Research summaries for practice and policy · a series of the Austrian Character Initiative · since 2026
Charakterinitiative Deep Dives
The state of research on character education, human flourishing and education — summarised for schools, school leaders, researchers and policy-makers
Good decisions in education need good evidence, and the best evidence is often hidden in long journal articles that few practitioners have time to read. The Charakterinitiative Deep Dives close that gap. Each issue takes a question that matters for schools and sets out what the original research actually shows — beginning with the question of what makes people happy. Compiled and edited by Roland Bernhard and published within the Austrian Character Initiative, the Deep Dives appear in German as free PDF magazines under a Creative Commons licence. The first issue is available now; further issues on different topics are in preparation.
Deep Dive no. 1 · September 2026
What makes people happy? Five pathways to a flourishing life — the Harvard research at a glance
Was macht Menschen glücklich? Fünf Wege zu einem gelingenden Leben
Few research programmes have shaped the international study of human flourishing as much as the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, led by Tyler J. VanderWeele. The first Deep Dive summarises its central publications: the flourishing model with its six domains — happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, and financial and material stability — and the Global Flourishing Study, a longitudinal panel study with more than 200,000 participants in 22 countries, whose analyses are pre-registered and whose data are open to all researchers.
At its heart are the four pathways that VanderWeele identifies on the basis of longitudinal, experimental and quasi-experimental evidence: marriage and family, work, education and religious community — widespread in human life and, according to the evidence, effective across all domains of flourishing at once. The Deep Dive adds a fifth element that runs through all of them: the continuing work on one’s own character, which in this model is both a domain of flourishing and a predictor of flourishing as a whole.
- 01Close relationships — marriage and familyEnge Beziehungen – Ehe und Familie
- 02Work and employmentArbeit und Erwerbstätigkeit
- 03EducationBildung
- 04Religion and spirituality — religious communityReligion und Spiritualität – Religiöse Gemeinschaft
- 05Continuing work on one’s own character and personalityStändige Arbeit am eigenen Charakter und der Persönlichkeit
- 06Conclusion: what follows for educationFazit: Was für Bildung folgt
The conclusion draws out what this means for schools: that the relationship between teachers and students is a core pedagogical task; that virtues such as gratitude, hope, forgiveness and care for others deserve deliberate cultivation — gratitude, hope and care because they predict later flourishing, gratitude and forgiveness because randomised studies show they can be fostered; that young people need spaces for meaning, belonging and engagement; and that communal religious life should be respected as one of the best-evidenced pathways to a flourishing life rather than treated as a purely private matter.
How to cite: Roland Bernhard / Charakterinitiative (2026). Deep Dive „Was macht Menschen glücklich? Fünf Wege zu einem gelingenden Leben“. Charakterinitiative Deep Dive, September 2026. https://rolandbernhard.at/research/deep-dives/ — The text is licensed under CC BY 4.0; the illustrations carry their own licences as listed in the issue, and the logo of the Charakterinitiative is reserved.
The series
Evidence for schools, school leaders, researchers and policy — in a form that can actually be read
The Deep Dives of the Austrian Character Initiative summarise the state of research on topics of character education (Persönlichkeitsbildung), human flourishing and education so that schools, school leaders, researchers and education policy-makers receive evidence-based information. Each Deep Dive draws on the original publications, documents its sources completely, and distinguishes between what is empirically established and what can be derived from it for educational practice.
The format is deliberately that of a magazine rather than a paper: a clear structure, generous quotations from the original studies in English with German translations, a short section on the method and the limits of the evidence, boxes on what the findings mean for education, and a full reference list. Each issue can be read in half an hour — and passed on, printed or quoted freely under the Creative Commons licence.
The series is edited by Roland Bernhard, who holds the professorship of school development and leadership at KPH Vienna/Lower Austria, is Privatdozent at the University of Salzburg, was a Visiting Researcher at the University of Oxford and Visiting Professor at the University of Vienna, and is a founding and executive board member of the European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA). The series appears within the Austrian Character Initiative, which he founded in 2022.
Coming next
Further Deep Dives on different topics of character education, flourishing and education are in preparation and will be published on this page as they appear. If you would like to be notified, or have a topic in mind that schools would find useful, get in touch.
How a Deep Dive is made
Original publications only. Every issue is built on the peer-reviewed studies, reports and books themselves, not on press coverage or secondary summaries.
Complete references. Every claim can be traced to its source; the reference list gives full bibliographic details and DOIs.
Evidence and implication kept apart. The Deep Dives say what has been shown empirically — and separately what may follow from it for schools, teacher education and policy.
Who they are for
Teachers and school leaders who want to ground school development in research; researchers and students looking for a reliable entry point into a field; and those who shape education policy and need the evidence in an accessible form.
Auf Deutsch
Charakterinitiative Deep Dives: Evidenz für Schule, Schulleitung, Wissenschaft und Bildungspolitik
Die Deep Dives der Charakterinitiative fassen den Forschungsstand zu Themen der Persönlichkeitsbildung, des gelingenden Lebens und der Bildung so zusammen, dass Schulen, Schulleitungen, Wissenschaftler/innen und die Bildungspolitik evidenzbasierte Informationen erhalten. Jeder Deep Dive stützt sich auf die Originalpublikationen, weist seine Quellen vollständig nach und unterscheidet zwischen dem, was empirisch belegt ist, und dem, was sich daraus für die Bildungspraxis ableiten lässt. Herausgeber der Reihe ist Prof. Dr. Roland Bernhard; die Reihe erscheint im Rahmen der von ihm gegründeten Charakterinitiative. Die Texte stehen unter der Lizenz CC BY 4.0 und dürfen mit Quellenangabe weitergegeben, vervielfältigt und bearbeitet werden.
Deep Dive Nr. 1 – „Was macht Menschen glücklich? Fünf Wege zu einem gelingenden Leben. Die Harvard-Forschung im Überblick“ (September 2026, 16 Seiten): Der erste Deep Dive stellt die Forschung des Human Flourishing Program der Harvard University um Tyler J. VanderWeele vor – das Flourishing-Modell mit seinen sechs Bereichen, die Global Flourishing Study mit über 200.000 Teilnehmenden in 22 Ländern und die vier Pfade zu einem gelingenden Leben: enge Beziehungen in Ehe und Familie, Arbeit, Bildung und religiöse Gemeinschaft. Als fünftes Element kommt die ständige Arbeit am eigenen Charakter hinzu. Das Fazit zeigt, was daraus für Schule und Bildung folgt: die Beziehung zwischen Lehrenden und Lernenden als pädagogische Kernaufgabe, die gezielte Förderung von Dankbarkeit, Hoffnung, Vergebung und Fürsorge, Räume für Sinn, Zugehörigkeit und Engagement – und die Anerkennung gemeinschaftlich gelebter Religiosität als Ressource für ein gelingendes Leben.
Weitere Deep Dives zu unterschiedlichen Themen sind in Vorbereitung und erscheinen auf dieser Seite.
Zitierweise
Roland Bernhard / Charakterinitiative (2026): Deep Dive „Was macht Menschen glücklich? Fünf Wege zu einem gelingenden Leben“. Charakterinitiative Deep Dive, September 2026. https://rolandbernhard.at/research/deep-dives/ – Lizenz: CC BY 4.0 (Text); für die Abbildungen gelten die im Bildnachweis genannten Lizenzen.
Für wen
Für Lehrer/innen und Schulleitungen, die Schulentwicklung auf Forschung gründen wollen; für Wissenschaftler/innen und Studierende als verlässlicher Einstieg in ein Forschungsfeld; und für alle, die Bildungspolitik gestalten und die Evidenz in zugänglicher Form brauchen.
Sources of the first issue
The publications summarised in “Was macht Menschen glücklich?”
As listed in the issue’s reference section. The Deep Dive summarises these works; it does not report new data of its own.