School-related subjective well-being promotes subsequent adaptability, achievement, and positive behavioural conduct

The bidirectional relationship between benign/malicious envy and subjective well-being in adolescents: The mediating effect of self-esteem

INTRODUCTION

Subjective well-being, an important index for measuring mental health, is presently declining among junior high school students. Envy, one of their common emotions, is inextricably linked to subjective well-being. Based on the Dual Envy Theory, our research explores the bidirectional relationship between benign-malicious envy and subjective well-being. The mediating role of self-esteem, as well as the related gender differences, is examined.

METHODS

Chinese middle school students (n = 1566, boys 50.3%, age = 13.96 ± 0.88 years old) were assessed at two time points over a 3-month interval. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the longitudinal relationships among the variables.

RESULTS

(1) Cross-lagged analysis showed a positive bidirectional relationship between benign envy and subjective well-being and a negative bidirectional relationship between malicious envy and subjective well-being in the total sample. However, the path from T1 subjective well-being to T2 malicious envy in boys was not significant. (2) Self-esteem mediated the relationship between both benign and malicious envy and subjective well-being among both boys and girls. A Wald chi-square test showed that T2 self-esteem was a stronger predictor of T2 benign envy in boys than in girls.

CONCLUSION

The results reveal a virtuous cycle of benign envy and subjective well-being, and a vicious cycle of malicious envy and subjective well-being, while emphasizing the role of self-esteem in this process. Gender differences were also noted. These findings have important implications for improving the subjective well-being of secondary school students and exploring the positive effects of envy.

The intraindividual dynamics of university students' motivation and emotions: The role of autonomy-supportive learning climates and learning activities

BACKGROUND

The motivation and emotions of students are context dependent. There are specific moments when students may find their coursework more or less motivating, resulting in stronger or milder emotional responses. Identifying factors directly controllable by teachers empowers them to effectively address challenging situations characterized by lower motivation and increased negative emotions.

AIMS

We aimed to investigate how learning activities and students' perception of teaching practices fostering autonomy relate to competence and value beliefs, and emotions in the context of course participation within higher education.

SAMPLE

Seventy-seven Taiwanese university students provided 762 learning reports associated with their course participation experiences.

METHODS

The experience sampling method (ESM) was used. Participants responded to ESM surveys on their phones for 14 days, reporting motivational beliefs, emotions and contextual characteristics of the course if they indicated active participation in a course upon receiving notifications from their phones.

RESULTS

A significant portion of the variation is attributed to situational fluctuation, suggesting that academic emotions and competence and value beliefs vary within students across measurements. An increase in students' perception of an autonomy-supportive learning climate correlates with higher competence beliefs, intrinsic value and positive emotions, coupled with reduced perceived costs and negative emotions. In contrast to lectures, engaging in independent hands-on work, participating in group collaborative projects or interactive discussions appear to inspire motivation or evoke stronger emotional responses in students.

CONCLUSIONS

Teachers' teaching practices and classroom learning activities play a pivotal role in shaping students' situational motivation and emotions.

Preparing children to cope with earthquakes: Building emotional competence

Natural disasters, including earthquakes, can have a traumatic impact on children's psychological wellbeing and development. The efficacy of interventions aimed at enhancing children's socio-emotional learning has been documented in the literature. At the same time, these techniques are the key for training children for possible future disasters by enhancing their knowledge about behavioural preparedness and emotional competence. However, research on evidence-based training programs on earthquakes combining digital and traditional activities is scarce. We tested the efficacy of a 10-unit training program for primary school children, developed within the Emotional Prevention and Earthquakes in Primary School (PrEmT) project. The program aimed at increasing knowledge of and metacognition about earthquakes, safety behaviours, emotions, and coping strategies, through digital (using the web-application HEMOT® , Helmet for EMOTions, developed ad-hoc) and traditional activities (completing paper-and-pencil tasks). The participants were 548 second and fourth-graders from Italian schools. They were divided into an experimental group (participating in the training program) and a control group. Both groups participated in pretests and posttests to evaluate changes in their knowledge of training-related contents. For ethical reasons, we also measured children's wellbeing. Generalized linear mixed models indicated an improvement in the experimental group's knowledge and metacognition about earthquakes, safety behaviours, emotions, and coping strategies after the training program, compared to the control group. Children's general wellbeing did not deteriorate during participation in the project. The results documented the efficacy of the evidence-based training program developed within the PrEmT project. The program provides a preventive method for enhancing earthquake-related resilience that could be generalized to other kinds of disasters.

The longitudinal development of students' well-being in adolescence: The role of perceived teacher autonomy support

Although a decline in adolescents' well-being has repeatedly been reported, longitudinal evidence for this development is rare and time-varying factors like teacher autonomy support that could be associated with this trend have sparsely been investigated. Therefore, the present study examined how the temporal development of perceived autonomy support from their German language arts teachers is related to changes in four different facets of students' well-being. Longitudinal data from 3446 adolescents from Germany (N_Schools  = 178) on five measurement points (Grades 5-9) were analyzed using latent growth curve models. Satisfaction with school, enjoyment of school, and self-rated health decreased over time, while social integration remained stable. Perceived teacher autonomy support also declined between Grades 5 and 9. Furthermore, baseline levels of perceived teacher autonomy support and facets of well-being were positively related. Finally and most importantly, our results indicated that changes in perceived teacher autonomy support were positively associated with the development of satisfaction with school, enjoyment of school, and self-rated health, but not social integration. The findings suggest that perceived teacher autonomy support plays an important role in the development of students' well-being in adolescence.

Impact of teacher-student interaction on students' classroom well-being under online education environment

The students' classroom well-being of college students has been widely concerned in online education researches. In order to implement effectively online education in colleges and universities, based on person-context interaction theory, this study investigates a theoretical model of the impact of teacher-student interaction, sound richness, sound pleasure, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on students' classroom well-being. By surveying 349 college students receiving online education, the research hypotheses are tested by the structural equation model approach. Research results show that: teacher-student interaction, sound richness, sound pleasure, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness appreciably improve students' classroom well-being, the sound richness and the students' perceived ease of use can moderate the effect of teacher-student interaction on students' classroom well-being. Finally some pedagogical implications are discussed.

Reciprocal effects of mathematics performance, school engagement and burnout during adolescence

BACKGROUND

Transitioning into adolescence while simultaneously facing greater academic demands as the level of education increases often entails both academic challenges and general declines in students' school-related well-being. Still, however, relatively little is known about the causal relationship between students' academic well-being (i.e., school engagement and burnout) and their performance during the adolescent years.

AIMS

This study examined longitudinal relations between adolescents' mathematics performance, school engagement and burnout (exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy) across lower secondary education.

SAMPLE

Data came from a longitudinal research project, following Finnish lower secondary school (grades 7-9) students (N = 1131) over 4 years (2016-2019).

METHODS

Students completed standardized mathematics tests and self-report measures of school engagement and burnout at four time points, twice within both 7th and 9th grade. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) was used to examine pathways between engagement, burnout and mathematics performance over time.

RESULTS

Higher mathematics performance increased students' engagement and lowered their exhaustion and cynicism over time, whereas both engagement and exhaustion predicted higher performance. Negative relations were also found from inadequacy and cynicism on students' mathematics performance. Furthermore, school burnout predicted engagement both positively (from exhaustion) and negatively (from cynicism and inadequacy) within and between the school years, whereas engagement only predicted cynicism and inadequacy negatively within 7th grade.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that the overall relation between students' mathematics performance, engagement and burnout is rather reciprocal, but also, that the relations become more prominent over time, demonstrating the importance of supporting both learning and well-being in school.

Adaptability and emotional, behavioural and cognitive aspects of self-regulated learning: Direct and indirect relations with academic achievement and life satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Adaptability regulates individuals' cognitive, behavioural and emotional responses to new, unexpected and uncertain situations, but to date no study has analysed whether adaptability contemporarily favours cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of learning.

AIMS

This study aims to address this gap by examining (i) the direct relations between adaptability and achievement emotions, self-regulated learning strategies and academic self-efficacy and (ii) the direct and indirect relations between adaptability and academic achievement and life satisfaction through and over the other study-related factors.

SAMPLE

A total of 1083 students (415 males, M_age  = 13.37, SD_age  = 1.97, age range = 10-18) in grades 6-12 participated to the study.

METHOD

Questionnaires were used to measure students' adaptability, positive and negative achievement emotions, self-regulated learning strategies, academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction. Schools provided grades obtained by each student at the end of the academic year.

RESULTS

A path analysis based on 1083 students (10-18 years old) confirmed that adaptability directly relates to the three study-related factors considered and to life satisfaction and indirectly relates to academic achievement and life satisfaction-through the mediation of the other variables.

CONCLUSIONS

The results, discussed in accordance with the self-regulated learning theory, enlarge the nomological framework of adaptability and highlight its importance for emotional, behavioural and cognitive aspects of self-regulated learning.

Perceived academic performance explained by school climate, positive psychological variables and life satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Adolescents spend a large percentage of their time at school, where learning and achievement are important activities that are vital to their future educational success and subsequent career opportunities. However, studies reveal a significant drop in satisfaction and performance during the teenage years.

AIM

Based on the ecological model, this study aims to explore the relationship dynamics between contextual (school climate) and psychological (emotional intelligence and resilience) variables, life satisfaction and perceived academic performance, analysing, to this end, four theoretical models grounded in previous research.

SAMPLE

The sample comprised a total of 1397 adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years from the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (northern Spain).

ANALYSIS

The Equations 6.2 program was used to estimate the measurement model and the structural models, using the robust maximum likelihood procedure.

RESULTS

School climate and life satisfaction were found to directly influence perceived academic performance, whereas emotional intelligence and resilience did so indirectly, with the full mediation of life satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

These results have important educational implications, since they reveal existing relationship dynamics, which should serve as a basis for the effective implementation of school programs. They also indicate how important it is for adolescents to be psychologically well-adjusted and satisfied with their lives, in order for them to perform optimally at school.

On the association between students’ (domain-specific) subjective well-being and academic achievement—disentangling mixed findings

Today, there is wide recognition of schools as places that should foster children’s learning and well-being alike. The past two decades have thus witnessed an upsurge in research on children’s subjective well-being (SWB) in school and how it relates to their academic achievement. The first meta-analysis on the SWB/achievement relation revealed substantial, yet unexplained variability in effect sizes across samples and studies. In this context, in the present investigation we examined three potential sources of differential SWB/achievement relations: The domain-specificity of measures (global/school-specific/math-specific), the type of SWB component (cognitive/affective), and the type of achievement indicator (test-based/grade-based). Data from N = 767 8th and 9th grade students from German secondary schools were assessed via latent factor analyses. Our findings generally point towards stronger SWB/achievement relations with a more specific and specificity-matching rather than a less specific and specificity-mismatched SWB measure, with SWB’s cognitive rather than its affective component, and with a grade- rather than test-based indicator of academic achievement. We discuss differences in our findings by type of SWB component as well as by level of domain-specificity, and we provide initial empirical evidence supporting the relevance of SWB’s subject-specific measures.

The influence of motivation, self-efficacy, and fear of failure on the career adaptability of vocational school students: Moderated by meaning in life

It is an important issue for vocational school students to have good adaptability for their future life. This study combines career construction theory and self-determination theory to construct a model to explore the relationship between the "motivation," "self-efficacy," "fear of failure," "career adaptability," and "meaning in life" of vocational school students. This study used a secondary data research method and retrieved a total of 2,377 data from vocational school students in Taiwan from the perspective of data exploration using PISA 2018 data, which was validated by the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM). The following results were obtained: (1) Vocational students were afraid that failure would have a negative impact on their career adaptability. (2) Motivation and Self-efficacy had a positive effect on career adaptability. (3) Motivation positively affected fear of failure. (4) Self-efficacy negatively affected fear of failure. (5) Meaning in life could positively moderate the effect of self-efficacy on fear of failure. (6) However, there was no statistical difference in the moderating effect of meaning in life on the relationship between motivation and fear of failure. First, fear of failure negatively affected career adaptability, while motivation and self-efficacy positively affected career adaptability; compared to the three effects, the negative effect of fear of failure may not be as great as expected. Second, motivation is like a double-edged sword as it improves adaptability, but it also comes with an increased fear of failure. On the contrary, self-efficacy can simultaneously improve the career adaptability of vocational students and reduce their fear of failure. Therefore, the development of self-efficacy should be given priority over motivation in the career adaptability enhancement strategy of vocational students. Finally, the meaning of life can positively moderate the negative influence of self-efficacy on the fear of failure. In other words, for vocational students with a low sense of self-efficacy, perhaps life education can be used instead as a strategy to reduce their fear of failure.

Trajectories of scholastic well-being: The effect of achievement emotions and instructional quality in the first year of secondary school (fifth grade)

Due to their connections with positive educational outcomes, the maintenance of good health and scholastic well-being are highly relevant topics. However, to date, no studies have investigated developmental changes in scholastic well-being in the light of achievement emotions and instructional quality-although these predictors offer good approaches for intervention. A sample of N = 667 (age: M = 10.16; SD = 0.46; 81.7% female) students was questioned three times over one year, from the beginning of their fifth grade into sixth grade, using reliable questionnaires. The results of multilevel linear growth curve modelling calculations show that a decrease in scholastic well-being during the fifth grade was induced by changes in the predictors (achievement emotions and instructional quality). Since the highest effects are evident regarding achievement emotions, support programs should focus on facilitating these aspects in secondary school children.

Study on the influence of family capital on Chinese adolescents’ subjective well-being

Subjective well-being (SWB) is an important part of positive psychology research. Compared with other countries and regions, Chinese adolescents’ well-being level is relatively lower. Under the guidance of ecological systems theory, this study is based on the survey data of PISA 2018, with 10,805 middle school students from four provinces and cities in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang) as the research samples, and examines the theoretical model of the influence of family capital on adolescents’ subjective well-being by means of structural equation modeling, in which the effects of family capital, school climate and academic achievement on adolescents’ subjective well-being are discussed. The empirical results show that family capital directly and indirectly negatively influences adolescents’ subjective well-being through academic achievements, and indirectly positively influences adolescents’ subjective well-being through school climate. School climate directly positively affects adolescents’ subjective well-being and indirectly negatively influences adolescents’ subjective well-being through their academic achievement. Academic achievement negatively affects adolescents’ subjective well-being. The research results strongly support the correctness of the theoretical framework, indicating the complexity of the formation of adolescents’ subjective well-being.

Mediating Role of Resilience in the Relationship Between English Learners' Motivation and Well-Being

Teaching seeks to enhance learners' well-being as well as their educational motivation since both constructs cause advancement in the process of learning and they increase the level of success in the educational cycle. Well-being is a critical requirement inside the academic environment that is considered as the main dimension of individuals' tendency in the topic of positive psychology (PP) research, which is crucial for learning. Besides, as a significant idea in language domain and in order to consider the relation between well-being and motivation, the other concept is arisen in PP, namely resilience that seems to be effective for learners as it deals with the capability to effectively manage difficulties in the past and present time in the learning process. As a result, this study considers the relationship between well-being and motivation; however, it also inspects the mediating role of resilience in this regard. Consequently, this review of literature holds suggestions for researchers, philosophers, and experts searching for better exploration and attention to the functions of resilience as a mediator in the relationship between learners' motivation and well-being.

Differences in students' scholastic well-being induced by familial and scholastic context

BACKGROUND

Since scholastic well-being is connected with intrinsic motivation, positive emotions and effective learning, it is highly relevant for educational research. It is influenced by a variety of individual and contextual determinants and differs for several groups of students with respect to their environmental conditions.

AIMS

Up to now, there has been neither approach in answering questions about group-differences between students with high or low levels of scholastic well-being nor in defining variables that are most different for these groups. The current study addresses this research gap by investigating differences in familial and scholastic aspects in two distinct groups of students (extreme high or low level of scholastic well-being).

SAMPLE AND METHOD

Self-report questionnaires from N = 852 fifth graders were evaluated using the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a discriminant analysis.

RESULTS

Results of the discriminant analysis show that attainment of academic educational track, good classroom-management, positive social climate in class and high clarity of instruction, as well as low parental pressure on performance are characteristics that classify students with an extreme high level of scholastic well-being. Therefore, those variables can be used to divide students into disjoint groups without having any information about their actual scholastic well-being.

CONCLUSION

Firstly, it can be deduced from the findings that measures within the schools to promote scholastic well-being should start with the improvement of instructional quality and social climate. Second, reduction of parental pressure on performance as well as the implementation of successful cooperation between families and schools is vital.

Test anxiety, anxiety disorders, and school-related wellbeing: Manifestations of the same or different constructs?

Previous studies have shown that highly test anxious persons are more likely to meet criteria for an anxiety disorder and report more frequent symptoms of anxiety disorders than their low test anxious counterparts. However, it is unclear whether test anxiety should be treated as distinct to, or a manifestation of, anxiety disorders. Furthermore, the Dual Factor Model of Mental Health proposes that high subjective wellbeing cannot be solely inferred from the absence of psychopathology. To date, no studies have examined the Dual Factor Model in relation to test anxiety. In the present study, we examined how test anxiety, two common anxiety disorders (i.e., generalized anxiety disorder [GAD] and panic disorder [PD]), and subjective wellbeing in the school domain (i.e., school-related wellbeing) were related in a sample of 918 adolescents (M age = 15.77 years) using network analysis and latent profile analysis. Results from the network analysis indicated that test anxiety, GAD, PD, and school-related wellbeing were represented as distinct constructs. Bridge nodes were identified that linked test anxiety with GAD, PD, and school-related wellbeing. The latent profile analysis identified three of the four profiles predicted by the Dual Factor Model, including (a) troubled (i.e., low school-related wellbeing, high test anxiety, GAD, and PD), (b) complete mental health (i.e., high school-related wellbeing, low test anxiety, GAD, and PD), and (c) symptomatic but content (i.e., average school-related wellbeing, test anxiety, GAD, and PD). We concluded that test anxiety was distinct from, rather than a manifestation of, GAD and PD. We found support for the Dual Factor Model, albeit not unequivocal, using test anxiety as an additional indicator of psychopathology to that of GAD and PD.

Student adaptability, emotions, and achievement: Navigating new academic terrains in a global crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic forced students to abruptly shift from traditional and familiar, to largely improvised distance learning formats. This study examined whether individual differences in students' capacity to adjust to situational uncertainty and novelty (i.e., adaptability) explained differences in their achievement-related emotions and learning outcomes in the digital learning context. We assessed 89 university students' trait-level adaptability at the beginning of the 2020 spring semester, mid-semester achievement emotions (joy, hope, anxiety, hopelessness), and end-of-semester perceived learning and knowledge test scores. Controlling for prior digital learning experience, structural equation modeling revealed adaptability to be positively related to hope, and negatively related to anxiety and hopelessness. Anxiety was also negatively related to end-of-semester test scores, and indirectly linked adaptability and test scores. Hopelessness indirectly linked adaptability and perceived learning. Overall, the findings contribute to understanding and supporting students' emotional well-being and learning amidst changing academic circumstances.

A Rasch Analysis of the School-Related Well-Being (SRW) Scale: Measuring Well-Being in the Transition from Primary to Secondary School

Within educational systems, promoting well-being is an essential objective along with traditional aims focused on students’ learning. However, scarce attention has been devoted to school-related well-being in the transition from primary to lower secondary school, also for the paucity of brief instruments deputed to measure it. We assessed well-being at school for fourth-graders and seventh-graders, by adapting and validating the Italian version of the School-Related Well-Being (SRW) scale, using in sequence exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and Rasch analysis. Through the Rasch analysis, we transformed the SRW scale into an instrument that respects the properties of the fundamental measurement. We measured well-being and achievement emotions at time 1 and grades at time 2. The SRW scale correlated with another measure of well-being and with students’ achievement emotions. Grade-level differences emerged, with a decrease of well-being that attested a maladaptive trend at increasing age; moreover, females reported higher well-being than males. Well-being at school was positively linked to achievement. Beyond its methodological relevance, this study highlights the need for developing interventions to support students in the transition from primary to lower secondary school, which is such a pivotal time in their learning path.

The Development and Validation of a New Multidimensional Test Anxiety Scale (MTAS)

Abstract. Although test anxiety has a long history in the educational and psychological literature there is a lack of census over its dimensionality. The aim of the present study was to clarify the dimensionality of test anxiety and develop a new instrument to reflect this dimensionality. Across two empirical studies we tested and refined a new multidimensional instrument comprising of two cognitive dimensions (Worry and Cognitive Interference) and two affective-physiological dimensions (Tension and Physiological Indicators). In both studies, four-correlated-factors and higher order models showed a good fit to the data. Test anxiety was positively related to an existing test anxiety measure (the Test Anxiety Inventory) and an elevated risk of mental health problems, and negatively related to school well-being and examination performance. This new instrument will prove a welcome addition for practitioners, to assist in the identification of highly test anxious students who may require support or intervention, and test anxiety researchers.

Cognitive-behavioral intervention for test anxiety in adolescent students: do benefits extend to school-related wellbeing and clinical anxiety

Background and objectives: Cognitive-behavioral interventions have been shown to be effective treatments for test anxiety. Studies on school-aged populations, however, are lacking. Design and methods: In the present study we evaluated a six-session cognitive-behavioral intervention for test anxiety in a sample of secondary school students aged 14-16 years preparing for high-stakes examinations. Furthermore, we extended outcomes to include school-related wellbeing and clinical anxiety. A screening procedure was used to identify highly test anxious persons who were randomly allocated to intervention or wait-list control groups. Results: Test anxiety showed a large reduction following intervention compared to control group participants who showed a moderate reduction. Clinical anxiety showed a small to moderate reduction following intervention compared to control group participants who showed a negligible reduction. The reduction in clinical anxiety was mediated by concurrent reductions in test anxiety. Conclusion: This supports an integrative network approach that deactivating core aspects of anxiety can deactivate associated networks of anxiety symptoms. The intervention showed no impact on school-related wellbeing which increased at a similar rate for both intervention and control group participants. This is likely because test anxiety is just one contributor of many to school-related wellbeing. Implications for school-based treatments are discussed.