International PhD Seminar in Education | Summary | Student Well-Being and Parental Expectations
Two notable studies stood out:
Yosie Diao
Nanjing University, China
Yosie Diao (Nanjing University, China) delivered a presentation titled "Island or Wonderland: The Impact of Undergraduates’ Internet Use on Well-Being".
Her research, based on the Chinese Family Panel Study (CFPS), involved a representative sample of nearly 400 undergraduate students and analyzed the nuanced relationships between different types of internet use (learning, entertainment, and social networking) and students’ subjective well-being. In addition, she investigated the mediating effects of trust, Big Five personality traits, and symptoms of depression.
Highlights of the findings:
- Excessive internet socializing was significantly associated with lower levels of well-being, possibly due to increased emotional detachment and loneliness.
- Internet use for learning and entertainment did not show statistically significant direct effects on well-being.
- Strong positive associations were found between well-being and interpersonal trust (especially toward parents), as well as traits such as extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional sensitivity.
- Depression was shown to act as a mediating factor, where greater social internet use predicted higher depressive symptoms, which in turn decreased subjective well-being.
- The study underscores the complexity of digital interaction and highlights the critical role of students’ emotional resilience and psychological traits.
Yosie recommended universities implement programs that enhance students’ emotional intelligence and promote healthy digital behavior. These include mindfulness practices and policies that mitigate the overuse of internet-based entertainment.
Alexandra Strykova
HSE University, Russia
Alexandra Strykova (HSE University, Russia) presented her research titled "Parental Expectations of School Support for Student Well-Being".
Alexandra Strykova adhered to the theory of self-determination in her research. Based on responses from more than 1,500 parents, she developed and tested a tool to measure expectations and satisfaction with how schools address students' needs for independence, competence, and communication.
Key outcomes:
- Parents placed the highest expectations on schools to foster relatedness, showing less concern for promoting autonomy.
- Expectations and satisfaction varied based on the child’s personal context, such as involvement in extracurricular activities or the presence of learning difficulties.
- Through cluster analysis, four distinct parental profiles emerged, ranging from highly engaged and satisfied parents to those with low expectations and dissatisfaction.
- The study applied IR-tree modeling to address interdependence between expectation and satisfaction dimensions, reinforcing the robustness of the developed instrument.
Alexandra concluded that understanding parental perspectives is crucial for building a collaborative educational process. Her work provides actionable insights for schools aiming to adapt their practices to meet both parental expectations and students’ psychological needs.
Comments on the research studies:
Experts from Tsinghua University and HSE University served as discussants and offered comprehensive feedback. They praised the theoretical relevance and empirical contributions of both studies while advising caution regarding causal interpretations from cross-sectional data. Suggestions included clarifying conceptual frameworks, refining measurement instruments, and increasing the use of descriptive data to aid interpretation. Both presentations were acknowledged as significant steps toward advancing our understanding of student well-being and educational support systems.
Associate Professor, Institute of Education at HSE University
Associate Professor, Institute of Education, Tsinghua University