<<Final Report>>http://toyotafound.or.jp/research/2017/data/Matthew_Schuelka_Final_Report_D17-R-0362.pdf

The project was implemented according to schedule from September 2018 through February 2020. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in Bhutan in two rounds – September 2018 and February 2019.

We were interested in the balance of values and aims in education centered around a ‘4H’ framework of head, heart, hands, and – newly introduced by us – happiness. The research design was a qualitative study consisting of focus groups and observations. In total, we conducted 24 focus groups of approximately 240 participants ranging from Class 4 students to university students; and teachers at all levels (12 out of the 24 focus groups were teachers, conducted separately from the student focus groups). We also conducted day-long observations at 12 schools. The students involved in this research were not pre- determined or selected by the researchers, and we encountered a diverse mix of genders, socio-economic backgrounds, and abilities within every focus group conducted. The participants were selected by teachers and school leadership, which we acknowledge could be a limitation to representation in the study. Nonetheless, we observed a diverse mix of participants ourselves when the participants came into the classrooms where we conducted focus groups.

Many of the school sites where we did our data collection were Central Schools, which in Bhutan means a boarding school that draws their students from both the local community and from across the country – children are essentially assigned a school to attend by the Royal Government, which could be on the other side of the country from their home. The data from the focus groups were recorded and transcribed, and both the focus group transcriptions and structured observation notes were analyzed using a grounded theory approach, employing thematic and inductive coding, and triangulated via three concurrent independent researchers and a constant validity check. Our study schools were located throughout the central, south, and west of Bhutan, representing 10 out of 20 dzongkhags [districts] and a significant range of demographic (urban-rural) and geographic (high altitude-low jungle) settings.

Fieldwork Summary:

• First round of fieldwork conducted in Bhutan (September 2018)

o 14 focus groups conducted (140 participants)

o Field observations at 6 schools

• Second round of fieldwork conducted in Bhutan (February 2019)

o 10 focus groups conducted (100 participants)

o Field observations at 6 schools

As stated above, we were able to complete our ethnographic fieldwork in Bhutan, which is the most time and resource-intensive aspect of a project of this nature.

As a result of this project, we developed a new way of understanding educational systems – called the Educational Values Evaluation and Design (EVED) framework. The EVED framework recognizes that education is a complex system of overlapping inputs and domains, actors, values, and incentives. If any one particular educational value is desirable in an educational system – for example, happiness – then all elements of the system must be aligned in order for that value to be fully realized. We came to this conclusion directly from our fieldwork and this project.

Below is a visual representation of the EVED framework, as well as an example of how to apply the framework with the value of inclusivity, which is also the subject of one of our deliverables – an article in the open-access journal Current Issues in Comparative Education.

As a result of this project, we were also able to further conceptualize our ‘4H’ model of educational purpose – Head, Hands, Heart, and Happiness. This model was developed as a direct result of this project, and is featured in the book chapter authored by Kezang Sherab and Matthew Schuelka titled, “Happy Students in Bhutan: The Land of Gross National Happiness … and Paradoxes,” and will published in the book Happiness Education that is due to be released at the end of 2022.

The following written deliverables are either directly related to this project, or cite the work of this project:

• Schuelka, M.J. & Kezang Sherab (in press, expected late 2023 or early 2024). ‘We have to take our culture with us’: The production, disjuncture, and narratives of educational values in Bhutan.
• Schuelka, M.J. & Kezang Sherab. (2022). Educational Values in Complex Systems: An Introduction to the Educational Values Evaluation and Design Framework and a Case Study of Inclusivity in Bhutan. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 24(1), 114-131. https://doi.org/10.52214/cice.v24i1.8773
• Schuelka, M.J. (in press, expected end of 2022 or early 2023). Reform and purpose in complex education systems. In R. Slee (Volume Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Education (4th ed.). Elsevier.
• Kezang Sherab & Schuelka, M.J. (in press, expected end of 2022 or early 2023). Educating for Gross National Happiness: The challenges and opportunities of educational policy and culture in Bhutan. In G. Fry & H. Chun (Eds.), Happiness Education. Routledge.
• Kezang Sherab & Schuelka, M.J. (2021). La complexité du bonheur: Valuers éducatives et sociétales au Bhoutan [The complexity of happiness: Educational and societal values in Bhutan]. Revue Internationale D’Éducation, 87, 1–10. https://journals.openedition.org/ries/10969?lang=en
• Schuelka, M.J., Braznell, M., Leavesley, M., Sangay Dorji, Khandu Dorji, Karma Nidup & Pema Latsho (2021). Happiness, wellbeing, and mental health in Bhutanese higher education: Exploring student and staff experiences within a framework of Gross National Happiness. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 10(1), 33–50. https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2021.10.1.0913

The following deliverables are presentations made to directly disseminate the results of this project:

• Schuelka, M.J. & Engsig, T.T. (2022, May). Understanding Inclusion and Belonging in Complex Education Systems. Seminar. University of Exeter, Exeter, UK (online).
• Kezang Sherab. (2022, May). The complexity of happiness: Educational and societal values in Bhutan. International Society for Teacher Education conference, Flaniopolis, Brazil.
• Kezang Sherab. (2022, March). The complexity of happiness: Educational and societal values in Bhutan. 17th Education and Development Conference, Bangkok, Thailand (online).
• Schuelka, M.J. (2022, February). Inclusive Education as a System: Aligning inclusive values across the Bhutanese education system (and beyond). Seminar. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
• Schuelka, M.J. (2021, Apr). Inclusion as an educational value within a complex system: The Educational Values Evaluation and Design framework with a case from Bhutan. Comparative and International Education Society Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA (online).
• Schuelka, M.J. (2020, February). Inclusion as an Educational Value within a Complex System: Introducing the Educational Values Evaluation and Design Framework with a case from Bhutan. Seminar. University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
• Schuelka, M.J. (2020, February). Educational Values, Narratives, and Outcomes: Alignments and Disjunctures in Bhutan. Public lecture. Durham University, Durham, UK.
• Schuelka, M.J. (2019, December). Educational Values and Complex Systems in Bhutan. Public lecture. University of Birmingham Dubai, Dubai, UAE.
• Schuelka, M.J. & Kezang Sherab (2019, December). Education and Development Beyond Human Capital: Bhutan and the Case for Happiness in Education. Public lecture. Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
• Schuelka, M.J. (2019, January). Education in Bhutan: Culture, schooling, and Gross National Happiness. International Society for Bhutan Studies Inaugural Conference, Oxford, UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4ikvl4kifw
• Schuelka, M.J., Kezang Sherab & Ueda, A. (2018, September). Happiness and Education in Bhutan. Public Dialogue. Paro College of Education, Paro, Bhutan.

Ripple Effects

It is our hope that our project and deliverables further interest in better understanding educational systems and promoting values such as happiness in education. Our project provides some guidance and a way forward to a more significant application of happiness as an educational value in a complex system.

While this work is very new and just becoming publicly available through publications, we have seen excitement in the work and and enthusiasm – especially by young scholars – to engage with the ideas.

One thing for the future that we want to engage upon further is working more directly with educational professionals, such as teachers, to apply our more theoretical ideas into practice. We hope to find further funds to be able to do more workshops and produce more materials that are directly applicable to teachers and other school professionals.

• Educational Values in Complex Systems（D17-R-0362）
• The complexity of happiness: educational and societal values in Bhutan（D17-R-0362）

プログラム名（Program）	2017 研究助成プログラム Research Grant Program   【（Ａ）共同研究助成  (A) Joint Research Grants】
助成番号（Grant Number）	D17-R-0362
題目（Project Title）	持続可能な社会のための教育的価値―ブータンにおける「頭」、「手」、「心」および「幸福」のモデルの構築と世界への発信に向けて― Educational Values for a Sustainable Society: Head, Hands, Heart, and Happiness in Bhutan and beyond
代表者名（Representative）	マシュー シュエルカ / Matthew Schuelka
代表者所属（Organization）	Fora Education
助成金額（Grant Amount）	￥5,600,000
リンク（Link）
活動地域（Area）