Defending well-being as an educational aim: insights from the capability approach

Abstract Several perspectives in the philosophy and theory of education promote human flourishing or well-being as the central aim of education. Education, they argue, should equip children to lead good lives, that is, lives broadly characterized by autonomous choices, engagement in worthwhile activities, and the fulfilment of one’s goals. The currency of flourishing as the central aim of education, however, has recently been critiqued on grounds of its overall unfeasibility. Some critics maintain that since flourishing is not something that can be learnt, and its achievement requires more than educators can provide for, the aim of flourishing goes beyond the scope of educational institutions, and exceeds the responsibility and remits of teachers. Drawing on the core concepts of Amartya Sen’s capability approach—an ethical approach focused on well-being and freedom—this article posits that the unfeasibility critique is not warranted. Sen’s account of well-being in terms of functionings and capability, and the normative commitment to expanding a person’s capability, focuses attention on the role of education in this process, as one of the institutional ‘sites’ for the pursuit of well-being and justice. The approach thus supports and justifies identifying well-being as the overarching aim of education, while maintaining goals of developing functionings and capabilities specific to education.