Significant Learning Experiences of Estonian Basic School Students at a School With the Reputation of a “Happy School”

The goal of our study was to find out which school experiences are considered meaningful by 7th and 8th graders in basic schools, which have a reputation as being “happy schools.” The research method used was an open-ended questionnaire to students which focused on their learning experiences, and as background knowledge, observing lessons and interviews with student focus groups. A total of 139 students participated in the study, Grades 7 and 8; 73 boys and 66 girls; and aged 13-15 years. The findings of the learning experiences that students found meaningful and important were school subjects, self-appropriate skills, general knowledge, and skills necessary for life. Three sub-themes emerged in students’ learning experiences related to their personal development: social skills, self-related skills, and mental skills. The overwhelming majority of students found that their school is generally a good place to learn important things. Two thirds of students deemed their school a good place, while negative aspects were mentioned by one third of students. That the school is completely bad was expressed by 12 students. We conclude that, for students, significant learning experience is primarily related to learning a variety of subjects and general knowledge necessary for life. At the same time, the acquisition of self-appropriate skills is also considered important. In contrast with students’ general perception of heavy study loads, boredom, bullying, and other negative experiences, the students expressed a warm and positive attitude towards their school. of the skills of youngsters, addiction to smart devices, problems with acknowledging feelings, the risk of mental health problems. A pilot study by the of regarding school satisfaction of basic school students which was conducted 2017 found that the satisfaction rate of 8th graders was 3.2 on a 5-point scale (Valk, 2018). The same low rate was also given to “school happiness.” Kuurme compared the school experiences of 649 students both boys and girls from 10 schools and concluded that there is a substantial correlation between students’ satisfaction with school and relations with their peers.