Teaching the Good Life (EQoL)

What do we mean by a good life? Is it possible to teach and learn it? And if so, how should this be done? The EQoL project (Education for Quality of Life) sets out to engage critically with the concepts of good quality of life, happiness and wellbeing; how they affect education systems, policies and practices; and how education can promote a conscious culture of quality of life. In recent years, international initiatives such as the Quality of Life Movement (QoL) have placed collective happiness and peoples quality of life at the centre of public debate. The QoL movement goes beyond a purely economic approach, where the gross domestic product (GDP) is used as a universal indicator of the prosperity of nations. Instead, the QoL movement puts the emphasis on human wellbeing. At a local level, Vienna is a world leader when it comes to promoting quality of life. The City of Vienna has recently taken steps in this direction as part of the Vienna Smart City Strategy 2050. To this end, specific educational measures are being designed and implemented, for example through the Bildungsgrätzl (learning neighbourhood). However, it remains important to critically examine this praiseworthy course in order to ensure that viable new and fairer approaches to a good quality of life are developed wherever possible. Education can play a crucial role by emphasizing the importance of this theme and encouraging future generations as well as the general population to think about and adopt new and sustainable ways of living. The EQoL project will analyse international policies as well as the Vienna Smart City Strategy 2050 along with a selection of the learning neighbourhoods over a period of three years. In doing so, the researchers will study the theoretical assumptions and practical consequences of these initiatives on the education system of the City of Vienna. Meanwhile, they will investigate the perception and familiarity of (trainee) teachers with these topics. Since teachers and educators are crucial actors for societal change, the final goal of the EQoL project is to develop with them a specific pedagogical model of Education for Quality of Life to promote an equitable, inclusive and sustainable good life for all.