Enhanced Well-Being Of Second High School Students Through Experience In School Activities

ENHANCED WELL BEING OF SECOND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH EXPERIENCE IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES Nguyen Hong Thuan (Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences) Abstract Feel the well being of students in school is a positive factor to promote the participation and contribute to improving the academic performance of the children The creation of a safe, healthy and friendly school environment; in which, the main factor that can affect the children’s well being is, the organization of appropriate[.]

THROUGH EXPERIENCE IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Nguyen Hong Thuan

(Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences)

Abstract: Feel the well-being of students in school is a positive factor to promote the participation and

contribute to improving the academic performance of the children The creation of a safe, healthy and friendly school environment; in which, the main factor that can affect the children’s well-being is, the organization of appropriate educational activities, creating opportunities to activate interests, excitement and promote experiences and abilities creativity of learners Experimental research on groups of students at 06 secondary schools has proved that, if organizing experiential activities with diverse forms and suitable topics for students, it will help them well-being However, it is necessary to improve the capacity of teachers and secondary schools to organize experiential activities to help students improve their mental health and outcomes study

Keywords: well-being, experiential activities.

1 INTRODUCTION

Students’s well-being at school is a positive factor that promotes participation and contributes

to improving their learning outcomes Creating a safe, healthy and friendly school environment is the fundamental solution; in which, the main factor that can affect the children’s well-being is, the organization of appropriate educational activities, creating opportunities to activate interests, excitement and promote experiences and abilities creativity of learners Thereby, the children experience positive emotions, demonstrate their own abilities, discover new things, transform their own experiences, and help them actively practice solving problems in their lives

Research on a group of junior high school students in some provinces and cities has proven that, if organizing experiential activities with diverse forms and suitable topics for students, it will stimulate the interest of students promote the strengths of each learner and especially help those individuals feeling of well-being; In other words, it helps to improve students’ mental health

This study will examine feeling of well-being of secondary school students under the approach well-being / or psychological and apply theoretical models PERMA (Seligman, 2011), with 05 elements basically: (P ) Positive emotions; (E) Cohesion; (R) Social Emotions; (M) Meaningful; (A) Reach the goal According to Seligman, each of these factors contributes to improving people’s psychological well-being/or mental health; At the same time, these are also very important issues that every human being wants to have Each element of the PERMA psychological well-being model is identifiable, relative discriminant, and measurable/evaluable

2 RESEARCH CONTENT

2.1 Feeling happiness in learning of junior secondary school students

Under the approach to intrinsic happiness, the concept of “well-being” is understood as an individual’s subjective assessment of satisfaction with life, a healthy mental state that allows them

to deal with problems in life and realize their own goals, and at the same time, achieve harmony in relationships with those around them Thus, the well-being needs to ensure the personal aspect, at the same time with the interpersonal relationship

Secondary school students are at an age of complex physical and psychological changes, so their perception of psychological well-being is multidimensional and unstable Research results on a large group of students at this age show that up to 43.4% of them have a moderate level of happiness and 23.2% have a low level of well-being (according to Khan, Taghdisi, Ourijelyani, 2015) And, individuals with low levels of well-being are at an increased risk of depression

In the learning process, students’ feelings of well-being are greatly influenced by factors belonging

to the school For example, well-being is positively correlated with academic achievement, teacher support, attachment to friends, etc At the same time, it is negatively correlated with factors of academic pressure, violence in school… (Aryilmaz, 2011)

Expression of feeling of well-being in learning of secondary school students when considered in

5 aspects (according to Seligman), can be described as follows: i/ Always expressing positive emotions such as happiness, optimism and openness with friends, teachers; satisfied with themselves, in harmony with others and the surrounding environment ii/ Being proactive, independent, creative, responsible and enthusiastic when performing learning tasks or participating in joint activities ; iii/ Empathize, care, help friends and others, show satisfaction in those social relationships; iv/ Always believe in the value

of self and others, believe in the meaning of right deeds, good things to individuals, the community/

or others; v/ Goal-oriented in the learning process and expect success; at the same time satisfied with the learning results they have achieved The expressions of well-being mentioned above are the goals that the school / or educators are aiming to help students improve their mental health, contribute to personality development and improve operational efficiency children’s learning dynamics

2.2 The role of experiential activities at school with improving students’ sense of well-being

Research results based on the B-scol scale (2014) show that the level of well-being about school

of high school students is at an average level; Especially emerging dimension that creates the highest satisfaction in children is extra-curricular activities and friendship relationships in school (Tran Thu Huong & Ngo Thanh Hue, 2018) This can be explained as appropriate because extracurricular activities themselves are experiential in nature, which is the most favorable environment for students to experience emotions and satisfy their need to express themselves; explore yourself and interact, adapt to the natural and social environment, find out new knowledge, practice skills and transform into personal experiences From there, the learning process takes place in a more active and effective way

The theory of learning through experience (with representative author David Kolb, 1984) has demonstrated the role of experience in the development and growth of each individual Accordingly, through the path of practical experience, individuals can discover, connect, practice and apply new experiences to solve real-life problems Therefore, the 2018 General Education Program has integrated the experiential model into extracurricular activities / or outside of class time and put these activities into the regular curriculum, with a new and very specific name – “Experience activities, career guidance”

Experiential activities in general and in the learning process at school in particular (collectively referred to as Experiential Education) aim to create opportunities for each learner to be “dipped/ dropped” in an experience and then encouraged encourages thinking (reflecting) on those experiences

to develop new skills, attitudes, or ways of thinking” (Lewis and Williams, 1994, p5) The experiential environments that educators create are tied to real or real situations that students care about, enjoy, and feel close to in their lives Thereby, the children have the opportunity to freely think, create, express their emotions, behaviors, and self-review and evaluate the results achieved; Thanks to that, you will feel the well-being of studying at school Therefore, it can be concluded that:

i/ Experiential activities play an important role in developing students’ interest, motivation and will in the process of performing learning tasks Participating in many rich and diverse experiential activities (including games, clubs, sightseeing tours, camping, cultural and artistic activities, ) will create opportunities to learn students can express, reveal, and assert themselves; create opportunities for children to exchange, learn and connect with friends and people around; help relieve stress and pressure

in the learning process; create favorable opportunities for them to participate actively and confidently in community life Since then, students’ psychological happiness in learning has been improved

ii/ The process of experiential activities helps to enhance the feeling of psychological well-being, through promoting awareness, emotions, beliefs and positive behavior in students On that basis, forming core life values, such as: kindness, solidarity, responsibility, discipline, honesty, confidence, ; At the same time, develop competencies, such as: communication, management and personal development, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, cooperation, information search and processing, especially the ability to practical performance, management and leadership Those are the core competencies, necessary for every citizen in the new context

iii/ Experiential activities contribute to improving the feeling of well-being in students; Due to its openness, flexibility and differentiation, it is able to meet the diverse needs of learners, creating opportunities for them to express and promote their own strengths, unleash creativity and assert themselves throughout the school year process, from preparation to implementation and performance evaluation The diversity of experience activities can meet the diversity of: regions, localities; needs, interests and levels of students Flexibility and openness are reflected in the following aspects: scale, location, form of operation, time and duration of activities; in order to ensure appropriate conditions and meet the needs of different types

of students

iv/ Experiential activities help improve the feeling of well-being in learners by conveying educational content in a more natural, active, gentle and attractive way Thanks to the diverse forms, the education of students is carried out in a natural, lively, non-binding and rigid way, in accordance with the psycho-physiological characteristics as well as the needs and aspirations of the students In the process

of designing, preparing, organizing, and evaluating experiential activities, both teachers and students have the opportunity to express their creativity, initiative and flexibility, increasing their attractiveness unique form of operation

In summary, in order to enhance the feeling of well-being in learning for students, the choice of

educational path through experiential activities is very appropriate and appropriate

2.3 Organize some experiential activities at school to enhance the well-being of secondary school students

Within the framework of a research project, we have organized 06 experiential activities with topics on environmental protection, in order to improve the feeling of well-being in learning for a group

of students (291 children) at 06 secondary schools, in Vinh Long, Tra Vinh and Can Tho As follows:

No. Province/ City Secondary School/

Grade

Number of Students

1 Vĩnh Long

Nguyễn Trãi (G7,8) 65 Design and fashion show environmentally friendly Nguyễn

Trường Tộ

Survey, make a map of environmental pollution in schools/ communities

2 Trà Vinh

An Trường B (G8,9) 57 Competition for good communicators on the topic of environmental protection

Thái Bình (G7,8) 48 Make your own utensils from used materials to protect the environment

3 Cần Thơ

An Hoà 2

An Thới (G9) 39 Protection of water resources

2.3.1 The process of organizing activities and evaluation methods

- Each of the above activities is implemented in a secondary school, which has been designed by the research team, quite clearly and specifically; which includes: i/ Objectives (about students’ skills and attitudes/emotions); ii/ Conditions and means (to organize and evaluate operation results); iii/ Suggestions to organize activities according to the experiential process (discover, connect, practice, apply); iv/ Duration (3 days/1 activity – including preparation time)

- Students participating in the activity are selected at random; The selected grade alone needs to ensure the appropriate criteria between the content of experiential activities and the curriculum of the main subjects

- Teachers of the whole school are trained to improve their capacity to organize experiential activities

on the topic of environmental protection; then randomly select teachers who directly participate in organizing activities for students

- The research team participates in technical supervision, collects information to evaluate the results of students’ participation in activities (based on tools: Teacher & Student Questionnaire, Student Observation Form, Talk Sheet with Teachers) after the activity and based on the product of the student’s activity) This study does not have conditions to evaluate the impact, based on the results of perceived well-being in learning before and after students participate in experiential activities; however, we conduct

a reference to compare relative to the published results of previous studies on the perceived well-being level of secondary school students; Especially based on the qualitative results obtained in the process of observing and interviewing students; From there, it is possible to determine the level of improvement in well-being of secondary school students

Using Clarke’s psychological well-being perception scale (2011) designed a 5-level Likert form, including: 1 - Not true, 2 - Very little true, 3- Partially true, 4- Fairly true, 5- Very true

2.3.2 Results of experience activities

After finishing 6 experiential activities on the topic of environmental protection, at secondary schools, based on information obtained from questionnaires and using Clarke’s psychological well-being scale (2011), we obtained the results of the perception of psychological well-well-being (nature) in the group of secondary school students are as follows:

Average score of mental well-being of secondary school students: M = 4.01 (SD = 1.15), 3.9%

of students have low level of psychological well-being related to learning (mean score < 3.0) , 75.4%

of students have a high level of well-being in learning (mean average >3.5) After participating in the activity, the majority of the children felt the highest well-being in the element of trust in the good meaning of the activity and experience with the protection of the local environment (average: 4.70) and the experience with positive emotions, such as: enjoyment (mean: 4.58), feeling of being relieved

of learning pressure (measurement: 3.86); And, they also have a very high sense of well-being in the element of engagement in the study group (measurement: 4.05 and 4.12); Next is the feeling of high well-being in the element of confidence in themselves and others and especially satisfaction when the children have asserted themselves in front of the group (DBT: 3.92) The factors of harmony and adaptation to the operating and experiential environment are also quite high (see Figure 2.1)

Chart 2.1 Feeling happy about learning of secondary school students

The outstanding feature, showing the psychological characteristics of secondary school students,

is that the need for self-assertion and the need to expand social relationships and connect with friends tend to overwhelm other needs Because in reality, many children want to assert themselves but lack confidence in their own experience in new fields; especially the ability to cope with diverse situations in the learning process at school and in life The desire to explore the world around is also clearly expressed

in most students of this age

Among the experiential activities that have been organized, each activity will contribute to improving students’ feelings of well-being in different aspects Such as: Activities “Environmentally friendly fashion design and show competition”; “Excellent propaganda contest on the topic of environmental

protection” and “Making utensils from used materials” created a good opportunity for the children

to be creative and come up with unique ideas; to cooperate, support and care for others in the group/ class; be affirming the individual values of the individual and the study group; together with consensus and determination towards common goals and results PVLA, students in grades 8, the Nguyen Trai

Secondary School, said: “I think that the operation is very complementary alternative roll, exciting for

us to be together the idea and child were you elected to the fashion show, I feel happy and very proud”

For the activities “Surveying and drawing environmental pollution diagrams in schools/ communities”; “Save energy” and “Conserve water” create opportunities for students to expand their learning space; satisfy their needs, feel excited when learning about and exploring the local environment and natural landscape; have a desire to contribute and believe in experiences that are meaningful to others and to the school and community in which they live L.H C, grader 8, Nguyen Truong To Secondary

School excitedly shared: “We like this activity because we can tour around the school and discover quite

a lot of polluted places”.

2.4 Some recommendations for organizing experiential activities at school to enhance students’ feelings of well-being

Although the above research results have confirmed the important and outstanding role of organizing experiential activities at school in enhancing the sense of well-being about learning of secondary school students But, in fact, there are still some shortcomings and inadequacies in the process of organizing experiential activities at school; but mainly the limitation in awareness and capacity to organize experiential activities of a large number of teachers today Therefore, teachers have overlooked some students who are not confident and ready to participate in activities To ensure that students’ feelings of well-being while participating in these activities are enhanced, the research team makes the following recommendations:

i/ When designing experiential activities, teachers need to consult with students to choose suitable topics to the interests and concerns of the majority of secondary school students; Define clear and reasonable goals, within the framework of a specific activity; Make sure to design activities in accordance with the process of 04 stages: Discover - Connect - Practice - Apply

ii/ The organization of activities should be flexible (in terms of scale, form, space, time, duration, )

to suit the conditions of the school, the locality and the characteristics of the students;

iii/ Create opportunities for students to participate in all stages of the activity process; from design, preparation, implementation to performance evaluation;

iv/ Motivating and encouraging students properly and timely, during their participation in experiential activities and after the activity ends Guide, suggest, assist students when required or when absolutely necessary

3 CONCLUSION

Perceived psychological well-being of students at school is positively correlated with their academic performance Organizing diverse experiential educational activities, with topics suitable for students, will create opportunities to activate interests and excitement and promote their experiences and creative abilities; contribute to improving students’ feelings of well-being and/or mental health Teachers and secondary schools need to focus on improving the capacity of organizing experiential activities, to exploit its strengths in education to improve learning outcomes and improve mental health for students

1 Clarke (2011), Wawick – Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scal (WEMWBS), BMC Public Heath,

11-487, pp 1-9

2 Đao Lan Huong (2020), Feeling the happiness of adolescents in their relationship with family,

PhD thesis, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU

3 Khan Y, Taghdisi H.M, Ourijelyani K (2015), Psychological Well-being of school Adolessents

Age 12-18 yr, Iran J Public heath (6) pp 804-813.

4 Seligman (2011), Flourish: Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well –being, Simon

& Schuster publisher

5 Nguyen Hong Thuan (Editor, 2018), Organization of experiential activities to develop

environmental protection capacity for secondary school students in the Cuu Long Delta, The

topic: B2018 – VKG37 – 06MT, Ministry of Education and Training