Fostering Emotional and Social Well-Being at School and with Online Teaching: A Developmental Challenge for Educational Institutions

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Educational Psychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2022) | Viewed by 38757

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, 39042 Brixen-Bressanone, Italy
Interests: developmental and educational psychology; children's psychosocial wellbeing; learning developmental disabilities; adaptive behaviors; parenting; cultural psychology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, 39042 Brixen-Bressanone, Italy
Interests: bullying; cyberbullying; mental health in childhood and in adolescence; psychological wellbeing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We propose this Special Issue to collect scientific contributions, aimed primarily at research in an educational context, that seek to offer a further understanding of the mechanisms and factors that govern the construction of well-being in learning contexts. Ideally, this volume will be divided into three sections.

The first section will deal with studies and research that investigate the relationship between emotional wellbeing and learning in children and adolescents.

The second part of the volume will host studies dealing with the relationship between social wellbeing and academic learning or academic success.

Finally, the third section will be devoted to examples and case reports in which schools present their solutions addressing the educational challenges of building wellbeing.

All sections will be able to deal with both typical and atypical development trajectories, as well as face-to-face or online learning. 

Dr. Livia Taverna
Prof. Dr. Antonella Brighi
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • emotional well-being
  • social well-being
  • on-line teaching
  • in-presence teaching
  • learning and academic success
  • typical and atypical development

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1571 KiB  
Article
The Nexus between Study Burnout Profiles and Social Support —The Differences between Domestic (Finnish) and International Master’s Degree Students
by Sara Rönkkönen, Markus T. Mattsson, Viivi Virtanen, Kirsi Pyhältö and Mikko Inkinen
Behav. Sci. 2022, 12(3), 79; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12030079 - 15 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3137
Abstract
The present study investigated the variation in higher education students’ study burnout experiences and how they are related to academic success and social support needs. Similarities and differences between the international and domestic students were also explored. In this mixed-methods study, the data [...] Read more.
The present study investigated the variation in higher education students’ study burnout experiences and how they are related to academic success and social support needs. Similarities and differences between the international and domestic students were also explored. In this mixed-methods study, the data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire, and a total of 902 (response rate 42%) first year master’s students from the fields of arts, business and technology responded. Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), we detected three distinct study burnout risk profiles (No exhaustion or cynicism; Exhausted; Exhausted and cynical). The following distinct forms of social support needs were found using theory-based qualitative content analysis: informational, instrumental, emotional, and co-constructional support. We found out that the students with highest risk of burnout had the lowest grade point averages (GPAs). Further investigation showed that international students pass their courses despite the experiences of study burnout, even though the GPAs might deteriorate. When the domestic students experience study burnout symptoms, they both gain fewer study credits and earn lower GPAs. Finally, a relationship between the form of support needed and the burnout profile was identified. Full article
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19 pages, 1370 KiB  
Article
The Impacts of Emotional Intelligence on Students’ Study Habits in Blended Learning Environments: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Engagement during COVID-19
by Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Zaheer Asghar, Muhammad Azeem Ashraf and Xie Yi
Behav. Sci. 2022, 12(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12010014 - 13 Jan 2022
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 18709
Abstract
Emotional intelligence is a main area in educational psychology and a key factor in the academic life of students. It deals with deviant behavior through self-awareness and self-motivation, regulates emotional and social skills, and converts emotional energy into positive energy. This study examined [...] Read more.
Emotional intelligence is a main area in educational psychology and a key factor in the academic life of students. It deals with deviant behavior through self-awareness and self-motivation, regulates emotional and social skills, and converts emotional energy into positive energy. This study examined direct and indirect relationships between emotional intelligence and study habits in blended learning environments. Blended learning is conceptualized as a hybrid learning approach that combines online learning opportunities and the traditional classroom approach. Furthermore, the study explored the mediating role of cognitive engagement in the relationship between emotional intelligence and study habits. We used 26 items in a paper-based questionnaire in a quantitative study to collect data on emotional intelligence, cognitive engagement and study habits from health sciences students (N = 338) enrolled in blended learning courses in universities in the Hunan province of China. Emotional intelligence included self-awareness, self-motivation, and the regulation of emotion; social skills were also examined. A partial least squares structural-equation modeling approach was applied through SmartPLS software to explore the relationships. The results indicate that self-awareness and self-motivation have direct, significant, and positive connections with study habits. Similarly, the results indicate that all four dimensions of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-motivation, emotion regulation and social skills) had indirect, significant, and positive relationships with study habits using cognitive engagement as a mediator variable. It was concluded that students face higher-than-usual challenges in building study habits in blended learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that emotional intelligence helps them to develop their study habits to greater effect. Similarly, it was concluded that cognitive engagement strengthens the connection between emotional intelligence and study habits. Therefore, it is recommended that universities take specific measures to enhance students’ emotional intelligence and cognitive engagement, which will ultimately improve their study habits. Moreover, valuable and practical implications for teachers, practitioners, and university management were also discussed in the study. Full article
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13 pages, 296 KiB  
Article
Comparison on Well-Being, Engagement and Perceived School Climate in Secondary School Students with Learning Difficulties and Specific Learning Disorders: An Exploratory Study
by Elisabetta Lombardi, Daniela Traficante, Roberta Bettoni, Ilaria Offredi, Mirta Vernice and Daniela Sarti
Behav. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11070103 - 16 Jul 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4381
Abstract
Reading and writing skills influence the social status of students, exerting effects not only on learning, but also on wellbeing. This study aimed to assess the impact of diagnosis of specific learning disorder on well-being in secondary-school students, comparing students with a diagnosis [...] Read more.
Reading and writing skills influence the social status of students, exerting effects not only on learning, but also on wellbeing. This study aimed to assess the impact of diagnosis of specific learning disorder on well-being in secondary-school students, comparing students with a diagnosis of specific learning disorder (SLD-group), students showing learning difficulties without diagnosis (LD-group) and students without learning difficulties (control-group). Students were tested with neuropsychological screening tests in order to identify learning difficulties and were further assessed by means of psychological and school well-being questionnaires. The results show that LD group perceive themselves as having a low sense of mastery and autonomy, less interest and engagement in daily activities and low peer social support than their schoolmates. This result highlights, for the LD group, a low well-being experience, which is not observed in the SLD and control groups. On the contrary, SLD group students do not differ from control group students in any dimensions except for the perceived parents’ support and involvement in school life, in which the SLD group show the highest scores. This work underlines the importance of having a diagnosis as it seems to work as a protective factor for both the psychological and school well-being of the student. Full article
13 pages, 314 KiB  
Article
The Basic Psychological Needs in the Classroom Scale (BPN-CS)
by Pedro Javier Conesa and Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Behav. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11070096 - 24 Jun 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4539
Abstract
Recent experimental and theoretical studies have shown that the assessment of students’ satisfaction of their basic psychological needs (BPN) can be a powerful resource to identify different areas to improve their well-being, engagement, or learning achievement in school contexts. However, currently, [...] Read more.
Recent experimental and theoretical studies have shown that the assessment of students’ satisfaction of their basic psychological needs (BPN) can be a powerful resource to identify different areas to improve their well-being, engagement, or learning achievement in school contexts. However, currently, the number of validated tools to assess the satisfaction of the BPN is very low, hindering informed decision-making strategies at the educational level. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Basic Psychological Needs in the Classroom Scale (BPN-CS) instrument, adapting existing instruments and putting the new tool to the test. The BPN-CS was developed to measure the level of satisfaction of autonomy, competence, relatedness, and novelty in the classroom. We tested the scale on a representative sample of 1344 Spanish elementary school students from 8 to 13 years old. A series of analyses were run in order to test the internal consistency of the main factors as well as to prove the convergent and divergent validity of the instrument. In summary, the BPN-CS is presented as a reliable and valid self-report instrument to measure basic psychological needs in a classroom context with elementary school pupils in the Spanish context. Full article
14 pages, 321 KiB  
Article
Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Educational Achievement and Academic Stress of Pre-Service Teachers
by Inmaculada García-Martínez, Eufrasio Pérez-Navío, Miguel Pérez-Ferra and Rocío Quijano-López
Behav. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11070095 - 23 Jun 2021
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6831
Abstract
Emotional intelligence (EI) and stress are constructs that often characterize the teaching profession and are inversely related. There is evidence in the literature that suggests the importance of teachers working on EI in order to learn coping strategies and improve their teaching practices. [...] Read more.
Emotional intelligence (EI) and stress are constructs that often characterize the teaching profession and are inversely related. There is evidence in the literature that suggests the importance of teachers working on EI in order to learn coping strategies and improve their teaching practices. This descriptive and correlational study had the purpose of examining the social–emotional profile of future teachers based on their EI and academic stress levels in order to provide guidance for future stressful situations that will affect their future professional development. For this purpose, we used a random sampling for convenience in a university population enrolled in degrees of education at Andalusian universities (Spain), getting a sample of 1020 pre-service teachers. The results pointed to a superiority in EI, academic stress, and academic achievement in favor of females compared to males. The relationship among EI, academic stress, and student teachers’ achievement was demonstrated. Furthermore, some components of EI were positioned as important factors to improve student achievement and reduce academic stress. Once the high incidence of these constructs on academic achievement was confirmed, the importance of developing EI and coping and stress skills training programs, aimed at improving academic success and their subsequent professional development, was demonstrated. Full article
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