Children and Capabilities

This paper deals with the possibilities of implementing the capability approach defined by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum in schools. It examines the question of whether the capability approach is relevant in schools. The aim was to clarify whether teachers in addition to imparting knowledge find sufficient opportunities to address the social problems and concerns of children and young people and what solutions they can offer with the existing resources of the school system. The questions are answered on the basis of an evaluation of current specialist literature and a questionnaire with guided interviews of 15 teachers. The results show that much of the content of the capability approach is already being implemented through the commitment of individual teachers and schools. Full implementation of the approach can only be considered an ideal as there is a lack of practical implementation options. The theoretical discussion of the capability approach is currently seen as a great opportunity to accelerate the development of practical projects.