The Mental Health Benefits of Kindness-Oriented Schools: School Kindness is Associated with Increased Belongingness and Well-Being in Filipino High School Students

Psychometric properties of the School Kindness Scale in Hong Kong, mainland China, and the Philippines

“…Studies have shown that the SKS had acceptable psychometric properties among primary and middle school students in Canada (Binfet et al, 2016), middle school students in Turkey (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019), and high school students in the Philippines (Datu & Park, 2019; Datu et al, 2022). However, little is known regarding its measurement invariance in different cultural contexts.…”

“…While there is research supporting the applicability of the SKS among adolescents in Canada (Binfet et al, 2016), Turkey (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019), mainland China (Datu & Lin, 2021), and the Philippines (Datu & Park, 2019; Datu et al, 2022), none of these investigations have simultaneously examined the factor structure of school kindness across multiple cultural contexts. Important socio‐contextual differences have been noted across developmental contexts that may influence people's attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors (Hofstede, 2011).…”

“…The unidimensional factor structure of school kindness has been validated among students in Canada (Binfet et al, 2016), mainland China (Datu & Lin, 2021), Turkey (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019), and the Philippines (Datu & Park, 2019; Datu et al, 2022). Past studies have provided insights into the criterion‐related validity of the SKS by assessing how its overall score was related to positive socio‐emotional outcomes.…”

“…In another study involving middle school students in Turkey, school kindness was related to students' self‐reported school climate, resilience, and satisfaction with family, school, friends, and other interpersonal connections (Yurdabakan & Uz Baş, 2019). Filipino high school students with high perceptions of school kindness tend to have higher academic engagement (Datu & Park, 2019) and well‐being (Datu et al, 2022).…”

“…Given the beneficial impacts of school kindness on students' psychological and academic well‐being as well as the salience of socio‐contextual factors in students' perception of kindness, the present investigation aims to examine the validity of the SKS among secondary school students in mainland China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Although past studies have examined the effects of school kindness in mainland China (Datu & Lin, 2021), Hong Kong (Datu et al, 2021a; Lee & Huang, 2021), and the Philippines (Datu & Park, 2019; Datu et al, 2022), to date, no investigation has simultaneously examined the SKS (Binfet et al, 2016) across adolescents from different societies. To provide evidence regarding the criterion‐related validity of the SKS, we explore how school kindness relates to PAP as well as emotional and social engagement in math.…”