Get to know » Students » Self-reflections:
Student well-being
The PILNA student questionnaire collected information about children’s physical health, mental health, relationships, and material circumstances. The intention was to collect a holistic picture of the well-being of the students who participated in PILNA.
Students were given a list of circumstances, as set out in Table STT1.8, and were asked to indicate how often they experienced them. They could respond with ‘Never’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Most of the time’, or ‘Always’. For reporting the results, ‘Most of the time’ and ‘Always’ were combined, as they were considered to be materially similar in terms of student experience.
Well-being experiences
Table STT1.8 shows the proportions of year four and year six students who reported experiencing the associated condition at least most of the time.
In Fiji, 58% of year four students and 73% of year six students reported that they had a good day ‘Most of the time’ or ‘Always’, and 57% of year four students and 67% of year six students reported they looked forward to the next day ‘Most of the time’ or ‘Always’.
For frequent negative experiences, nearly one out of five students reported feeling hungry, tired, upset, or not having enough friends either ‘Most of the time’ or ‘Always’. These proportions were found across year four and year six students.
These findings can be compared to the findings from a similar set of items that teachers responded to (Student difficulties reported by the teacher). Not all the same items were given to teachers but there are interesting comparisons that can be made for the items about hunger and tiredness.
Well-being and student performance
A regional scale for student well-being was established, based on the first nine items in Table 7.11. These items are related to negative well-being experiences, rather than positive well-being experiences. Higher scores on this scale indicate higher, more positive, levels of well-being.
These well-being scale scores were compared with student performance in numeracy and reading. Student performance was grouped into two categories: students who performed at or above the expected level of performance and those who performed below the expected level of performance. There were no comparisons with the writing domain, as the writing proficiency scale is yet to be developed. Table STF1.6 shows the average well-being scale scores by year level and student performance.
Numeracy
Year 4
- 201 1.1
- 203 2.5
Year 6
- 196 1.9
- 207 1.8
Reading
Year 4
- 200 1.8
- 203 1.4
Year 6
- 194 1.9
- 208 1.9
- Scale score for students below expected proficiency level
- Scale score for students at or above expected proficiency level
- Statistically significant correlation (p <0.05)
- Standard errors appear in parentheses
In both numeracy and reading, year six students who performed at or above the expected level of performance had higher well-being scores on average than year six students who did not meet the expected levels of performance. This means that year six students who met the expected levels had greater levels of well-being, based on this PILNA student well-being scale.
With year four students, those who performed at or above the expected level of proficiency in reading had higher well-being scores on average to year four students who performed below the expected level. No association was found between those who performed at or above the expected level of proficiency in numeracy and those who performed below the expected level.
What does this mean?
Only half the students in Fiji, at least most of the time, are cheerful, have good days, and look forward to the next day. Many regularly experience positive well-being but a substantial proportion do not. Also, nearly one out of five students frequently experience challenges to well-being, such as feeling hungry, tired, upset or not having enough friends.
There was no clear trajectory regarding the differences in well-being scores against student performance. Year six students who met the expected performance level had slightly higher average well-being scores, but mixed results were seen with year four students who met the expected level of performance. In one comparison, year four students who met the expected performance level had lower well-being scores than year four students who did not meet the expected performance. In the other comparison, no difference was found.
Regardless of whether well-being is associated with student performance in any way, the identified well-being challenges need to be addressed.
