Children’s lived experiences of wellbeing at school in England: a phenomenological inquiry

This phenomenological inquiry investigated children’s wellbeing experiences at school, including their hedonic (feeling good) and eudaimonic (doing good) accounts, a distinction often overlooked. Further, while phenomenological inquiries of children’s mental ill-health exist, wellbeing, a fundamental part of mental health, is neglected. This is at odds with positive psychology which favours strengths-based approaches to studying human development. Phenomenology provides rich detail, facilitating deeper understanding of why and how certain factors affect wellbeing, as described by children themselves. A sample of 15 children (aged 9–11), attending one English primary school broadly representative of the national socio-demographic, engaged in interviews. Children’s experiences of ‘feeling good’ at school were characterised by: an interdependence on peers’ emotional states (described as ‘a domino effect’), a need to feel cared for by, and trust, adults, and desire for autonomy over their time. Children attributed mistrust in adults to adults disregarding seemingly incidental events which felt significant to children. Children experienced ‘doing well’ as equating to academic attainment, conveying a fixation with test scores, using language of ‘correctness’ and efficiency. Shame pervaded when ‘correctness’ was not achieved, with children describing being ridiculed for poor test scores. Recommendations for schools to support children’s hedonia include prioritising wellbeing curricula and emotional literacy, greater staff reflexivity, and prioritisation of pupil voice. To foster children’s eudaimonia, recommendations include the need for teachers to provide formative, personalised feedback for pupils focused on the learning process, and the need for Government to embrace a range of ways pupils can feel successful beyond academic attainment.