Improving student wellbeing: having a say at school

ABSTRACT

The wellbeing of children and young people remains a concern internationally and an increasing focus of policy, programmes, and teacher professional development in schools. Supporting wellbeing is now central to the realisation of children’s rights, evidenced by an expanding literature linking children’s participation and their wellbeing. As promising as such scholarship might be in advocating for the democratisation of schools, little empirical research has investigated these links. Drawing on relevant findings from a large mixed-methods study in Australia that sought the views of students, principals, teachers, and other staff about wellbeing at school, this paper explores a number of links between student voice and wellbeing. The findings revealed that students understood wellbeing in multifaceted ways, including having a say, being listened to, having rights, and being respected. Further, both students and staff identified positive associations between having a say at school, being recognised (cared for, respected, and valued), and wellbeing.

KEYWORDS:

• Student wellbeing
• participation
• student voice
• recognition theory
• childhood studies

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the funding partners of the Wellbeing in Schools research project for their support: the Australian Research Council (ARC); the Catholic Schools Office, Lismore; Interrelate; and Good Grief Ltd. We would also like to acknowledge the many schools that participated in the research. Particular thanks to members of the project advisory group, especially the four students: Cameron Kable, Lucy Cornwell, Lucy Taylor, and Ruby Walker.

Disclosure statement

The authors do not have any financial interests or benefit arising from the direct applications of the research project reported in this paper.

Notes

1. Note that in some states of Australia, Year 7 is the final grade in primary school, while in other states it is the first grade in secondary school.

2. Copies of the full surveys are available from the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [grant number LP110200656].

Notes on contributors

Donnah L. Anderson

Dr Donnah Anderson is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Children and Young People, Southern Cross University, Australia. Donnah completed her PhD in social psychology. Her research interests include children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and their right to a quality education.

Anne P. Graham

Professor Anne Graham is the Foundation Director of the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University, Australia. Anne’s background is in education and sociology. Her research and professional interests include children’s social and emotional wellbeing, participation and engagement in schools, ethical issues in researching with children and young people, and teacher learning. Anne developed the highly successful education programme Seasons for Growth, which supports children, young people, and parents who have experienced significant change in their family due to death, separation, or divorce. More than 150,000 children and young people in five countries have participated in the programme.