The Eudemonics of Education

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life book series (IHQL)

Abstract

This chapter summarizes educationally relevant insights regarding human flourishing from earlier and more recent humanistic and positive psychology, and based on this a systems model of human flourishing, based on motivation for strengths-based, self-regulated balancing and growth processes, generally aimed at pleasurable flourishing, is proposed. Thus the model integrates hedonic an eudemonic components of well-being including physical health, positive emotions, engagement, meaning and social relatedness with the core educational features including curiosity, the urge to create, learning, creativity and achievement – in effect implying self-realization/self-actualization, personal expressiveness and predicting self-awareness, self-acceptance, integrity, self-efficacy, grit, personal excellence, resilience, and other constructs used to describe eudemonic experiences and activity. Thus assuming that the systems model is congruent with the current (positive) psychological evidence on human flourishing, it is further argued that findings from influential meta-studies on educational effectiveness (Hattie J, Yates GCR, Visible learning and the science of how we learn. Routledge, London, 2014), are fully congruent with the model, and ideas for application in educational settings and beyond are offered. Concluding the chapter are ethical considerations regarding structures, human freedom, equality, dignity, fairness, and the very right to thrive – all inherently relevant for educators.

Keywords

Well-being Flourishing Self-regulation Strengths Balance Growth Learning Creativity 
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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of EducationUniversity of AarhusAarhus NDenmark

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