Date Presented 04/03/2025
Underachieving students show limited participation in daily activities as well as lower quality of life (QoL) than students with typical achievement. However, there is a lack of comparative data on these factors between alternative versus traditional school.
Primary Author and Speaker: Yael Lavie-Pitaro
Contributing Authors: Naomi Weintraub, Anat Golos
PURPOSE: Underachievement has negative ramifications on the adolescents’ participation in daily life activities both In- and Out-of-school as well as a negative impact on their well-being and school QoL. For this purpose, alternative schools were established for students who are at risk of failing or facing expulsion due to academic or behavioral issues. This study aimed to address the gap in knowledge regarding to the participation in daily activities, well-being, and school QoL of adolescents attending alternative schools.
DESIGN: Comparative and correlational cross-sectional study design.
METHOD: The study compared 259 typical achieving students and 103 underachieving students who completed 4 questionnaires assessing general nonverbal intelligence, participation in daily activities, life satisfaction and school QoL. Quantitative analysis included Manova, Mann-Whitney and hierarchical regression.
RESULTS: Underachievers participated less frequently in In-school activities compared to the typical achievers [M(SD) = 2.58(0.64); 2.78(0.53), p <0.01, respectively] and attributed less meaning to these activities [M(SD) = 2.81(0.62); 3.02(0.5), p <0.01, respectively]. They also had lower Out-of-school Frequency score [M(SD) = 2.31(0.43); 2.41(0.39), p = 0.05, respectively]. No significant differences were found between groups in well-being. Underachievers had higher school QoL than typical achievers. Group, Out-of-school participation and school QoL predicted 23% of well-being, while group, In-school participation, and well-being predicted 37% of school QoL.
CONCLUSIONS: Assessing participation to improve school QoL and well-being in underachievers is crucial. The findings shows a relationship between school QoL and well-being, advocating for interventions emphasizing the role of meaningful participation both In- and out-of-school activities. By that, educators and policymakers can better cater their needs, fostering an environment that enhances their well-being and QoL.
References
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