A Cross Sectional Study of Eighth Graders' Sense of School Belonging, Subjective Well-being, and Academic Achievement

• Published in: Bulletin of education and research 2020-12, Vol.42 (3), p.93
• Main Authors: Ruken AKAR VURAL, DÖNMEZ, Burcu, GÜVEN, Hasret, GÜNDOGDU, Kerim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Adolescents; Conformity; Cross-sectional studies; Data Analysis; Data collection; Educational evaluation; Educational psychology; Gender; Gender Differences; Grade 8; Happiness; Junior high school students; Mental health; Middle school students; Parent Participation; Perceptions; Private Schools; Psychological aspects; Public Schools; Schools; Secondary School Students; Sense of Community; Social aspects; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic Status; Statistical analysis; Teenagers; Variables; Well Being
• ISSN: 0555-7747

The purpose of this study was to determine levels of eighth graders' ‘sense of belonging to school' and ‘subjective well-being in school', and to reveal whether these variables show differences according to different variables. The sample of the descriptive survey study consisted of 770 eighth graders attending 15 public and private secondary schools with different socioeconomic levels. ‘Brief Scale for Adolescents'Subjective Well-Being in School' and the ‘Scale for Sense of Belonging to School' were used to collect data. Descriptive and predictive statistics were employed in data analyses. The findings obtained in the study reveal that the students' sense of belonging to school and subjective well-being in school were at high levels, that there was a relationship between the students' subjective well-being in school and their sense of belonging to school, and that the students' sense of belonging differed in favor of girls. Furthermore, it was concluded that students' sense of belonging to school and subjective well-being differed in favor of students with a high socioeconomic status, and of students who had high levels of achievement according to their grade levels. Moreover, it was revealed that students with high levels of perceived parental interest had higher levels of ‘sense of belonging to school' and ‘subjective well-being in school' than students with low levels of perceived parental interest.It is expected that the data obtained from the study will contribute to the literature and shed light on future studies.