Measuring the Education Dimension of Gross National Happiness: What Really Counts?

Abstract

Teacher educators and teachers have a responsibility to use measures of learning that will best reflect what really counts in education. In Bhutan a focus on the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a measure of the country's progress and prosperity has created the necessity for measures that are unlike those currently available with western-style reporting. This paper focuses on the measurement of the Education Dimension of GNH. Based on the level of alignment of the current GNH Education Dimension with the Mission of the Bhutan Ministry of Education, alternative measurement is proposed based on engagement with learning and lifelong learning. The intention is to encourage a focus that is less on the actual knowledge gained and more on the process of gaining that knowledge. It is hoped to begin discussions about indicators to inform the practice of teachers, teacher educators and policy makers, and thus the further development of alternative measures of what really counts.