Character strengths, academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction of primary school students

Abstract

The purpose of this study with primary school students in Hong Kong was to explore relationships among their character strengths, academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction, and to link this area of study to the promotion of ‘positive education’. The design of the study was underpinned by Seligman’s Wellbeing Theory (2009) which has five elements—namely: positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA). These elements are regarded as the foundations for what is now known as ‘positive psychology,’ with each element contributing to an individual’s wellbeing and happiness. The discipline of positive psychology is concerned with the study of individuals’ psychological strengths and the ways in which these can be utilised to support all round development. It is believed that helping students in school to identify their own signature strengths, and to use them in their everyday lives, can provide a route to a fulfilling and well-adjusted life.

The purpose of the investigation was to examine how character strengths of primary school students are related to two key cognitive and affective outcomes from education ― namely academic self-efficacy and life satisfaction. Based on data from previous research reported in the literature, it was hypothesised that the character strengths of perseverance, love, gratitude, hope and perspective have higher correlations with students’ academic performance because they underpin a positive attitude to learning. This would accord with Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy (1986, 1997) which supports a view that students’ academic performance could often be predicted by their academic self-efficacy. Regarding students’ life satisfaction, it was hypothesised that life satisfaction would be positively related to the character strengths of hope, zest, gratitude, curiosity and love. For the purpose of the study, data were collected from a sample of 781 students in the age range 9 to 13 years (M=10.87, SD=.81) from classes in Primary 5 to Primary 6 in Hong Kong. Confirmatory factor analysis and an internal consistency reliability check were first conducted for the three Chinese translated instruments used for data collection—Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Youth), Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS) and Academic Self-efficacy Scale (ASES). From the data it was found that the signature strengths of participants were teamwork, gratitude, forgiveness, hope, fairness and zest. Although Park et al. (2004) did not find any relationship between age and character strengths, the data in this study suggested that Primary 5 students scored higher than Primary 6 in almost every character strength except humility. Girls scored higher than boys on nineteen strengths, but lower on creativity, curiosity, zest, love of learning and humour.

The evidence of relationships between character strengths, academic self-efficacy, and students’ life satisfaction identified in this research should provide support for cultivating students’ character strengths through positive education practices and a supportive environment in primary schools.