Liberating Education for a Good Life: A Capability Approach Perspective on Education

Authors : Zehra Şekertekin

Pages : 207-221

View : 42 | Download : 11

Publication Date : 2025-10-22

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study is based on the contribution of the Capability Approach, developed by Amartya Sen—an economist and also a philosopher—to education. The Capability Approach, originally proposed by Sen, was later developed further by Martha Nussbaum. According to this approach, it is incorrect to assess the welfare status of individuals and countries solely based on Gross National Product (GNP) in cross-country comparisons. What truly matters is what people are able to do with the material resources they possess. This approach also both criticizes and offers an alternative to John Rawls’s conception of primary goods. According to this perspective, the value of possessing primary goods depends on the actual freedoms and opportunities that individuals are able to achieve through them. Sen associates individuals’ attainment of genuine well-being with their ability to freely achieve the functionings they value. In line with this approach, individual well-being is measured by the extent to which people can freely realize valued functionings by using the resources they possess. The ability to achieve these functionings freely is an indicator of the capabilities individuals have. In this respect, the Capability Approach has significant potential to contribute to education. It advocates for a society in which individuals can freely perform actions they value, and it defines real development as the expansion of individuals’ spheres of freedom. Therefore, education—which is regarded as a fundamental capability—holds a crucial position within this framework. Through education, individuals develop both intellectual and practical skills, thereby gaining the capability to realize the functionings they value, and ultimately build a life they consider worthwhile. For this reason, this study examines the issue of education through the lens of the Capability Approach and discusses the critical importance of education in enabling individuals to construct a conception of a good life, within the context of the freedoms emphasized by the approach.
Keywords : Amartya Sen, Kabiliyetler Yaklaşımı, Eğitim, Değerli Bir Yaşam, Özgürlük

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