Children's and adolescents' wellbeing and academic attainment at school in England: a mixed multi-methods investigation

Abstract

National and international comparative research over the last decade documents a significant, sustained decline in children’s wellbeing in England. Schools have a powerful role to play not only in nurturing children’s wellbeing, but explicitly teaching them what it means to be well. Yet the potential of schools to cultivate wellbeing among their pupils is complicated by competing educational priorities; the most pervasive being schools’ accountability for children’s academic attainment. Some regard wellbeing as a priority in direct opposition to attainment, while others express a need to better understand the wellbeing-attainment relationship. This thesis presents six papers, each from different methodological perspectives, with the shared aim of investigating how children experience wellbeing at school, particularly in relation to their learning and attainment. The thesis achieves this through challenging taken-for-granted conceptualisations of wellbeing in a theoretical review (Paper 1), quantitative analysis of the association between children’s wellbeing and attainment, accounting for cooccurring motivational states (Papers 2 and 3), designing and piloting wellbeing curricula in schools (Paper 4), and qualitative analysis of children’s lived experiences of wellbeing at school (Papers 5 and 6). Paper 1 theoretically reviews the wellbeing-attainment relationship, arguing that, to advance understanding, conceptualisations of wellbeing must be expanded, moving beyond ‘happiness’ (hedonia) to fulfilment (eudaimonia). Further, antecedents of wellbeing from motivational psychology are underlined as important traits to include in analyses of wellbeing and attainment. Papers 2 and 3 examine the extent to which children’s (N= 942) and adolescents (N = 607) hedonic, eudaimonic, and overall wellbeing at school, together with motivational states, are significantly associated with their Maths and English attainment, respectively. Structural equation models revealed that the wellbeing-attainment relationship differed depending on how wellbeing was conceptualised, underlining the need to distinguish between hedonia and eudaimonia conceptually and operationally. Furthermore, potential developmental differences in the wellbeing-attainment relationship were found. Specifically, findings from structural models highlighted the significance of eudaimonia for adolescents’ attainment, but not children’s. The overall wellbeing-attainment relationship also differed for children compared to adolescents. Accounting for motivational states revealed the potential mediational role of mindset in the wellbeing-attainment relationship for children specifically. Paper 4 critically reflects children’s (N= 45) and adolescents’ (N= 100) engagement with psycho-informed lessons developed in alignment with statutory Health Education guidelines. Drawing on Positive Education (PE) and Self-Determination theory (SDT), this practical paper describes the theoretical underpinnings of the lessons, learning activities used, pupils’ engagement and considerations for future teaching. Finding that adolescents reduced their wellbeing to feeling ‘happy’, recommendations are made regarding how to incorporate the science of positive psychology into statutory curricula and harness multi-agency expertise to co-deliver effective psychoeducation. Papers 5 and 6 expand the quantitative findings by interviewing children (N= 15) and adolescents (N= 18) directly to understand their lived experiences of hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing at school. Phenomenological analyses facilitate deeper insights into how pupils experience wellbeing and what ‘doing well’ at school means to them, first-hand. Paying attention to the language pupils used to describe their experiences facilitated rich understandings. Pupils described a state of interdependence (‘the domino effect’), deriving their own sense of wellbeing from the wellbeing of those they spend most time with. A distinct difference emerged between pupils’ experiences of ‘being well’ versus ‘doing well’ at school. Pupils understood ‘welldoing’ as efficiency, ‘correctness’ and objective attainment, with any lack thereof resulting in ridicule and feelings of shame. In sum, this mixed multi-methods investigation explores how schools can manage their statutory responsibilities of both nurturing children’s wellbeing and supporting academic attainment. Through examining children’s and adolescents’ wellbeing and attainment at school qualitatively and quantitatively, it makes two key contributions to knowledge regarding the nature of the wellbeing-attainment relationship. One, it advances understanding of key differences in the wellbeing-attainment association according to how wellbeing is operationalised (as hedonia or eudaimonia). Two, it elucidates age-related differences in the wellbeing-attainment relationship and proposes an integrated developmental model synthesising psychosocial, humanistic and eudaimonic wellbeing theories.