Authors

• Konu, Anne (University of Tampere. Faculty of Social Sciences. Health Sciences)

Keywords

health status, lower secondary schools, primary education, primary schools, quality of education, school buildings, school bullying, school classes, school-age population, school-student relationship, schoolchildren, schools, social interaction, teacher-student relationship, well-being (health)

Abstract

The data examined the well-being of Finnish schoolchildren in grades seven to nine of basic education. The themes of the survey included school conditions, social relations, possibilities of self-actualisation and state of health. The questions were presented as attitudinal statements and multiple-choice questions. The statements were evaluated on a five-level scale ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree".

Questions charting conditions at the school covered school facilities and activities. The respondents were asked, for instance, about satisfaction with the classroom's size, temperature and ventilation, the school's toilet facilities as well as the cleanliness and safety of the school buildings and yard areas. They were also asked to evaluate if it was possible to work in peace in the classroom, if the amount of schoolwork was appropriate, if rules and disciplinary actions at the school were sensible, and if it was easy to get to visit the school nurse or counselor. Some statements examined social relations between classmates as well as between the pupils and teachers, along with parents' attitudes toward studying. The respondents were asked, for example, if groupwork was successful, if classmates offered help, if teachers were friendly, and if parents respected their schoolwork, helped with homework and participated in parent-teacher meetings. It was also charted whether the respondents had been bullied at school during the current semester and whether they had themselves bullied someone.

Some questions pertained to self-actualisation. These questions covered e.g. whether teachers listened to the respondents' opinions, if pupils' opinions were taken into consideration in the school's decision-making, whether the respondents had found a suitable study method and took care of their school duties, if they were thanked for good work, if they felt that school is important and whether they received help from the teacher when needed. Questions concerning the respondents' general health examined if they had suffered from a variety of symptoms during the current school term (e.g. stomach pains, difficulty falling asleep or waking up at night, headaches, feeling sad, fears).

Background variables included gender, age and grade.