The exploration of the philosophical concept of happiness and its implications to education

Posted by: Principal/Editor | March 14, 2014

The exploration of the philosophical concept of happiness and its implications to education

Constance Chew Li Ching

The pursuit of happiness appears to be a common goal for people all over the world. However, their orientation towards happiness might be different, and this has a huge impact on whether they are happy or think they have achieved happiness. Many research have found that people who orientate their pursuit of happiness towards eudaimonia (finding meaning in life and tasks) and engagement (doing something that one enjoys greatly and driven by intrinsic motivation) are happier. Teachers’ happiness has been an area of study in happiness research, and their level of happiness has direct effect on their motivation and volition, which in turn has indirect effect on their students’ learning outcomes. Due to the cascading effects and implications to teaching and learning, threats to happiness in teaching are discussed in this article, and some suggestions are provided for further exploration.

PLS Working Paper Series No.7

Posted in School Improvement, Singapore, Teacher Professional Development | Tags: eudaimonia, Pursuit of happiness, school improvement, Singapore, Teachers' Happiness

OECD Development Center Policy Briefs

Measuring Governance
The use of governance indicators, as applied to developing countries, has grown spectacularly in recent years. Following the maxim that you cannot manage what you cannot measure, international investors and official development aid agencies, together with academics and the media, have turned widely to using quantitative governance indicators for both analyti […]
How to Spend It: Commodity and Non-Commodity Sovereign Wealth Funds
Sovereign wealth funds have become important players in global financial markets. But their investments have repeatedly raised concerns, such as fear of industrial espionage or geopolitical threats. This paper argues that the principal motivation for setting up SWFs should put such concerns into the appropriate perspective. Development economics can explain […]
To Benefit from Plenty: Lessons from Chile and Norway
It might seem obvious discovering an asset such as oil or copper would be wonderful news for the country making the find. Yet the opposite is often true. The windfall can bring poverty, civil strife, corruption, inequality, slower growth and undemocratic practices. The phenomenon is known as the resource curse. This study of the paradox of plenty looks at th […]

PLS Working Paper Series