Abstract: Well-being is an important concept for revisiting ideas of a what a good life is and finding pathways towards a less materialistic and hence less production/consumption oriented society. But how and where do we learn about well-being? In education the concept of well-being is almost completely absent. Singular educational concepts work on happiness and well-being and give some promising starting points. Still a precise and profound approach seems to be lacking. Education for Sustainable Development with its competence based approach could be a fertile ground for learing about well-being. Meanwhile a critical perspective is needed regarding concepts that care less on the emancipatory aspect and seem to focus more on a pacifying approach, teaching resilience and ‘making people happy’.
Keywords: Education; Education for sustainable development; well-being; happiness.