The Factors of Well-Being in Schools as a Living Environment According to Students' Evaluation

How do students describe their quality of school life, based on their views about what is pleasant and unpleasant about the school? How is student welfare related to education for sustainability? Theories of the quality of school life and authentic identity constitute the theoretical background of this study. The school experiences of 185 Estonian and 161 Finnish students of different school types were studied by a semi-structured open questionnaire. The answers were analysed by the qualitative phenomenological method. The quality of school life of the students is diminished by the routine hierarchical working system and bad relations. It is supported by a cooperation-orientated atmosphere and meaningful learning experiences. The meaningfulness of school is sensed to be the most important factor in the students' evaluation of their school experiences.