Does social well-being predict academic resilience and achievement? Analysis of Swedish PISA 2018 data

Abstract

In recent years, Sweden has been struggling with issues of educational inequity as the influence of students' socioeconomic status on their academic achievements has amplified. Nonetheless, academically resilient students who demonstrate high achievement despite socioeconomic disadvantages offer hope for a more equitable future. Previous research has primarily focused on the relationship between well-being and academic achievement, with less emphasis on the connection between academic resilience and well-being. Thus, this study investigates the extent to which students’ well-being predicts their academic achievement and resilience, with a special focus on the social well-being of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Using the Swedish PISA 2018 dataset and structural equation modeling technique, the measurement properties of social well-being were first tested, and its dimensions were then related to students' academic resilience and achievement. The findings reveal that student-reported teacher support positively predicts their academic resilience and achievement, whereas exposure to bullying is detrimental to their academic achievement.