In this survey series, well-being at school is under observation. The respondents belong to four target groups: primary schools (grades 4-6), lower secondary schools (grades 7-9), upper secondary institutes, and personnel. The data are collected during each school year, and schools can independently decide in what time of the year they respond to the survey. The first datasets archived at the FSD are from the school year 2004-2005.
The School Well-being Profile is based on Anne Konu's doctoral dissertation, in which well-being at school is divided into four categories: school conditions, social relationships in school, means for self-fulfilment in school, and health status. The quantitative datasets in the series examine these categories with the help of statements and multiple choice questions. The topics in the survey are the same to all respondents, but the wording of the questions has been specifically adjusted for each target group. The data are collected through an Internet survey on the web page of the Finnish National Board of Education.
The survey focused on school well-being in grades 7-9 in Finland, studying student opinions on school facilities, the learning environment, social relationships in school, and means for self-fulfilment in school, as well as the students' perceived health status. The survey contained both statements and multiple choice questions. The respondents indicated to what extent they agreed with the statements using a five-point scale (i.e. from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree").
School facilities were studied with a number of questions about the classroom (e.g. size, temperature, ventilation, desks), toilet facilities, the dining room, the schoolyard and the school building (e.g. safety, functionality). Access to and trust in the school nurse and the school welfare officer were charted as well as opinions on the school timetable, school rules and punishments, and the amount of school work. The statements relating to social relationships canvassed student-student relationships (e.g. classmate support, being accepted by others) and teacher-student relationships (e.g. fairness and friendliness of teachers). Parental attitudes to homework and school were studied. Views on the learning environment were probed with questions on help and encouragement received from teachers, group work in the classroom, access to remedial teaching or special education, and order in the classroom. In addition, the respondents were asked whether they had been bullied at school during the ongoing term and whether they themselves had bullied someone else.
The survey also studied whether student opinions were taken into account in developing the school and in drawing up school rules (school democracy), and whether teachers encouraged students to express their views. Views were probed on whether the respondents felt they could follow the lessons, concentrate on their work, keep up with homework, and whether they knew their weaknesses and strengths in school matters, appreciated their school work, felt there were subjects at school and school clubs that interested them, had found a study method that suited them, and whether the pace of the lessons was suitable for them. Regarding health, the respondents were asked about their perceived general health and whether they had had various symptoms (e.g. stomach ache, sleeping problems, headache, fear, anxiety) during the ongoing term.
Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, grade, and class id.
No specific sampling method was used in data collection - instead, the respondents were students in schools which actively volunteered to participate in the survey. The School Well-being Profile was not widely advertised to schools. Teachers heard about it in various seminars, for instance. The Well-being Profile was designed to be a tool for schools to use for development and self-assessment. Still, the schools using the Profile had to commit themselves to subjecting the data for scientific use.
The survey questionnaire was available on a web page administered by the Finnish National Board of Education, and an id code was required to access it. Schools could register for the service and thereby receive a school id, which enabled them to create id codes for their students. The students then filled in the questionnaire, also providing the id code they had received. Only the responses with the id were saved. Thus, each student could fill in the questionnaire only once. The technical implementation of the survey ensured that the respondents answered all background questions (excluding age) and at least two thirds of the questions in each module.
Restrictive factors preventing schools from participating, in addition to not volunteering actively, included not having access to the Internet and unwillingness to use a web tool in their development work. There were differences between schools, for instance, in the speed of the Internet connection, in the IT equipment available and in the way the equipment was used.
35 schools participated in the survey, and 5,446 students responded.