ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education
School Climate and Student Well-Being Across Compulsory Education in Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study of Grade-Level Differences
Provisionally accepted
- 1EDUNOVA.ISPA, Lisbon, Portugal
- 2University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Sciences (ISPA), Lisbon, Portugal
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School climate and well-being in educational settings have received increased attention since the COVID-19 pandemic, as educational communities have reported changes in these key educational indicators. This study analysed the perceptions of Portuguese students regarding school climate and well-being throughout their compulsory education path, involving a sample of 2,842 participants. A set of questionnaires were used, with data collected between January and June 2024. Data collections tools included the School Climate Survey Suite and the PERMA-Profiler, assessing multiple dimensions of school climate (e.g., citizenship, social support, and safety) and well-being (e.g., positive emotions, health, accomplishment, and happiness). Main findings indicate an overall positive evaluation of school climate and well-being. The “Citizenship” dimension emerged as the most highly valued aspect of school climate, while “Happiness” and “Health” received the highest scores within the well-being dimensions. Findings also reveal a less favourable perception of school climate as students advance through educational levels. This decline is particularly noticeable in perceptions of school safety, the physical environment, and cultural acceptance. The findings underscore the importance of educational policies and practices that foster safe and inclusive environments throughout compulsory education. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the psychosocial factors that influence students’ school experience and offers valuable insights for educational intervention and the development of strategies to promote well-being in school contexts.
Keywords: Compulsory education, Educational path, perceptions, School Climate, Student well-being
Received: 31 Oct 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ferreira and Castro Silva. 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: José Castro Silva
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