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Questions about purpose, life meaning, and life satisfaction drive central debates about what good education should look like in schools. This study compares adolescent purposes, life meaning, social support and life satisfaction in Singapore and Israel. Meaning in life refers to finding one's significance; purpose uses this significance in ways beyond self. Key findings showed four purpose clusters for Singapore: no orientation, self-focused, other-focused, and both self- and other-focused. Israeli adolescents were in three purpose clusters without the no orientation group. Israeli adolescents had significantly higher life satisfaction, with no purpose orientation for 18% of Singapore's students having significant negative impact on life satisfaction. Presence of meaning, parents' support followed by teachers' support were positive predictors of life satisfaction. Notably, Israeli students had more life meaning and parental support; Singapore's adolescents had more teacher support but were searching for meaning. Implications for a more human experience of schooling are discussed.

Purpose is an intention over the long-term to have an effect on the world that is both meaningful to oneself and to others. What are schools doing to help students use the knowledge and skills they learn in school in their own lives and aspirations? This is the first study that compares adolescent purposes and life satisfaction in Singaporean and Israeli schools. Findings showed four purpose clusters for Singaporean adolescents: No Orientation, Self-focused, Other-focused, and both Self- and Other-focused. Israeli adolescents were in three purpose clusters: Self-focused, Other-focused, and Self- and Other-focused. The purpose groups differed on average life satisfaction in both countries: Self- and Other-focused were highest, followed by Self-focused and Other-focused. The No Orientation group in Singapore was lowest. Notably, beyond these differences between the groups, Israeli adolescents reported significantly higher life satisfaction in each purpose group. We discuss implications for schools and education policymakers.