Lesson: Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness

Source: Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit

Created by: Laura Good, Greene Street Friends School

Subjects: Social Studies

Grade Levels: 5-9

View or download this Lesson Plan.

Overview:  Applying the Philadelphia Folklore Project’s approach to cultural education, students first reflect on their own personal understanding of happiness and activities that cultivate happiness. Transition to a study of Bhutan’s approach to economic development, measured in Gross National Happiness, a signal of Bhutan’s commitment to building an economy that serves Bhutan’s culture based on Buddhist spiritual values instead of western material development (measured in GDP). This is used as a springboard to examine sustainable economic development, environmental conservation, Buddhist practices, and cultural values in Bhutan.

Objectives: Students will be able to use the concept of Gross National Happiness to examine sustainable economic development, environmental conservation, Buddhist practices, and cultural values in Bhutan.

The Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit

This lesson is one of 29 lessons (K-12, all subjects) in the Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit. The goal of the Tool Kit is to help educators and their students develop a transnational analysis in their classrooms by using complex themes of world heritage as a framework to understand global regions across disciplines. These themes include shared architectural, cultural, economic, environmental, political, recreational, religious, and social heritage features.  Real teachers created these lessons and based their work on “best practices” that reflect student collaboration and the broad goals of young people in ways that support care and understanding of others who may be very different in background and history.