Social participation by adolescents in the context of secondary education: Its relationship with personal well-being Dolors Navarro, Ferran Casas, Mònica González & Sara Malo

Where is our sample from?

Positive psychology 1990s Personal well-being Hedonic tradition: subjective well-being Satisfaction approach versus Happiness approach Happiness approach: Bradburn Affective component Positive affects (happiness ) Negative affects Hedonic versus eudemonic Satisfaction approach: Cantril Cognitive component Satisfaction with life as a whole Satisfaction with life domains Eudemonic tradition : Psychological well- being Way of living (“true self”) Autonomy Sense of living Competence Concepts related to positive connotation Self-esteem Perceived control Social support BACKGROUND Personal well-being: two traditions in its study

BACKGROUND Social participation: definition and key aspects Definition of social participation: The exercising of power by children and adolescents, understood as the right to express an opinion before and with other people, having their opinions taken seriously and accepted responsibly (...) shared decisions in issues that affect their lives and those of their communities: the power to express opinion, decide and act in an organised manner (Arnillas and Paccuar, 2005).  Acknowledging children and adolescents as subjects with rights (Arnillas and Paccuar, 2005).  Need for changes in the relationships adults have with children and adolescents (Reddy and Ratna, 2002; Cussianovich, 1997; Alfageme, Cantos and Martínez, 2003).  Developing criteria for the exercising of true child participation (Casas, González et al., 2008; UNICEF, 2010 ) such as: that it is voluntary; that it deals with important aspects for them; that children and adolescents have access to complete and accessible information; and participate in all stages of the project.

BACKGROUND The relationship between personal well-being and social participation  The perspective proposed by Alkire (2005) considers the interrelation of three concepts, well-being–agency– empowerment, meaning that higher social participation brings more empowerment, and this increases the capacity for agency, which leads to higher personal well-being.  In the period of adolescence, few authors have directly linked the concepts of personal well-being and social participation.  Certain elements of participation exist that diminish adolescents’ personal well-being, such as: (a) ignoring their points of view (Kirby, 2002), (b) very lengthy participation processes (O’Malley, 2004), and (c) when time passes and the situation in which they have participated to create change remains the same (Save the Children, 2002).

METHOD Approach used in the research Design of research project Methodological pluralism or Multiple methods Quantitative phase Qualitative phase Instrument: Questionnaire Data collection techniques:  Individual in-depth interviews  Group interviews Integrating data

METHOD General aim The general aim of this research is to analyse in greater depth the psychosocial implications of social participation among adolescents in the context of school, and its relationship with their personal well-being.

METHOD Specific aims Specific aims of the quantitative phase. To explore:  Aim 1. The level of motivation or predisposition among adolescents towards social participation, in relation to opportunities to participate in both the classroom and in the context of the school.  Aim 2. Adolescents’ valuations with regard to which forms of participation they prefer: individual or peer group.  Aim 3. The relationship between personal well-being and degree of participation among secondary school students. Specific aims of the qualitative phase. To explore:  Aim 4. How the different participants relate adolescents’ social participation to their personal well-being.

METHOD Quantitative phase: Sample and instrument To study personal well-being among adolescents, diverse scales were used. Personal Well-being Index (PWI) (Cummins, 1998; Cummins et al. 2003). Complementary list of satisfaction with life domains (Casas et al., 2007). Single item overall satisfaction with life. Perceived social support (Vaux et al., 1986). Multidimensional Self- concept Scale AF5, García and Musitu (1999). To study social participation among adolescents in education, we introduced different items that could be grouped into the following categories: Motivation for social participation. Individual or peer group social participation.  Sample of 1605 adolescents from the final four years of secondary school (Years 8-11).  771 male (48%) and 834 female (52%).  Average age was (12 to 16 years old).  27.7% were in Year 8, 26.6% Year 9, 28.0% Year 10 and 17.7% Year 11 (the final year).

Peer group mediation project Group interviews with student mediators and non-mediators at the beginning of the year 2 group interviews with student mediators and non-mediators at the end of the year Group interviews  With 12 mediator students: two interviews at the beginning of the year and two at the end.  With 14 non-mediator students: two interviews at the beginning of the year and two at the end. Individual interviews with two student representatives on the School Council. METHOD Qualitative phase : Participants and data collection techniques School council Individual interviews with student representatives

 The so called Triangulation of researchers (Denzin and Lincoln, 1998; 2000) was done by two members of the team, who categorised the material independently. This process adds rigor, breadth and depth to the investigation.  Both researchers used categorical content analysis, following Bardin’s three phases (2002): 1) pre-analysis, 2) use of material and 3) treatment of results, inference and interpretation. METHOD Analysis of qualitative information An Example: Topic 1.3. Peer mediation project ( academic year) Category Team of mediators Subcategory Group with only girls remaining Girl: you’re a girl... so... Also in the end girls are left in the mediation group... E: Why? Girl 2: Because I imagine that girls do not classify ourselves so much according to who does more and who does less... Girls simply do what we want and we don’t judge each other so much if someone does this or that... That’s more like boys... It’s true... If all boys do football, no matter how much he likes it a boy won’t dare do skating, no matter how much he likes it... Even if it’s a sport... But he’ll feel different from the rest, so... (2-mediators-beginning).

RESULTS Quantitative results  Global personal well-being index: Adolescents who are motivated to participate obtain higher scores for overall satisfaction with life and with the Diener Index (SWLS). Those who prefer to participate in peer groups receive higher scores for Cummins' Personal Well-being Index (PWI), and those who prefer to participate individually score lower on the Diener Scale (SWLS).  Adolescents who show motivation to participate and prefer peer group participation obtain higher scores in: (a) satisfaction with different aspects of school life. (b) satisfaction with different aspects of social life. (c) the domain of self.  Aspects of their own life: adolescents who show motivation to participate obtain significantly higher scores for their standard of living, the things they have achieved in life and their use of time.

RESULTS Summary table of the main qualitative results Topics exploredCategories Topic 1. Participation in projects increases personal well-being Category 1.1. Involvement and cooperating in helping a project progress Category 1.2. Enjoying yourself Category 1.3. Increasing self-confidence Category 1.4. Seeing the positive changes achieved or attempted Category 1.5. Expressing your opinions Category 1.6. Meeting new people Category 1.7. Learning and information Topic 2. Aspects to take into account in the relationship between social participation and personal well-being Category 2.1. Participation can lead to discontent Category 2.2. The decision to participate must be voluntary Category 2.3. Participation increases personal well-being only in people who want to participate

DISCUSSION (I) Motivation to participate Those who would like to take decisions regarding how class works obtain significantly higher scores in how secure they feel (Cummins, 1998, Cummins et al., 2003) and with themselves (Casas et al., 2007). For most items, a trend is observed of those responding yes obtaining higher scores on scales measuring relationships with others, while those who respond no obtain lower scores on these scales and higher scores in the dimension of lack of perceived support. For most of the items, students who respond positively obtain high scores in satisfaction with aspects related to school. Social participation increases personal well-being because it is an opportunity to learn: - because they learn about new realities and situations. - personal enrichment due to new experiences. Social participation increases personal well-being due to: - the relationship established with people around you. - adolescents relating with adults. -personal enrichment due to relationships with new people. Social participation increases personal well-being because it increases self-confidence. Quantitative data PHASE I Qualitative data PHASE II

DISCUSSION (II) Individual or group participation Social participation increases personal well-being because it is an opportunity to learn: - about new realities and situations. - personal enrichment due to new experiences. Social participation increases personal well-being due to: - the relationship established with people around you. - adolescents relating with adults. - personal enrichment due to relationships with new people. Social participation increases personal well-being because it increases self-confidence. Adolescents who do not want individual participation are more satisfied with the school where they study (Casas et al., 2007). - Those who respond positively to individual participation obtain a higher score in the dimension of lack of support. - In the two options for group participation, it is observed that those who respond yes obtain higher scores on the scales evaluating interpersonal relationships. Those who comment that they would send suggestions together with classmates are more satisfied with how secure they feel (Cummins) Quantitative data PHASE I Qualitative data PHASE II

 Social participation is not a neutral experience, but rather has an important impact on the personal well-being of adolescents who become involved in it.  We agree with contributions from other authors who refer to social participation being closely linked to factors such as positive interpersonal relationships, the development of social self- concept, that of identity (self), the capacity for agency, autonomy and empowerment.  Social participation is also found to be related to a positive attitude and view of different aspects relating to the field of education. The fact of learning itself is not limited to curricular content, but rather is a life position: they learn from all the life situations they experience and are of importance to them. DISCUSSION (III)

DISCUSSION (IV) Key elements to take into account when studying the relationship between social participation and personal well-being. 1. For social participation to contribute to personal well-being it must be voluntary (UNICEF, 2010; Lansdown, 2001; Naval, 2003). This means it must be freely chosen as a personal option (Casas, González et al., 2008), as must the degree of participation. One of the factors that influences the relationship between participation and well-being is Adolescents assigning themselves roles in relation to social participation.

DISCUSSION (V) Level I Having information Level II Giving opinions and contributing ideas Level III Decision-making Level IV Implementing actions Level V Assessing actions (evaluating results)

 Each of these levels brings a higher degree of involvement and responsibility with regard to social participation.  As the level increases, so does: a)adolescents’ empowerment, understood as the process of raising awareness of their abilities, increasing their action to transform both themselves and their environment (Torres, 2009); b) their autonomy, which refers to the sense of choice, that is, having the experience of choosing (Ryan and Deci, 2000) and deciding; and; c) their capacity of agency, which refers to the capacity to act towards goals of importance to people (Alkire, 2005). DISCUSSION (VI)

2. Participation may lead to discontent in the following situations: a) when prior expectations are not fulfilled. b) when adults give adolescents the opportunity to express their opinions, but then do not listen to them or take into account what they have said. DISCUSSION (VII)

DISCUSSION (VIII) These situations demotivate them and make them not want to give their opinions or make further proposals. This coincides with the findings by Kirby (2002), who stated that when adolescents’ viewpoints were ignored or not taken into account it can diminish their self-esteem and makes it fairly unlikely that they will want to participate again in future projects.

3. The role of adults in making social participation by children and adolescents effective.  Consider children and adolescents as active social agents and citizens of the present, not only the future.  Award importance and social impact to the “small” activities of children’s everyday life, which have the potential to serve as practical learning experiences in responsible participation.  Listen, understand and accept children and adolescents’ points of view.  Work to overcome resistances that social participation by children and adolescents provokes among adults.  Provide information, advice, training, and support on responsible social participation by children and adolescents. DISCUSSION (IX)

Social participation by adolescents in the context of secondary education: Its relationship with personal well-being Dolors Navarro, Ferran Casas, Mònica González & Sara Malo