At the beginning of primary school, young children need to adapt academically, socially, and emotionally to their new school environment. Enjoying going to school and becoming socially integrated are important preconditions for successful learning. However, children from disadvantaged families have fewer resources and receive less support, and such deficits can result in lower attainment, negative emotions, and lower well-being. In recent years, interest in emotions and well-being in school has grown in educational research. However, studies analyzing the affective characteristics of disadvantaged students, especially in primary school, are still scarce. In this study, we analyzed reciprocal relationships between school enjoyment, social integration, and achievement using cross-lagged structural equation modeling (Grades 1 and 2), while controlling for family background and sex. We used data from the National Educational Panel Study in Germany (NEPS; N = 4,986). Results showed positive effects of school enjoyment on achievement and social integration on school enjoyment. Additionally, a better home learning environment had positive effects on school enjoyment and social integration in Grade 1. Effects of socioeconomic and migration background on school enjoyment and social integration were not significant. Our results show no evidence that educationally disadvantaged students are additionally disadvantaged in their school enjoyment or social integration at the beginning of primary school.  

Challenges relating to misuse and abuse of the internet and other mobile devices have become sources of concern among the youth population the world-over. However, research on cyber related issues has been focused mainly on adolescents in Nigeria. This study investigates the influence of cyber bullying, cyber victimization and pathological internet use on psychological well-being among adults. Using a cross sectional research design and a multi-stage sampling technique, 280 university students were selected. A questionnaire on socio-demographic profile cyber intimidation and internet addiction was administered to the participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Three hypotheses were tested. The results revealed that participants who engage less in cyber bullying were not significantly different in their levels of psychological well-being when compared to their counterparts who engage more in cyber-bullying. Pathological Internet use did not significantly influence the levels of psychological well-being of cyber space addicts. The association between cyber related variables and psychological well-being is crucial for better understanding of their actual effects on human behaviour and for the purpose of designing intervention programmes.

This study used the COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) Study to examine home learning and parent attitudes to education during Covid-19 in relation to demographic and household financial circumstances and parent educational aspirations. The findings showed that White, female, and degree-educated parents were more likely than their counterparts to report positive attitudes to home learning, support their 16-year-olds’ learning, and contact schools during the lockdowns. Parents who experienced food poverty and reported being financially worse off after the pandemic were less likely to support home learning or contact schools but reported largely positive attitudes to learning. Also, parents who reported lower educational aspirations were more likely to support their children’s learning, reflecting their educational needs. This study contributes to our understanding of home learning during the pandemic and has implications for public policy and action regarding supporting children’s learning during health crises and reducing education inequalities.