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- 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.
- Happy schools Portugal: elementos definidores da felicidade organizacional das escolasPublication . Gramaxo, Patrícia; Seabra, Filipa; Dutschke, Georg; Abelha, Marta
- 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.