Students’ Perceptions of the Quality of School Life, Health, and Health Behaviours in Finnish Comprehensive Schools

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the quality of school life in Finnish comprehensive schools, and the extent to which the quality of school life was associated with academic achievement, perceived health, health behaviours and bullying victimization. In addition, associations with background factors such as age, gender, family affluence, and educational aspiration were examined. The data were drawn from the Finnish part of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study. The survey data were collected from 13- and 15-year-old students from schools that have Finnish as their teaching language in the years 2006 (n=3405), 2010 (n=4260), and 2014 (n=3853). In general, students’ perceptions of their school were fairly positive. Younger students and girls generally reported more positive experiences than older students or boys. However, a substantial proportion of the students reported negative attitudes towards school. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyse the associations between the quality of school life and academic achievement, health behaviours, and bullying victimization. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to analyse the associations between the quality of school life and perceived health. All the dimensions of the quality of school life were to some extent associated with students’ academic achievement, health, and health behaviours. The results highlighted social relations at school, educational aspiration, and differences between boys and girls. Students who reported higher school engagement were more likely to report better academic achievement than students with lower school engagement. Better teacher relations and lower school strain predicted better achievement, better self-rated health, fewer health compromising behaviours, and fewer health complaints. Positive peer relations were associated with better self¬-rated health, higher life satisfaction, and fewer health complaints, and less bullying victimization; however, they were also associated with more health compromising behaviours. The study provides new and more detailed knowledge on quality of school life and its associations with academic achievement and students’ health, especially in the Finnish context. Furthermore, the study emphasized the importance of the quality of school life regarding not only students’ academic achievement but also their health.