Development and Identification of the Dimensions and Components of an Academic Well-Being Educational Package Tailored to Junior High School Students

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to develop and identify the dimensions and components of an academic well-being educational package tailored to the developmental, cognitive, and cultural characteristics of junior high school students.

Methodology: This applied qualitative study employed an exploratory grounded theory design. Participants were 22 experts in educational psychology, academic counseling, curriculum planning, educational management, and child and adolescent psychology, selected through purposive theoretical sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Following informed consent, the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s systematic approach through open, axial, and selective coding. MAXQDA software was used to manage and organize the qualitative data. Trustworthiness was established according to Lincoln and Guba’s criteria through expert review, member checking, and assessment of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.

Findings: The analysis identified five principal components of academic well-being: academic engagement, school satisfaction, academic competence, academic value, and academic anxiety. The first four components constituted the core of academic well-being, whereas academic anxiety emerged mainly as a consequence of deficiencies in these components. The resulting paradigmatic model comprised causal conditions, the central phenomenon of weakened academic well-being, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, educational strategies, and expected outcomes. The transition from primary to secondary school, pubertal changes, family and school factors, and cultural attitudes toward education were identified as major causal conditions. The proposed strategies emphasized engagement-oriented instruction, play-based and participatory activities, storytelling, short films, role-playing, practical projects, parental involvement, teacher coordination, and home–school transfer activities. Based on these findings, a 20-session educational package was organized into seven progressive stages. Its expected outcomes included increased subjective vitality and academic hope, improved academic performance and social relationships, and reduced avoidance behaviors.

Conclusion: The developed package provides a culturally adapted, participatory, and theoretically grounded framework for promoting academic well-being among students aged 12–15 years. It may guide school counselors, teachers, and educational planners in designing school-based interventions; however, its effectiveness should be evaluated through future experimental and quasi-experimental studies.