Browsing by Author "Dutschke, Georg"
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- Assessing school happiness: development and validation of a measurement scale for parents/guardiansPublication . Gramaxo, Patrícia Leonor; Dias, Álvaro; Abelha, Marta; Dutschke, Georg; Seabra, FilipaIntroduction: Parents are one of the stakeholders in evaluating schools, and families’ perspectives about schools are increasingly acknowledged as essential to educational decision-making. However, little is known about how parents’ perspectives on school happiness can be assessed. This article proposes a model for evaluating school happiness as perceived by parents/guardians. Methods: Data were obtained through questionnaires administered to 641 parents. The model was tested using structural equation modeling techniques. Results: The results identified four main components: relationships and teachers’ characteristics (People), teaching practice (Process), learning/leisure balance (Process), and green school (Place). Discussion: The article discusses the development and validation of an instrument that can be used with parents/caretakers as one of the means of assessing a school’s overall happiness level and identifying key aspects to improve a school’s level of happiness. Implications for future research on the evaluation of happy schools are also discussed.
- Happy schools Portugal: elementos definidores da felicidade organizacional das escolasPublication . Gramaxo, Patrícia; Seabra, Filipa; Dutschke, Georg; Abelha, Marta
- What makes a school a happy school?: parents’ perspectivesPublication . Gramaxo, Patrícia; Seabra, Filipa; Abelha, Marta; Dutschke, GeorgWell-being, equity, and inclusion are central aspects of happy schools. In this context, we aim to provide information to identify the characteristics of happy schools and Portuguese children’s level of happiness at school. In total, one thousand three hundred and ninety-nine parents of children from five to twenty years old participated in this study by answering a mostly open-ended questionnaire. They indicated their perceptions of how happy their children were at school, the moments they associated with individual happiness and unhappiness, and the characteristics of schools that they found conducive to promoting happiness. The findings show that parents value the relationships their children establish at school, teachers’ personal and professional skills, learning strategies, and the fact that students can be creative while learning valuable content. From the perspective of parents, unhappy schools are characterized by teachers with negative attitudes and attributes, bullying, an excessive workload, and consequent stress. Differences in terms of gender and age were not significant in this study. We found that levels of happiness at school decrease as students’ ages increase.
- What makes a school a happy school?: Portuguese students’ perspectivesPublication . Gramaxo, Patrícia; Flores, Isabel; Dutschke, Georg; Seabra, FilipaIntroduction: UNESCO has sparked interest in the study of happy schools and, through its Happy Schools Project (HSP) framework, provides tools that enable the teaching and learning community to work towards making “happy schools” a reality. Since the understanding of happiness is culturally influenced (HSP studied Asian countries), we sought to identify parallels between the HSP framework and Portuguese schools through the eyes of students. Methods: We asked a group of Portuguese students to rate their happiness at school and answer three open questions: What makes you happy at school? What makes you unhappy at school? What is a happy school? Using an online survey, 2708 students participated in this study. We coded the answers with variables derived from the HSP framework, aiming to understand what characteristics students value most when referring to their happiness or unhappiness at school and what features a happy school should have. Results: Findings show that most Portuguese students consider themselves to be reasonably happy. No relevant difference exists between boys’ and girls’ self-reported happiness levels, and their happiness decreases as age increases. Children emphasized relationships with friends and teachers and teachers’ attitudes, competencies, and capacities as elements of a happy school. We found that school unhappiness is related to excessive workload and bullying. Discussion: Even though there are cultural differences between countries, when we identified the characteristics of a happy school from the perspective of Portuguese students, we found similarities with the HSP framework guidelines.