ABSTRACT

Background: The decline of young people’s wellbeing in the UK and elsewhere has become an increasing focus for attention. In this context, it is encouraging to note some evidence suggesting that participation in extracurricular activities may have potential to improve wellbeing. However, the considerable conceptual and methodological challenges involved in the measurement of constructs within this non-traditional assessment domain should be recognised.

Purpose: Against this backdrop, we report on the development of a survey to measure the contribution of taking part in extracurricular activities on young people’s subjective wellbeing and associated soft skills.

Methods: Participants (N = 4,638) were a sample of young people enrolled in a well-known extracurricular award programme in the UK: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE). They completed a self-report survey which had been developed to address key areas relevant to the DofE and wellbeing, such as: resilience and overcoming adversity, confidence and self-esteem, and working with others and communication. Data were analysed quantitatively.

Findings: Factor analysis confirmed a reliable three-factor structure of the measure, which produced patterns of results comparable to existing research on wellbeing. The identified factors were ‘General Wellbeing’, ‘Resilience and Confidence’, and ‘Communication (including Leadership and Teamwork)’. Participants largely reported that taking part in DofE activities had improved their wellbeing through increasing confidence, responsibility and their ability to face challenges.

Conclusions: We suggest that both the survey outlined here and the process of development could be used to facilitate more reliable and valid measurements of wellbeing and related soft skills outside of traditional classroom settings. The findings, whilst relating here specifically to the DofE in the UK, will be of interest to policymakers, school leaders and educators internationally who are considering what young people need to build and maintain wellbeing, and thus thrive in life.

摘要

背景：英国及其他地区的年轻人的福利下降已成为越来越多的关注焦点。在这种情况下，令人鼓舞的是，有一些证据表明，参加课外活动可能具有改善健康的潜力。但是，应该认识到在这种非传统评估领域中，在构造测量中所涉及的相当大的概念和方法上的挑战。

目的：在此背景下，我们报告了一项调查的发展，以衡量参加课外活动对年轻人的主观幸福感和相关软技能的贡献。

方法：参与者（N = 4,638）是参加英国著名的课外奖励计划：爱丁堡公爵奖（DofE）的年轻人的样本。他们完成了一项自我报告调查，该调查旨在解决与DofE和福祉相关的关键领域，例如：韧性和克服逆境，信心和自尊心以及与他人合作和沟通的能力。数据进行了定量分析。

调查结果：因子分析证实了该措施可靠的三因子结构，其产生的结果模式可与现有的福利研究相媲美。确定的因素是“总体福祉”，“韧性和信心”和“沟通（包括领导和团队合作）”。参与者在很大程度上报告说，参加DofE活动通过增强信心，承担责任和面对挑战的能力，改善了他们的福祉。

结论：我们建议，这里概述的调查和发展过程都可以用来促进对传统课堂环境以外的幸福感和相关软技能的更可靠，更有效的评估。这些发现，虽然在这里与英国的DofE特别相关，但将引起国际上的政策制定者，学校领导和教育工作者的兴趣，他们正在考虑年轻人需要什么来建立和维持健康，从而在生活中蓬勃发展。