ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Educ.

Sec. Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education

Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1596252

This article is part of the Research TopicHolistically healthy humans: championing mental and physical wellbeing in educationView all 4 articles

Understanding the Role of School Culture and Climate in Supporting Students' Well-Being in Vocational Schools

Provisionally accepted
Inna  BentsaloInna Bentsalo*Meril  ÜmarikMeril ÜmarikKrista  LoogmaKrista LoogmaTerje  VäljatagaTerje Väljataga
  • School of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

This qualitative study investigates how vocational teachers and support staff in Estonia perceive their roles in promoting student well-being. Through group interviews with 16 participants from vocational schools across the country, thematic analysis was conducted. During the analysis, patterns emerged that were closely linked to the aspects of school culture and climate. School culture is conceptualized as shared values and traditions, while school climate encompasses the everyday experiences of communication, emotional safety, and school atmosphere. A conceptual framework is used to illustrate how culture and climate may jointly influence students' well-being.The findings reveal variations in how students’ well-being is supported across vocational schools, often shaped by institutional leadership, organizational fragmentation, and informal role expectations. Limited engagement from school leadership and poor internal communication were frequently reported, suggesting that staff often act in isolation without systemic support. These findings highlight the need for coordinated school-wide approaches to well-being that move beyond individual initiatives. The study underscores the importance of cultivating stronger institutional responsibility and leadership, as well as fostering a positive school culture in vocational education settings.

Keywords: Youth well-being, positive school culture, school management, Vocational school, School culture and climate

Received: 19 Mar 2025; Accepted: 21 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Bentsalo, Ümarik, Loogma and Väljataga. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Inna Bentsalo, School of Educational Sciences, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

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