How should we measure educational success? Stan speaks to Ka Ya Lee, a PhD candidate from Harvard University, to discuss the capability approach.

Currently, we mainly measure success by scores on standardised tests. Our fixation with results has warped the way we treat young people, and says little about children’s wellbeing. It gives the child no say in how they want to grow as a person. Is there another way?

Pioneered by economist Amartya Sen, the capability approach to human welfare “emphasizes the importance of freedom of choice, individual heterogeneity and the multi-dimensional nature of welfare”*. Ka Ya is asking: can the capability approach be applied to education?

* The capability approach on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_approach