Purpose-in-action education: Introduction and implications

AbstractLife purpose is a long-term aim to make one’s life count. Education—especially moral education—might be considered a key cultural mechanism for young people to ‘thread’ their lives into the culture’s ‘bigger picture’ not only of the ‘good life’ but also of a ‘life of good.’ How does life purpose relate to educationally important attributes like motivation, feedback, institutional support, and emotional engagement, especially education aimed to make salient the impacts students have on others? This introduction explores the implications of five papers from different countries regarding the challenges of self-transcendence, whether purpose is a calling from within or outside the self, and how purpose can pivot past-oriented reflection into future-oriented proflection that integrates students’ educational experiences into their anticipated future life path. Given the multicultural frame on these topics and their implications, how can researchers and practitioners move forward in purpose education?