Making school meaningful: linking psychology of education to meaning in life

Abstract

There is little research about making instruction at school meaningful. This is surprising given that ample research suggests that many students do not find school a meaningful place, as documented by decline in interest during middle school, the frequency of boredom at school and decline in search for meaning among high school students. This article starts with an outline that considers both objective and subjective meaning in life. A review on different aspects of meaning in school, such as teaching meaning, purpose, identity, coherence, caring, aesthetics and agency, suggest that many ways to improve meaning in school have been underused and understudied. The inclusion of the philosophy of meaning in life extends the scope of research on interest by adding new components of objective meaning that may enrich school activities. This article will review both what has been done and what needs to be done. The article concludes that taking the perspective of meaning in life into account would open new avenues for empirical research in educational psychology.