University of Happiness and Well-Being: Review Article

Ignacio Bonasa Alzuria

doi:10.58372/2835-6276.1389

Authors

Ignacio Bonasa Alzuria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58372/2835-6276.1389

Keywords:

happiness, well-being, higher education, habits, emotional intelligence, human competencies, financial well-being, digital well-being, positive university, human flourishing

Abstract

This article develops a conceptual model of a University of Happiness and Well-Being as a higher education institution structured around eight domains of well-being: body, thought, emotions, transcendence, relationships and community, career and purpose, financial well-being, and digital well-being. The paper is explicitly framed as a conceptual article supported by an integrative narrative review of international literature on well-being, flourishing, habit formation, emotional intelligence, and positive higher education.

Its main contribution is twofold. First, it proposes a pedagogical equation of sustainable happiness, according to which happiness is understood as a function of holistic well-being, while well-being itself is strengthened through habits that generate observable behaviors and eventually consolidate into transferable competencies. Second, it translates that equation into an institutional, curricular, and assessment model for higher education.

Beyond theoretical justification, the article operationalizes the eight dimensions, compares the proposed framework with established models such as PERMA, psychological well-being, self-determination theory, and flourishing, and outlines an empirical validation agenda including instruments, hypotheses, and longitudinal, quasi-experimental, and multigroup research designs. The paper concludes that such a university can become a rigorous response to contemporary crises of knowledge fragmentation, student distress, and the disconnection between education, human development, and sustainable happiness.

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