm, energy, passion) and 75% of competencies, such as 1 (critical analysis), 3 (collaborative decision-making) and 4 (sense of responsibility for present and future generations) is more remarkable. To a lesser extent, only 50% coincided with strength 20 (enjoyment of beauty and excellence), 21 (spirituality, purpose and faith) and 23 (humor and mischief), a proportion that does not seem to be linked to competencies 2 (reflection), systemic) and 3 (collaborative decision-making), in the case of strength 20, and for competencies 3 and 4, in the case of strengths 21 and 23. The character strengths that are linked to 100% of the competencies for sustainability are strengths 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 22. In Figure 2, we visualize this comparison of the links of the competencies for sustainability with the virtues and, therefore, with the strengths of character. On this graph, we observe that virtue 4 (justice) is the only one that is 100% linked to all competencies and that virtues 2 (courage) and 6 (transcendence) are the least linked to the competencies for sustainability. Given that these links are confirmed, we suggest that strengths can be very useful for measuring the level of achievement of competencies and, therefore, well-being in sustainable development. Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 17 of 23 Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 15 of 21 Figure 2. General comparison of the links between strengths of character and competencies for sustainability. On this graph, we observe that virtue 4 (justice) is the only one that is 100% linked to all competencies and that virtues 2 (courage) and 6 (transcendence) are the least linked to the competencies for sustainability. Given that these links are confirmed, we suggest that strengths can be very useful for measuring the level of achievement of competencies and, therefore, well-being in sustainable development. 5. Discussion Following the analysis of the articles that we included in our bibliographic review, we must emphasize that our main objective was to connect, through the literature, positive psychology and sustainable human development in positive education and the concepts of well-being and development from the arts; both paradigms rely on the existing link between competencies and character strengths. Park and Peterson [109] specify the characteristics of the fortresses as follows: • A set of individual positive traits that allow differentiating the strengths that people possess in different situations. • These traits are manifested through actions, feelings and thoughts. • They are modifiable throughout life. • They can be measured. • They are subject to contextual influences. The United Nations Development Programme (PNUD) [110] has used various indicators, based on three of the essential components of well-being (long and healthy life, education and standard of living), to create the human development index (HDI) with which it evaluates human development, that is, the well-being of citizens [16]. As a result, various international initiatives, such as the “sustainable development goals” (SDGs), have been created. At the educational level, extensive research has recently been carried out that supports the connection between the use of character strengths and various aspects of wellbeing [111–115], especially within the school environment [115–118]. Hence, given that the character strengths of positive psychology are measurable and educable and have been related to the competencies for sustainability, we believe that the sustainability Figure 2. General comparison of the links between strengths of character and competencies for sustainability. 4. Discussion Following the analysis of the articles that we included in our bibliographic review, we must emphasize that our main objective was to connect, through the literature, positive psychology and sustainable human development in positive education and the concepts of well-being and development from the arts; both paradigms rely on the existing link between competencies and character strengths. Park and Peterson [109] specify the characteristics of the fortresses as follows: • A set of individual positive traits that allow differentiating the strengths that people possess in different situations. •These traits are manifested through actions, feelings and thoughts. •They are modifiable throughout life. •They can be measured. •They are subject to contextual influences. The United Nations Development Programme (PNUD) [ 110 ] has used various indicators, based on three of the essential components of well-being (long and healthy life, education and standard of living), to create the human development index (HDI) with which it evaluates human development, that is, the well-being of citizens [ 16 ]. As a result, various international initiatives, such as the “sustainable development goals” (SDGs), have been created. At the educational level, extensive research has recently been carried out that supports the connection between the use of character strengths and various aspects of well-being [ 111 – 115 ], especially within the school environment [ 115 – 118 ]. Hence, given that the character strengths of positive psychology are measurable and educable and have been related to the competencies for sustainability, we believe that the sustainability framework can benefit from the use of strengths as a measurement tool in the evaluation of well-being. Similarly, positive psychology could benefit from the systemic thinking of sustainable development [20,21,23]. Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 18 of 23 As the use of the strengths that each individual develops and are measurable have been associated with well-being [ 112 , 113 , 119 – 121 ], we can measure the combination of strengths that each individual possesses and that develops permanently and associate this with the achievement of competencies for sustainability. Therefore, we conclude that the use of character strengths in sustainable human development can be considered an optimal means for measuring the HDI. Limitations and Recommendations To the best of our knowledge, there is no other systematic review or study that relates the competencies for sustainability with the strengths of character at the level of the arts in positive education and for sustainable development. Therefore, we cannot compare our results to those of similar studies, nor can we know if our results are similar to those of other reviews. Hence, we believe that our research can provide an interesting field of study to codify or determine, in an explicit and concrete way, the strengths of character that are part of a given competency. Furthermore, this analysis of the components of the competencies for sustainable development from the perspective of strengths of character can foster an important field of research in positive education concerning education for development and, via the field of sustainable human development, regarding the role of the strengths of character in positive psychology. This initial connection between competencies for development and strengths of character in the field of arts in positive education that we have identified is a first step on the path to discerning more explicit links between the two. Future studies should therefore focus on educational projects in the arts that specify a model of education based on the overall student well-being. Although limited to the context of positive education, our evidence shows that character strengths can be developed through education [ 115 ]. Accordingly, we need additional studies that bring together the five constructs (positive psychology, education, arts, competencies, and sustainable human development) to demonstrate our hypothesis in a more solid way. Finally, it is also necessary for new studies to link the competencies of education for development with the strengths of positive education to create an adequate design that allows us to empirically evaluate this connection and affirm the strengths of character as an HDI to promote the global well-being of students. 5. Conclusions As the results of our review show, we have been able to trace relationships between the components of the competencies for sustainability and the strengths of character in a very implicit way (Table 2and Figure 2). From these relationships, it is clear that the components of competencies for the sustainability of development education 1.1 (critical thinking), 2.1 (systemic thinking), 2.4 (feeling of belonging to the community) and 3.2 (participatory skills) coincide with at least half the character strengths of positive psychology. The development of these strengths is related to these competencies in the educational field. Therefore, we believe that the arts are the ideal vehicle to perfect these strengths and develop the competencies for sustainability to promote optimal human well-being and development. Our results have demonstrated this connection, although we stress that the extant research typically defines and links the strengths of character and competencies in an implicit way through different terms. It is necessary, in the future, to develop a more explicit view of these constructs when studying and defining the relationship between them, especially between the construct strength of character and the competencies for sustainability. Only with this global vision can we reveal a totally explicit link and prevent possible interpretations of inter-construct relationships at the discretion of the reader. Sustainability 2023,15, 2076 19 of 23 Author Contributions: Conceptualization, P.V.-M. and F.C.; methodology, P.V.-M. and I.L.-C.; software, P.V.-M.; validation, P.V.-M., F.C. and I.L.-C.; writing—original draft preparation, P.V.-M.; writing—review and editing, P.V.-M., F.C. and I.L.-C.; supervision, F.C. and I.L.-C. 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