Why Universities Should Seek Happiness and Contentment

Paul Gibbs is Professor of Education and Research Director of the Centre for Education Research and Scholarship at Middlesex University, UK. He has written widely on higher education matters ranging from pedagogy, marketing and the goal of higher education in a period of marketization.

• Introduction Part I: Understanding Happiness and its Importance to Pedagogy1. A History of What Happiness Is and for Whose Benefit2. Why Hedonism and Well-being are Not Sufficient3. East Meets West in Harmony and Contentment4. Taking a Stance – Where Happiness and Being IntertwinePart II: Happiness and Higher Education – A Goal or a Process5. Higher Education and Happiness - How Do They Mix?6. The University as a Happy Place and Time7. Higher Education Students’ Experience 8. Help in Finding a Place in the World Where One Can Become Content9. Replacing Fear with Anxiety in the University10. Higher Education, Policy and Managerial IssuesCoda - Reflection on the Book and its Key PointsReferencesIndex

This book makes a substantial contribution to the current empirical and philosophical literature not only by reframing what it means to be ‘happy’ and/or ‘content’ with one’s education in terms of self-cultivation rather than desire satisfaction, but also by elucidating what a pedagogy of contentment might involve. This can be seen as a manifesto for student contentment rather than satisfaction, which should resonate with all parties involved in the HE sector.