University of Jyväskylä's Wellbeing Research at Finland's Largest Education Event: Joyful Schools at EDUCA 2026
Meet us at EDUCA – Finland’s leading education and training event
Saturday 24 January 2026, 14:45–15:25
Location: Speakers’ Corner
More information about EDUCA and the programme is available at: https://educa.messukeskus.com/en/program/?mkdtt=20260124
Research-based approaches to holistic school well-being
The session brings together ongoing international research and development on school well-being conducted by the ILE research group. It draws particularly on two European Erasmus+ projects:
- Joyful Schools – Active learning strategies for health, well-being, and growth mindset, implemented with partners from Austria, Finland, Luxembourg, and Romania.
- PERMA-Digital – A whole school approach to digital well-being, developed in collaboration with organisations in Cyprus, Belgium, Finland, Greece, and Ireland.
Grounded in peer-reviewed research published in the International Journal of Well-Being, the session introduces a holistic school well-being framework spanning physical, psychological, social, creative, and socioeconomic dimensions, explicitly linked with digital and planetary well-being. The framework is designed for use in teacher education, school development, and classroom-level pedagogical design.
Why attend?
- Gain insight into research-based, internationally tested frameworks for school and teacher well-being
- Explore how digital, planetary, and human well-being can be integrated into everyday educational practice
- Learn from cross-cultural case studies spanning Europe and Asia
- Take away practical, adaptable micro-practices for joyful learning that can be implemented immediately
Contributors
- Tiina Mäkelä, PhD (University of Jyväskylä)
Towards a Framework for Conceptualising Holistic Well-Being in Schools: Insights from Erasmus+ and Innovative and Sustainable Learning Environments (ISLE) Teacher Academy Projects - Jukka Sinnemäki (Johannes Kepler University Linz, School of Education, Austria)
The Joyful Schools Project and “The Me Book”: Well-Being Curriculum Design and Practical School Implementation - Kristóf Fenyvesi, PhD (University of Jyväskylä), Prof. Mi Yung Hong, PhD (Korea National University of Education), Wazir Ali (Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia)
International perspectives on joyful learning and teacher well-being in Asia, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Pakistan - Kati Clements, PhD & Saana Mehtälä, PhD (University of Jyväskylä)
Digital well-being in schools - Orsolya Tuba, Erika Avikainen & Matias Mäki-Kuutti (University of Jyväskylä)
Sustainability and well-being in the Erasmus+ Inclusive Future and PERMA-Digital projects, and “The Scrappies” book
Join us at EDUCA 2026
We welcome educators, school leaders, researchers, and education developers working in diverse national and international contexts to join this session at EDUCA 2026. The discussion offers both conceptual depth and practical relevance for those interested in advancing well-being-oriented, future-facing education.
