Cultivating Purpose in K-12 Educational Settings

Psychological research on purpose began in earnest about twenty years ago, and since then, at least two clear findings have emerged. First, leading a life of purpose is a good thing. Individuals who pursue purpose benefit, and so do the groups, areas, and causes they find purpose in supporting. Second, despite the benefits of leading a life of purpose, the experience is rare. Only about 1 in 5 high school-aged youth report leading a life of purpose. Taking these findings together, efforts to cultivate purpose, especially in schools, have garnered increased interest of late. This project endeavors to map the landscape of K-12 school-based purpose interventions and to make empirically based recommendations regarding how these efforts could be scaled more broadly.

Principal Investigators: Kendall Cotton Bronk and Belle Liang (Boston College)
Team Members: Jared Hales
Funder: Walton Family Foundation