Pupils’ pedagogical well-being in comprehensive school—significant positive and negative school experiences of Finnish ninth graders

Abstract

Basic education has two main goals: to promote high quality learning outcomes and pupils' personal growth and well-being. The interrelated nature of learning and well-being is here referred to as pedagogical well-being. In this study, we explore Finnish comprehensive school pupils' (N=518) experienced pedagogical well-being by examining the kinds of situations that pupils themselves find either highly positive or highly negative during their school career. Pupils' pedagogical well-being is empirically examined in two complementary aspects: (1) determining the point in the pupils' school career in which the critical incidents are situated and (2) identifying the primary contexts of pupils' experienced critical incidents of pedagogical well-being. Results showed that critical incidents for pedagogical well-being reported by the pupils were situated all along their school career. A variety of episodes causing empowerment and satisfaction, as well as disappointment and anxiety, were reported by the pupils. Pupils perceived the social interactions within the school community as being the most rewarding as well as the most problematic part of their school career. Résumé L'éducation fondamentale répond à deux objectifs : promouvoir des résultats d'apprentissage de haute qualité ainsi que la croissance et le bien-être personnels des élèves. Nous appelons bien-être pédagogique l'interdépendance intrinsèque à l'apprentissage et au bien-être. Notre étude explore le bien-être pédagogique ressenti par les élèves de l'école de base finlandaise (N=518) en examinant les situations considérées par les élèves comme étant hautement positives ou négatives pendant leur cursus scolaire. Le bien-être Eur pédagogique des élèves est empiriquement examiné sous deux angles complémentaires: (1) en déterminant le point du cursus scolaire des élèves où se situent les incidents critiques et (2) en identifiant les contextes primaires des incidents critiques affectant le bien-être pédagogique ressenti par les élèves. Les résultats indiquent que les incidents critiques rapportés par les élèves dans leur bien-être pédagogique se situent tout au long de leur cursus scolaire. Un certain nombre d'épisodes causant une valorisation des élèves et leur satisfaction, mais aussi leur déception et leur anxiété, ont été rapportés par les élèves. Les élèves ont perçu les interactions sociales vécues dans la communauté scolaire comme étant à la fois la plus gratifiante et la plus problématique partie de leur carrière scolaire.

Enhancing students’ sense of belonging through school celebrations: A study in Finnish lower-secondary schools

“…the findings show that students' experiences of school celebrations are positively related with their sense of school belonging and that the experiences related to celebrations had both direct and indirect effects to students' sense of belonging. These findings broaden the understanding of the social and emotional significance of co-curricular experiences gained previously from the studies by Stewart (2009, 2011), Westling et al (2013), and Pyhältö et al (2010).…”

“…This means that boys were found to have less positive socio-emotional experiences of school celebrations than girls, and they also reported gaining less knowledge about different traditions than girls. A similar gap between girls' and boys' experiences has not been identified in previous qualitative studies on co-curricular events carried out in Finland by Pyhältö et al (2010) or Westling et al (2013). To determine the reasons behind these notable differences between girls' and boys' and Grade 8 and Grade 9 students' experiences, further investigations are needed.…”

“…For example, in Westling et al's (2013) study, students felt that co-curricular events allowed them to be creative and use their skills in ways they found to be "empowering, joyful, concrete, and useful" (Westling et al, 2013, p. 32). Likewise, the findings of Pyhältö, Soini, and Pietarinen (2010) illuminate how students' learning agency was positively supported by their participation in co-curricular activities, such as school plays. In this study, the focus is on joint celebrations that are mentioned in the Finnish curriculum as particularly important for concretizing the values and cross-curricular themes of education (FNBE, 2004(FNBE, , 2014b).…”

“…Based on the previous studies by Pyhältö et al, (2010), Rowe and Stewart (2009), and Westling et al (2013, all of which highlighted co-curricular activities as beneficial means for enhancing students' sense of school belonging, this study focused on investigating the role of school celebrations. Based on these previous studies and the guidelines given by the FNBE (2004, 2014b), the study hypothesized that school celebrations can be positively related to students' sense of school belonging.…”

“…For example, in the "What's Happening in This School" questionnaire, one of the studied dimensions is the way students "perceive that students at the school are part of a community" (Aldridge & Ala'l, 2013, p. 55). The previous findings regarding co-curricular events imply that these types of activities are particularly beneficial for providing students with experiences of connectedness and belonging and therefore require further investigation (Pyhältö, Soini, & Pietarinen, 2010;Rowe & Stewart, 2009Westling et al, 2013).…”