Class-Level School Performance and Life Satisfaction: Differential Sensitivity for Low- and High-Performing School-Aged Children.

Katharina Rathmann,Matthias Richter,Arja Rimpelä,Klaus Hurrelmann,Ludwig Bilz,Max Herke

doi:10.3390/ijerph15122750

Abstract

This study investigates whether class-level school performance affects students’ life satisfaction and if there are differential effects for high- and low-performing students. Data were derived from the National Educational Panel Study, including n = 5196 students (49.6% girls), nested in 478 classes and 250 secondary schools. School performance in class was measured by aggregating individual grade point average in Mathematics and German. The study could not reveal the “big-fish-little-pond”-effect regarding students’ life satisfaction but found differential effects for high- vs. low performing students. There was no significant association for low-performing students attending classes with higher class-level performance However, low-performing students revealed the lowest life satisfaction. High-performing students placed in classes with higher average performance reported lower life satisfaction compared to high-performing students in classes with lower average performance. This study provides evidence for the impact of the learning environment in class on school-aged children’s life satisfaction, by highlighting the differential sensitivity of high-performing students when placed in classes with higher or lower average performance.

Highlights

Adolescence is a vulnerable stage in life when young people become increasingly self-conscious and more aware of and concerned with others’ opinions, while peers become increasingly important.Already in school, children compare themselves with others and understand that others are making comparisons and judgments about them; they begin to place higher value on these judgments [1].In this regard, comparisons with reference groups are typical processes to shape adolescents’self-perception and -evaluation
Performance is positively correlated to the average performance of the class (r = 0.52, p < 0.001)
Schools are pivotal for young people’s psychosocial development as they spend most of their daily time at school and with classmates of different ability levels

Summary

Introduction

Adolescence is a vulnerable stage in life when young people become increasingly self-conscious and more aware of and concerned with others’ opinions, while peers become increasingly important.Already in school, children compare themselves with others and understand that others are making comparisons and judgments about them; they begin to place higher value on these judgments [1].In this regard, comparisons with reference groups are typical processes to shape adolescents’self-perception and -evaluation. Adolescence is a vulnerable stage in life when young people become increasingly self-conscious and more aware of and concerned with others’ opinions, while peers become increasingly important. Children compare themselves with others and understand that others are making comparisons and judgments about them; they begin to place higher value on these judgments [1]. In this regard, comparisons with reference groups are typical processes to shape adolescents’. Classrooms are peculiar contexts, where young people. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2750; doi:10.3390/ijerph15122750 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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Conclusion