WHY WE DO THIS WORK
A Strong Education System is the Foundation of a Flourishing Society
Education for Flourishing is a project of the Consortium for Human Flourishing at Saint Louis University. This project uses an interdisciplinary approach to promote individual and community flourishing in K-12 and Higher Education settings by connecting research to practice.
Flourishing, or what is also referred to as complete wellbeing, is considered to be the ultimate aim of life (Keyes, 2002).
Governments and policymakers around the world have started to measure flourishing as a marker of national progress. While fields like public health have started to investigate ways to promote individual and community flourishing, the field of education has yet to adopt flourishing as one of its primary goals.
Dewey (1934) once stated, “any education is, in its forms and methods, an outgrowth of the needs of the society in which it exists.”
Given that one of the primary challenges of the 21st century is the wellbeing of children and youth, education systems around the world will have to revisit their purpose and the way they are structured to meet the needs of the societies in which they exist.
Poor mental health and languishing are related to poor academic and behavioral outcomes, it is vital for the field of education to actively promote the flourishing of children and youth (Witten, Savahl, and Adams, 2019).
Instead of approaching mental health from a reactive and deficit lens, schools will have to adopt an approach that promotes individual and community flourishing.
Flourishing as a goal of education is not a new concept. Many education philosophers have proposed this in the past (Wolbert, de Ruyter, and Schinkel, 2015) . Even though there is no agreed upon definition of flourishing,
Vanderweele (2017) states there is broad census that for an individual to flourish they must do well in at least the following five domains:
Mental and Physical Health
Meaning & Purpose
Close Social Relationships
Character & Virtue
Happiness & Life Satisfaction
"Kwa nini tunafanya kazi hii: ""Mfumo wa elimu yenye nguvu ni msingi wa jamii inayofanikiwa"" ni mradi wa Shirika la Maendeleo ya Binadamu katika Chuo Kikuu cha Saint Louis." Mradi huu hutumia mbinu ya interdisciplinary kukuza mtu binafsi na jamii kusitawi katika K-12 na elimu ya juu mazingira kwa kuunganisha utafiti na mazoezi. "Kufanya kazi kwa bidii na kwa bidii, au ""kufanikiwa"" kwa ujumla, ni lengo la mwisho la maisha (Keyes, 2002)." Serikali na watunga sera duniani kote wameanza kupima kusitawi kama kiashiria cha maendeleo ya kitaifa. Ingawa sekta kama vile afya ya umma zimeanza kuchunguza njia za kukuza ukuaji wa mtu binafsi na jamii, sekta ya elimu bado haijakubali ukuaji kama moja ya malengo yake ya msingi. "Dewey (1934), ""Elimu yoyote ni, katika aina zake na mbinu, matokeo ya mahitaji ya jamii ambayo ipo."" - Mfano wa elimu ya watoto na vijana, ambayo ni muhimu kwa jamii ya leo, ni kuwa na uwezo wa kuunda mfumo wa elimu ya watoto na vijana." Kwa kuwa afya mbaya ya akili na kutokuwa na uwezo wa kufanya kazi inahusiana na matokeo mabaya ya kitaaluma na tabia, ni muhimu kwa uwanja wa elimu kukuza kikamilifu ukuaji wa watoto na vijana (Witten, Savall na Adams, 2019). Badala ya kukaribia afya ya akili kutoka kwa lensi ya athari na upungufu, shule zitapaswa kupitisha mbinu ambayo inakuza ukuaji wa mtu binafsi na jamii. Mafanikio kama lengo la elimu si wazo jipya. Kwa mfano, wanafalsafa wa elimu wamekuwa wakisema kwamba elimu ya msingi ni muhimu kwa watu wa umri wa kati (Wolbert, de Ruyter, Schinkel, 2015). "Hata ingawa hakuna makubaliano juu ya ufafanuzi wa kustawi, Vanderweele (2017) anasema kuna sensa pana kwamba kwa mtu kustawi lazima afanye vizuri katika angalau maeneo matano yafuatayo: "" Afya ya Kisaikolojia na Kimwili "" Maana na Lengo Mahusiano ya karibu ya kijamii "" Tabia na wema "" Furaha na kuridhika na maisha ""."