Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide, Volume II, Wellbeing and the Environment

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Wellbeing and the School Environment

Andy Jones and Flo Harrison

University of East Anglia, U.K.

Introduction

It is noteworthy that when children and adolescents are considered the measurement of wellbeing has traditionally been constructed using a deficit-based approach that focuses on an individual's problems and associated environmental disamenities (Long, Huebner, Wedell, & Hills, 2012), yet it is increasingly recognized that wellbeing in children is both driven and measurable by similar attributes to that of adults (McCullough, Huebner, & Laughlin, 2000). Nevertheless, the specific environments that influence the wellbeing of young people are rather different to those observed for adults, largely as a result of variations in the settings within which children and adolescents spend their time. A key difference from adults is that young people spend a substantial percentage of their time in school settings. Their experiences in school have been found to drive not only their academic performance but also to influence their socioemotional and physical health development, both positively and negatively (Saab & Klinger, 2010).

Schools have an important influence on children's learning and development, both by acting as a connection to the wider environment and by providing a locality within which they spent a large amount of their day (Elovainio et al., 2011). Indeed, a large body of literature has shown that the school climate, as defined by the social, psychological, and academic ...