Product Dynamics | Student Wellbeing Survey

WELLBEING SURVEY RESULTS SNAPSHOT

In May 2020 Product Dynamics conducted the Student Wellbeing Survey, which was distributed to more than 4000 school teachers, school principals, vice principals and other key decision-makers at primary schools and secondary schools across Australia.

The results and data was analysed to provide insights to the following key questions:

• How are schools teaching wellbeing content to students?
• How are school diaries being used by teachers and students?
• Could wellbeing content to be distributed to students through school diaries?

KEY FINDINGS

School Wellbeing programs structure

This part of the survey provided critical insights into the program structure of most schools. Data captured highlighted the importance of school wellbeing programs within most schools’ core curriculum with only a small percentage (7.64%) suggesting that these programs exist but are secondary to other subjects.

• 100% of people who previously indicated that student wellbeing programs were part of the core-curriculum also suggested those same programs were very important.
• 73% of respondends suggested that well-being programs are still a very important aspect of school life despite the fact that they are not a part of the school’s core curriculum.

When analysing responses, classroom sessions are a clear preference in wellbeing education, however many suggested that a multifaceted approach, leveraging a variety of mediums is needed to effectively manage the subject.

School Diary Usage

Part three of the survey focused on the role school diaries play in student life at school, how wellbeing coursework could be integrated into student diaries and the preferences schools have when looking for a school diary provider.

Findings indicated:

• Nearly 60% of schools provide school diaries in some capacity to their students and/or staff.
• For schools that have a diary solution, the vast majority (86.42%) see moderate to widespread usage of school diaries throughout the student body.

When considering how wellbeing content should be delivered through the context of a student diary, most people thought:

• short daily activities could be an effective method (60.58%).
• that a special, dedicated section within the diary could also be a helpful approach to the subject matter (42.34%).

Conclusion

Most schools have a wellbeing program in place for their students to some degree with an overwhelming majority emphasising its importance within their current curriculum. Most schools appear open to the idea of wellbeing material being introduced to student diaries in some capacity. Many respondents highlighted the need for a multifaceted approach, leveraging short-form workshops to approach the topic.

With the widespread adoption of school diaries among students, the results support the idea that school diaries could contribute positively to the delivery of well-being content. Support for this approach is highlighted by the clear preference for short daily activities and short-form workshops that can address student needs in small groups or individually.