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Helping Young People Feel That They Matter

Nurturing Students’ Eudaimonic Well-Being and Their Capacity to Build Peace

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Handbook of Curriculum Theory, Research, and Practice

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

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Abstract

We focus on how educators can support young people’s eudaimonic well-being, that is, their sense of meaning, purpose, growth, and self-actualization. This view of well-being suggests that a deep, transformative, and enduring form of well-being can be obtained through living a meaningful life. First, we discuss peace education, most notably peer mediation. Second, we draw on a case study of a young girl transformed by the experience of leadership and altruism in a high-poverty school, and we end the chapter with reflections on how helping young people feel seen and heard, and encouraging them to give back to their communities, might offer new insights on what it is to teach and learn in deeply purpose-driven and connected ways.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Nomisha Kurian & Hilary Cremin

Authors
  1. Nomisha Kurian
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  2. Hilary Cremin
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Correspondence to Nomisha Kurian .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ontario Inst for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Peter Pericles Trifonas

  2. School of Early Childhood Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Susan Jagger

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Kurian, N., Cremin, H. (2024). Helping Young People Feel That They Matter. In: Trifonas, P.P., Jagger, S. (eds) Handbook of Curriculum Theory, Research, and Practice. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21155-3_6

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