Browsing by Author "Saarelainen, Nelli"

The aim of this study was to explore general upper secondary school students´ experiences of well-being – what it consists of and what kind of support is needed from school. Legislation of general upper secondary education has been reformed in the fall of 2019. Because of the reform, greater attention should be paid for students´ well-being and learning support, and special education in general upper secondary education is statutory. Students´ well-being has been widely in public discussion lately. In previous research school burnout has been central. In this study, the aim was to approach the topic from a welfare perspective. The focus is on the students' own experiences. This study is a qualitative master´s thesis, where the target group was 29 general upper secondary school students from three different general upper secondary school. The research material was collected through six focus group interviews and questionnaires. In the study, students were able to share their own experiences and ideas regarding educational support, well-being and coping. The research material was analyzed by content analysis. Result from the study showed that students´ well-being consist of three dimensions: life management, school conditions and social relationships. Every dimension is further divided into several parts. Life management consists of self-direction, lifestyle and health. School conditions are divided into studies, the possibility of self-realization and the physical conditions of school. Social relationships consist of students´ own support network and the general atmosphere of general upper secondary school. Every dimension needs to be balanced so that adolescent´s well-being can be achieved. The research results highlighted the students' own role, but support from the general upper secondary school is needed.