Off the Beaten Path: Solutions Focus

Hall Houston, Hong Kong

Hall Houston is an English Instructor at City University of Hong Kong, English Language Centre. His first book, The Creative Classroom, was published in 2007 by Lynx Publishing (www.lynxpublishing.com). His professional interests include cross-cultural communication, discourse analysis, creativity and critical thinking. E-mail: hallhouston@yahoo.com

In our everyday lives as teachers, we all face problems. These include conflict with students, other teachers, supervisors, and administrators. Solutions Focus is one technique that emphasizes positive change. It provides a unique way of dealing with the many challenges of an educator's life.

Solution focused strategies and language began in the mental health field. Gradually, they were used in other areas, such as nursing, school counseling, and therapy. It's currently getting a lot of attention in education. Solutions focus has had some success in the American school system.

Solutions focus puts a positive spin on problem solving. In its simplest terms, solutions focus is all about finding what works and doing more of it, then finding what doesn't work and doing something else. It is concerned with finding concrete steps towards solving the problem, not looking for someone to blame.

A teacher working with a solutions focus approach would aim for emphasizing students' strengths. If having a dialogue with a student discussing a problem, the teacher would ask questions and get the student to think of solutions. The teacher would encourage the student to think about the future and what kind of solution he or she would like to see.

The next time you are facing difficulties with a student or colleague you can try a solutions focus approach. What strengths does the other person have that you would like to emphasize to him or her? What questions can you ask that would get him or her thinking of a good solution? How can you avoid blaming the other person?

While solutions focus is not the answer for every difficult situation, it might provide a simpler way of resolving conflicts at your school.

For more information on solutions focus, consult some of the resources in the reading list.

Reading list

Jackson, P. Z., McKergow, M. 2002. The solutions focus. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Metcalf, L. 1999. Teaching toward solutions. New York: The Center for Applied Research in Education.

Webb, W. H. 1999. The educator's guide to solutioning. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Corwin Press.

Please check the Building Positive Group Dynamics course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Dealing with Difficult Learners course at Pilgrims website.