Achieving health and educational goals through schools - a study of the importance of the school climate and the students' satisfaction with school

Over the past two decades many studies have examined the effectiveness of classroom teaching in influencing present and future health and health behaviours, Few of these studies have examined the importance of the students' satisfaction with school as a variable which explains effect, and in particular what determines their satisfaction with school. Based on data from the 'Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey', this paper presents a review of relevant literature and examines how the students' perception of school climate relates to their satisfaction with school. Data from 11-, 13- and 15-year-old students in Finland, Latvia, Norway and Slovakia are used. In all countries, the older students tend to be significantly less satisfied with school than the younger ones. The students in Latvia and Norway seem to be more satisfied with school than students in the two other countries. The most important predictors of students' satisfaction with school are students' feeling that they are treated fairly, that they feel safe and that they believe that teachers are supportive. The findings suggest that, in school health promotion interventions, attention needs not only to be given to classroom teaching materials but also to the quality of a student's school experience and the quality of the relationship with the teachers.