Student's Well Being Quantitative Study Paper Example

Studies have indicated that student well being is an essential factor which needs to be critically assessed and provided to the students at a specific level. The well being of a student in school is characterized by some essential activities which are needed to satisfy a student's need. However, it would be hard to define what student's well means as various students have their definitions and comprehensions as to what student wellbeing means to them, some of the factors included in determining school well being include sports time and co-curricular leisure activities. This study seeks to explain the concept of school wellbeing as based on quantitative research conducted within a school context.

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According to Alt, 2015 positive education encompasses the notion that institutions ought to be based on the idea that schools should be places where the students explore their virtues strengths and emotional wellbeing. It is seen that to ensure positive education; there should be interventions and implementations to support the common welfare of a student in the school setting. This framework is underpinned by the theory of positive psychology which requires that there should be an exploration of positive experiences and practices in the school context. In the recent years, research on the concept of student's well being has been a matter of general concern to the most people, however, less is known about the efficacy of the researches done in the school setting. Mostly, the findings are based I resumptions of what school wellbeing means since most research works generally make assumptions of what school well being is.

In this paper, there are various aspects presented to explain what school wellbeing means to most students. According to Bradshaw,2016, it would be hard to differentiate what a person mainly means about their wellness, because different people have different perceptions concerning their welfare. Hence, to ensure accurate research findings, a researcher should try and find in-depth data and information, by consulting various counterparts who are related to the research issue. According to Wilson, 2017 the manner in which people spend their time, generally affects their development. Most past research findings indicate that some of the activities which are related to students well being include, leisure time and sports and psychological well- being.

Leisure Time and Sports

University students are more likely to spend much of their time on leisure activities as compared to any other activity. Approximations from McMahon, Corcoran, O'Regan, Keeley, Cannon, Carli & Balazs 2017., indicates that the average full-time student in college spends three to four hours in leisure activities. Another research by Alexander & Vladislav,2015 in the attempt to find the impact of leisure activity on students, indicates that most of the leisure time by college students was used in physical activities, socializing, playing games and readings as well. The findings as depicted above showcased that well being and leisure time have been linked proportionately in the attempt to find the definition of student s wellbeing.

One of the leisure activities that is highly recognized is participation in sports. According to Wilson, involvement in sports by a student is beneficial to him or her as they will let off the steam that comes with studying and relax their minds. Correspondingly, Adler, Lodi-Smith, Philippe, & Houle, 2016 supports this as they suggest that taking time of books is essential in expanding a student's thinking. Regardless of the intensity incorporated in physical activities, any participation in sports adds to student's general well-being. The participation in games and leisure activities are essential in letting off the human psyche which is usually associated with the study or busy work. Therefore, it is seen that leisure time activities, especially sports, translate to the health and physical well being of students. However, the extent of the required level of leisure time is not clearly elaborated.

Studying well being allows the keys stakeholders in the education sectors to figure out what well-being means to students, and the extent to which it should be provided to them. The assessment will play an integral role as a conducive learning environment will be offered to the students, and their preferences will be well- catered for.

This research paper seeks to explain the meaning of wellbeing from other people as drawn from students, surveys, other people's opinion as well as the existing policies. The research paper provides a development on the necessary elements of understanding how well being in schools is currently described by student' s, other expert's opinion as well as the general public. The papers seek to dig into the insights regarding the recognition of the frameworks required in understanding the general concept and the elements which need to be enhanced to ensure student's wellbeing. Also, it generates new insightful information on the ways in which the educational policies, practices in school and other key programs, would ensure a positive impact on the student's well-being.

Hypothesis

Research findings have presented many elements as related to the student's well-being. One significant factor that would impact a student's well-being is leisure time. According to Pluut, Curseu, & Ilies, 2015, leisure time plays a crucial role in ensuring the general emotional, physical and social well being of an individual. Therefore, leisure time needs to be incorporated scheduled, to enhance the productivity in workers, Rest and involvement in useful leisure activities during leisure time leads to favorable development of a person both mentally as well as physically. Leisure time is one major factor considered by students to define their well-being.

Sports is one of the most known leisure activities by individuals. According to Kern, Waters, Adler & White, 2015, games serve as a necessary part in ensuring that an individual is physically well and it also boosts the mental well being of a person. People are mainly involved in sports in sports because of their nature. Games are both challenging and fun, and they can be used to expand a person's things. Most people have an innate talent in a particular sport, and it is only when they were given an opportunity, then they will be able to use their expertise. Games serve as a way of improving the player's skills and thinking altogether because they present an array of stimulating situations, which require specific tactics and abilities.

Partying is also part of leisure activities. Findings indicate that partying has always been a large part of the student's norms. Some people support partying as being a part of ensuring emotional well- being in students. However, this does not apply to all as not all people consider partying as an intriguing way of passing leisure time. University is a level of transition where students have more freedom and the chance to cultivate new friendship with other unique individuals. To those willing to make new friends, partying will appeal to them as part of a student's well-being. The extent to which a party should be done to demonstrate well being is not illustrated since different people have different preferences on the kinds of parties that they would indulge in their leisure time. This leads to the hypothesis depicted as follows

H1. An increased degree of leisure activities will be positively related to the student's well-being

Method

The method used for this research paper is quantitative, and it was implemented by conducting a survey. Using a study was the most appropriate way to get quantitate data as it allowed the reaching of a significant number of people with different ideas. According to Bryman Bell, 2011 use of survey in quantitative research enables the derivation of a large amount of data and information since it consists of a consistent list of queries. It generally quickens the period used in collecting the data since more people would quickly answer the surveys as presented. Also, people are usually more attracted to polls because they are appealing and easy to comprehend nature. The questions used in the study were straight to the point, and this was a significant mode of saving time used in conducting the research. However there also negative outlooks of using the survey as well. According to Bryman and Bell (2011), it is difficult to conclude of the respondent has interpreted the questions in a right manner, because either researcher is not always present in person in some of the cases. Also, there is no room for elaboration on the responses, and there is also a probability that the respondents would become bored by the survey at a particular point after within the designated time frame. To counter for the risks involved when using studies, I incorporated past research questions in the survey. This gave room for more viable, valid and conclusive findings.

Four hundred thirty-eight people started the survey, and 34 of them were not students. Two individuals did not answer, and 402 were included in the initial stage. There were 332 complete responses used for the analysis.

Operationalization

Dependent Variables

Previously the concept of student's well being was measured using a survey on student's wellbeing. Modifications were made on the scale to ensure that it captured the student's well being at a specific point of time. The scale was based on a range of 1-10. Some of the factors in determining school well-being included standards of living, health, achievements, relationships, safety, community connectedness, and prospects. The reliability testing revealed that the survey had adequate reliability (a= 1) which attributed to the well-designed procedure of the survey questions. The whole poll was efficient in finding the school well-being of the students.

Leisure activities were also measured by how important or not necessary they were to the particular respondents on a scale of 1-10

Independent variables

Satici & Uysal found the relationship with family and friends & Uysal, to be an integral aspect of students' well-being( 2015). Hence, the concept of student's well being was measured using three questions measured on a Likert scale, with strongly agree = 7 and strongly disagree = one as the scale range. A modification was made on the scale to determine how the student's defined school well-being as per their experiences with family and friends.

Financial Pressures

Financial pressure was also measured using the Likert's scale of Strongly agree= 7 and strongly disagree =1 as the scope of determining the respondent's relationship with the family.

Instructor quality control

Instructors quality control was also based on Likert's scale, where the respondents were to explain their engagement with the professor in the learning process, if the professors were coaches and mentors and if they held the respondent in high esteem

Locus of control

The individual locus of control was measured on the Likert's scale where they were to explain their certainty of making plans work.

Control Variables

Gender- the respondents were to answer if they were female or not. Gender was used as a control given that the past research works have directed that there might be some differences because there are distinctions between the definitions of school well being for the male and female gender

Age- the respondents were requested to indicate their current age; this is because there is a difference in the way people term well being as per their age

Student or non- student- the respondents were asked to indicate whether they were students or non-students. It was essential to determine to differentiate the perce...