Education and meaning in life

This chapter explores the relation between education and meaning in life. People experience meaning in life when they (a) can make sense of their life and the(ir) world, (b) have purpose in life, and (c) experience significance and that they matter. The chapter describes how family life and parental upbringing, as well as students’ participation in schools and teachers’ education, can make positive and unique contributions to children’s (future) meaning in life. It concludes that parents and teachers should open the complex world to help children find their way, present a meaning framework that provides a standpoint from which to evaluate what is significant while also giving sufficient freedom to engage with other views on the good life, and develop relationships with children that foster their feelings that they matter while at the same time instilling a desire and sense of responsibility to matter to others.