Children’s Voices on School Well-Being (CV-SWB): A Mixed-Methods Instrument for Preschool and Elementary Education

Research Findings: School well-being plays a role in children’s development, yet research in early childhood has relied on adult reports, with few self-report instruments for young children. This study presents the Children’s Voices on School Well-Being (CV-SWB), a mixed-methods instrument designed for children aged 3 to 12 years. The CV-SWB includes 21 items rated on a three-point Likert scale with visual support, complemented by open-ended questions eliciting children’s justifications. The instrument was individually administered to 548 children from preschool and elementary education in 12 schools in Spain. Exploratory factor analyses supported a five-factor structure: Belonging and Fairness, School Liking, Daily Relationships, Adult Care, and Conflict and Victimization, with evidence of measurement invariance across age and gender. Qualitative analyses revealed coherent thematic domains in children’s explanations, converging on personal relationships, school atmosphere, self-perception, and academic aspects, supporting the interpretability of children’s responses. Practice or Policy: The CV-SWB provides researchers and practitioners with an appropriate tool to assess school well-being from children’s perspectives from early schooling. By integrating quantitative ratings with children’s verbal explanations, the instrument facilitates a comprehensive and child-centered understanding of school experiences, informing early educational practices and policies promoting well-being and participation in preschool and elementary settings.