Demystifying Subjective Well‐Being of Academically At‐Risk Students: Case Study of a Chinese High School

Abstract

Student subjective well‐being (SWB) is increasingly incorporated into today’s education policies and positive education movements. There is a growing interest in how well schools promote student well‐being, especially for disadvantaged students, e.g., the academically at‐risk, and which factors affect this process. This study investigates how teachers and academically at‐risk students perceive SWB and its influential precursors in a high school in China. The influential precursors in the present research were allocated into four dimensions, namely contextual factors, school factors, family factors, and individual factors. Via semi‐structured individual interviews with 12 teachers and 18 students for about one hour and content analysis of the interview data, the responses revealed that while students tended to have a superficial understanding of well‐being, traditional concepts about studying, blind filial piety, peer relations, and self‐efficacy were important factors shaping and influencing their SWB. These findings can inform the development of inclusive education policies concerning student SWB and the intervention and prevention systems of schools in both local and international contexts. Recommendations for organising lectures for parents and implementing programs providing instruction on SWB‐related skills for students are proposed to support academically at‐risk students, aiming to achieve the educational goal of success for all.

The “Trade-Off” of Student Well-Being and Academic Achievement: A Perspective of Multidimensional Student Well-Being

“…Social well-being was reported in a study conducted by Samad et al (2019) as surrounding social self, which, in differing circumstances, can also be considered to be an individual person’s social roles. Possessing a high degree of social well-being, students will have the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to interact with others more positively that could, possibly, strengthen their academic achievement ( Gräbel, 2017 ; Cheng et al, 2021 ). A research study ( Lu, 2010 ) conducted in Hong Kong also accentuated the paramount priority of relationships on Chinese well-being due to the importance of inter-dependence that is in apparent within Chinese society.…”

“…However, when negative relations exist at school, for example, bullying, this interpersonal harmony will be threatened thus, indicating a collapse of role-playing within the school context. As a result, student well-being will be reduced, but also dissatisfaction will be aroused for school, occasionally causing them to experience psychological problems ( Cheng et al, 2021 ). This may also give reason for the non-significant relationship existing between a student’s social well-being and their school academic attainment.…”

“…Student well-being in China seems to be not well-investigated ( Cheng et al, 2021 ). The value of well-being is also reflected by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), as many participating countries wish to know how their students are achieving academically as well as how they conduct their lives on a daily basis.…”

Impact of filial piety on residents’ subjective well-being in China considering the moderating effect of income level

“…The filial piety, which has been formed in China for a long time, has a significant impact on residents' SWB. [5][6][7] Since Confucius established the connotation of filial piety as "serving parents well," filial piety has been promoted by the ruling class, demonstrated by the intellectual class, and practiced by the general public in the long traditional society. [8] In the modern China, most of studies focus on how filial piety should be adapted to the status and value concepts of modern people.…”

Well-being of Chinese students - a review in the context of implications for the educational proces

“…There has been an increasing consideration of the concept in educational policies. There is a growing interest in how schools and universities support students' well-being and what factors affect this process (T. Cheng et al, 2021). According to conducted studies it seems that universities around the world are experiencing a decline in students' well-being (Riva et al, 2020).…”