This report describes a study that analysed Wellbeing@Schools student and teacher survey data from 400 New Zealand schools. The Study explored the following questions:
1. Are there school practices associated with higher levels of student wellbeing or lower levels of
student aggressive behaviours?
2. Are some school or student characteristics more likely to be associated with high or low wellbeing or
student aggressive behaviours than others?
The study examined the relationships between four measures created from Wellbeing@School data: a
student wellbeing measure; a student aggressive behaviours measure; a teacher measure of school-wide
actions; and a teacher measure of teaching for wellbeing.
Methodology
The findings in this report were based on our analysis of data collected from 58,337 students and
3,416 teachers at 400 schools using the Wellbeing@School survey toolkit from 2013 to 2016. Following
exploratory factor analysis, we used Rasch measurement techniques to construct four measures: a student
wellbeing measure; a student aggressive behaviours measure; a teacher measure of school-wide actions;
and a teacher measure of teaching for wellbeing. To address the research questions, we then applied a
number of multilevel linear models to linked student and teacher data to understand how differences
in student wellbeing and student aggressive behaviours are associated with differences in school-wide
actions, teaching for wellbeing, and school and student characteristics.
Key Results
Both student wellbeing and student aggressive behaviours varied substantially
between and within schools
Student wellbeing varied substantially between schools. For example, at schools with the lowest levels of
student wellbeing around 68% of students agreed with the statement ‘I feel I belong at school.’ In contrast,
this figure was 97% at schools with the highest levels of student wellbeing.
Student aggressive behaviours also varied substantially between schools. For example, at primary schools
with the lowest levels of student aggressive behaviours around 2% of students reported experiencing
bullying at least weekly. In contrast, in primary schools with the highest levels of student aggressive
behaviours 42% of students reported experiencing bullying at least weekly.
Despite the substantial between-school variation exhibited by both student wellbeing and student
aggressive behaviours, between-school variation made up a smaller proportion of the total variation than within-school variation for both of these measures. That is, while average levels of student wellbeing and student aggressive behaviours differed between schools, these differences were small compared with the range of student wellbeing and student aggressive behaviours experienced by students in any given school.
School practices matter for supporting student wellbeing
(a) School practices matter for student wellbeing
The teaching for wellbeing and the school-wide actions measures both predicted student wellbeing.
This relationship was strongest for the teaching for wellbeing measure. On the whole, the practices
that supported student wellbeing were similar across different groups of students – all students, Māori
students, and Pasifika students.
After accounting for student and school characteristics:
• On average, students at schools where teachers actively taught for wellbeing had higher wellbeing
levels than students at other schools.
• On average, students at schools with a broad range of school-wide policies and practices in place to
promote wellbeing also had higher wellbeing levels than students at other schools.
While teaching for wellbeing and the school-wide actions measures both predicted student wellbeing,
after accounting for student and school characteristics student wellbeing was more strongly associated
with teaching for wellbeing than school-wide actions.
(b) School practices matter for student aggressive behaviours
The school-wide actions measure was a predictor of student aggressive behaviour and the teaching for
wellbeing measure was not. That is, after accounting for student and school characteristics:
• Students at schools with a broad range of school-wide policies and practices in place to promote
wellbeing were less likely to report experiencing aggressive behaviours than students at other
schools.
• Students at schools where teachers actively taught for wellbeing were no more or less likely to
report experiencing aggressive behaviours than students at other schools.
School and student characteristics are associated with wellbeing
(a) School and student characteristics are associated with student wellbeing
After accounting for student or school characteristics:
• Boys’ wellbeing was no different to girls’ wellbeing.
• On average, older students had lower levels of wellbeing than younger students.
• On average, Pasifika students had higher wellbeing levels than NZ European, Asian, and Other
students. On average, Māori students had the lowest levels of wellbeing.
• On average, the wellbeing levels of students at decile 4–7 schools were lower than the wellbeing
levels of students at other schools.
(b) School and student characteristics are associated with student aggressive behaviours
After accounting for student or school characteristics:
• Boys were more likely to report experiencing aggressive behaviours than girls.
• Older students were less likely to report experiencing aggressive behaviours than younger students.
• Asian students were more likely to report experiencing aggressive behaviours than Pasifika, Māori,
NZ European, and Other students who reported similar levels of aggressive behaviours.
• Students at decile 8–10 schools were less likely to report experiencing aggressive behaviours than
students at other schools.