Date of Award

2-9-2026

Thesis Type

PhD

Document Type

Thesis

Divisions

Faculty of Education

Department

Department of Mathematics and Science Education

Institution

Universiti Malaya

Abstract

Students’ well-being in school is important as it can bring numerous benefits. However, little is known about school-related well-being among Malaysian secondary school students. The limitations of existing instruments highlight the need to build a new instrument that considers Malaysian secondary school students. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure school-related well-being among Malaysian secondary school students. To achieve this, exploratory sequential design was employed. The development and validation of the instrument involved three main phases: (i) qualitative data collection and analysis; (ii) instrument development; and (iii) quantitative data collection and analysis. In the first phase of the study which involved the conceptualisations of school-related well-being, one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 secondary students, five form teachers, and five school counsellors. Based on the thematic analysis of the qualitative data, eight dimensions were identified, which were positive emotions, relationships, engagement, perseverance, optimism, physical environment, safety, and physical health. In the second phase of the study, items were developed based on the data obtained in the first phase. In line with the literature reviewed and the scope of this study, only five of the dimensions were included in the development of the instrument items. A preliminary version of the instrument, consisting of 50 items, was firstly reviewed by 19 experts. The revised version, consisting of 43 items, was then reviewed by 24 experts in the second round of the expert review. The improved version, consisting of 36 items, was further evaluated by the targeted population through cognitive interviewing, which involved eight participants. The third phase of the study comprised four pilot surveys and an actual survey. The first pilot survey, which aimed to establish the initial validity and reliability of the instrument, involved 100 secondary school students. Rasch analysis showed that the 36-item instrument achieved unidimensionality, optimal fit, good reliability, and acceptable response categories. To examine the underlying structure of the instrument, a second survey involving 240 secondary students was conducted. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) suggested a six-factor structure: positive emotions, academic functioning, co-curricular functioning, relationships with schoolmates, relationships with teachers, and optimism. To further validate its factor structure, a third survey involving 240 secondary students was conducted, and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the six-factor structure. To establish the external validity of the instrument, a fourth survey involving 238 secondary students was conducted. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the instrument demonstrated a significant positive correlation with the school satisfaction scale, providing evidence of convergent validity, and a significant negative correlation with the school-related stress scale, providing evidence of discriminant validity. The actual survey, which involved 495 secondary school students in Malaysia, showed that the students had a high level of school-related well-being. In short, this study shows that the Students’ School-related Well-being Instrument (SSWI), which is specifically tailored to measure school-related well-being among Malaysian secondary school students, possesses good psychometric properties and is capable of yielding valid and reliable scores.

Initial

Thesis (PhD) – Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, 2026.

Additional Information

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