Education and happiness: strategies for achieving happiness in the context of educational policy

The problem and the goal. The topic of the relationship between happiness (wellbeing) and education has been immanently present in theoretical (philosophical, political, religious) discourse and in pedagogical practice since antiquity. However, it owes its relevance, first of all, to the value shift from the values of survival to the values of self-expression and positive education, which, at the same time, contributed to a bias in the consideration of this topic: The emphasis on the pros of this relationship and underestimation of its cons. The intention to draw a more balanced picture sets the following aim of the article: to identify the main strategies for happiness achievement and consider them in the context of educational policy. Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological background includes comparative and discourse analysis, philosophical reflection of the ideas of ancient thinkers and modern Russian and foreign experts in the field of education and happiness, and their connection. The adjusted version of D. Leontiev’s two-level hedoeudaimonic model of happiness serves as a theoretical framework. Results. Two main strategies for happiness achievement have been established – the upward game and the downward game, which the authors, proceeding from M. Joshanloo’s concept, correlate with culturebased concepts of happiness – individualistic (Western) and collectivistic (non-Western). Characteristics and outcomes of these strategies in closed, liberal and conservative educational systems are presented. The problem is that these strategies are implemented by educational systems in a primarily hedonic rather than eudaimonic way, which results in the frustrating nature of the first strategy and the discriminating (academically unsuccessful and/or low–income students) nature of the second. Conclusion. The happiness construct plays a multifaceted role as an ideological instrument of educational policy and, in turn, education plays an equally intricate role in fostering happiness. The topic under discussion is closely intertwined with problems of cultural specificity, social inequality, meritocracy and justice.