Educational Joy as Strategy – Not Fluff

What would an education system look like if joy weren’t merely a result – but the very purpose? That’s the question raised by the Danish think tank DEA in their new anthology Uddannelsesglæde (“Educational Joy”). And it’s not just a pedagogical or psychological question – it’s a strategic one.

That’s exactly what we discussed with Stina Vrang Elias, director of DEA and the initiator of the anthology. 

“We talk too much about what we want to avoid in the education system – we should be talking about what we want to achieve,” says Stina. At a time when student wellbeing dominates the agenda, her ambition is clear: to shift the focus from treating symptoms to discussing purpose.

Wellbeing has become a defensive agenda. As Stina puts it, “We’ve talked a lot about wellbeing as the absence of problems – but not as the presence of something good.” Educational joy, she insists, is not about ease or comfort, but about meaning, connection, and direction. It can contain struggle, failure, and academic challenge – as long as it feels like something worth being part of.

That insight pushes us to ask different questions: What is the purpose of our institutions? Not just what they are supposed to solve – but what they are meant to ignite. In this framing, joy becomes a compass for leadership, strategy, and governance. Not as feel-good fluff, but as a guiding principle for value creation and engagement.

When Stina speaks of educational joy, she is not merely referring to students’ emotions – it’s a professional obligation. Joy doesn’t just happen; it must be designed for, led towards, and evaluated – without becoming just another bureaucratic metric.

This leaves us with a strategic dilemma: How do we work with joy without turning it into another checklist? What does it mean for institutions and systems if we dare to put purpose before function?

We believe there’s a unique opportunity in making joy a strategic constraint – a lever to rethink core tasks, quality, and culture. Not as reporting obligations, but as a shared language that can inspire decision-making and organisational development.

An important reflection is that we’ve allowed academic standards and wellbeing to be cast as opposites – especially in politics. But as Stina says, “It’s a false dichotomy. Academic achievement and joy cannot necessarily be separated – most people thrive when they succeed at something.”

That insight should be revolutionary for governance. It means we don’t have to choose between demands and care – we must find new balances, where academic rigour becomes a path to feeling meaningful.

It challenges leaders and policymakers alike: How do we design systems that allow people to feel that what they do matters? Where achievement is liberating, not duty-driven?

For us as advisors, educational joy isn’t just a pedagogical concept – it’s a governance issue. It’s about how we define purpose, how we measure value, and how we lead with awareness of both systems and people.

So, we want to leave you with a few important questions to consider.

How can institutions work with joy as a measure of quality without suffocating it with control? 

What does leadership look like when joy is not the icing on the cake – but the foundation? 

And how might concepts like educational joy help us evolve entire organisations, not just classrooms?

We believe the answer starts by daring to ask.