Investigating Elementary and Middle School Students’ Subjective Well-Being and Mathematical Performance in Shanghai

Students in Shanghai ranked at the top in mathematics on the past two assessments of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). However, even though Asian students in general, and Chinese students in particular, ranked at the top in mathematics, we know little about Shanghai students’ subjective well-being (SWB). This paper reports two studies that investigated the SWB of elementary and middle school students in Shanghai, as well as their mathematics performance. It is found that the mean scores of elementary school students on all scales of SWB are significantly higher than those of middle school students, representing a large drop for students when moving from elementary to middle school. Furthermore, students’ mathematics performance is moderately correlated with their SWB. And for Grade 6, students’ SWB affects their mathematics performance, especially from academic self-concept, attentiveness in the classroom, and relationship with teachers.