This study examines the impact of post-secondary education on the well-being of Europeans, comparing single-item hedonic and multi-dimensional eudaimonic models of well-being, operationalized as ‘satisfaction with life’ (SWL) and ‘flourishing’. The results indicate that the impact of education varies significantly when well-being is defined from each of these two perspectives: although vocational education is not significantly associated with the SWL of women and men, it is significantly associated with the extent to which both men and women are flourishing in their lives. Tertiary education is significant across all models for both SWL and flourishing. This study highlights the importance of comprehensive conceptualizations and measurements of well-being in European educational research and public policy.

Abstract:In this study we examine the constructs "happiness" and "wellbeing" in a sample of Canadian women and men in mid-adulthood. Through a sequential mixed-methods approach, we utilize Sen and Nussbaum's conceptualizations of capabilities to inform the themes generated from semi-structured interviews. We find that participants understand happiness and wellbeing as two distinct constructs that are illuminated in the metaphors happiness as balance and the gears of wellbeing. Second, we corroborate these constructs through a principal component analysis of questionnaire data. We conclude that happiness and wellbeing are not static entities, but rather iterative processes that are constantly in flux and determined by the fulfillment of the often contradictory needs for (1) goal-achievement and an acceptance of reality, and (2) freedom along with meaning-making, which often involves creating restraints in one's life. These findings have important implications for those using happiness and wellbeing as policy outcome measures.

In this study, we examine the self-reported subjective well-being (SWB) of youth who are 'not in employment, education or training' (NEET) across 24 countries in Europe. Theorising from a youth transition regimes perspective focusing on the varying levels of social protection available to youth as well as social norms regarding the transition into adulthood, we attempt to understand the psychological outcomes associated with youth NEET statuses across country contexts. Using European Social Survey (ESS) data, we compare not only the perceived welfare of NEET individuals with that of non-NEET youth, but also how it differs amongst specific NEET sub-categories. We hypothesize that the well-being of NEET youth will be highest where more comprehensive social protections are available, but that inequalities in well-being between NEET and non-NEET groups will be minimized in contexts where prolonged school-to-work transitions into adulthood are the social norm. We find that overall levels of well-being differ systematically amongst countries for both NEET and non-NEET groups, being highest in the Nordic countries. However, when examining relative scores that take into account the distribution of well-being within each country, we discover that inequalities between NEET sub-categories are also the most pronounced in these 'universalistic' contexts.

This article builds theoretically and empirically on the concepts of creativity and well-being within the schooling context, focusing on 855 preadolescents attending primary schools in France. Following and testing a line of argumentation delineated in educational research, creativity is defined as conceptually distinct from, but closely related to, student well-being. We define "creativity" as a high level of adaptability and flexibility of thought, the key to developing novel ideas, and "well-being" as both the presence of positive affect and the absence of negative affect (hedonic components), as well as a high level of engagement and feelings of competence (eudaimonic components). Empirically, we test operationalizations of multi-dimensional concepts of creativity and well-being using factor analysis techniques and consider the relationships between these variables and pupils' academic success taking into account the potential moderating effects of gender and parental involvement. We find that these associations are complex and vary considerably between components of well-being and creativity.

Focusing on the macro‐micro interaction between institutional arrangements and individual life outcomes, this article investigates how welfare régime types impact the association between education and well‐being, as measured by satisfaction with life. Theorising with Esping‐Andersen's ideal‐typical welfare régime typology, we hypothesise that decommodified institutional arrangements reduce the association between education and well‐being through compensatory social protections for at‐risk individuals, while stratifying forces strengthen this association. These results are only partly supported; we find that Conservative Welfare States show the most robust association, whilst Liberal and Social‐Democratic Welfare States display weaker relationships. Thus, stratification appears to play a more important role than decommodification in moderating this association. We also examine potential mediating factors and how they differ between welfare régime types, finding that health and income mediate the effects of education on well‐being to varying degrees.

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