While the idea that schools play a significant part in sustaining and promoting student wellbeing has a long history, the formulation of wellbeing as a specific and explicit goal of schooling is a relatively recent phenomenon (Carlsson, 2022; McLellan et al., 2022; Weare & Gray, 2003). A recent systematic review focusing on bibliometric and network analysis of the literature on wellbeing in school contexts during the period 1978–2018 points to a typical pattern of an emerging discipline, with an initial 15-year inception period followed by a 10-year consolidation period and then a decade of rapid exponential growth in the quantity of research (Hernández-Torrano, 2020).

The notion of school-based wellbeing is typically construed as ‘being well’, or as having an optimal psychological experience and functioning, positively associated with students’ motivation, learning and academic achievement (Adler 2017; Bücker et al. 2018; Suldo et al. 2011). A decade ago, Huebner and colleagues (2014) synthesised the evidence of the key school factors connected with students’ wellbeing and concluded that interpersonal interactions, students’ sense of security, opportunities for participation, and various organizational practices all contribute to wellbeing. Typically, the emphasis of research has been on examining the effects of wellbeing programmes on students’ academic outcomes or mental health (e.g. Barry et al. 2017; Daniele et al. 2022).

In contrast, in this systematic narrative literature review, we aimed to portray the broader spectrum of theoretical and empirical perspectives and ongoing debates related to wellbeing in primary and lower secondary schools (students aged 6-16 years). The review focused on the following questions: How is wellbeing in primary and lower secondary schools framed (conceptually) and addressed (methodologically) in the literature? What factors and dynamics within the school environment affect students’ school wellbeing? What characterises interventions /programmes/initiatives aimed at promoting students’ wellbeing at school? What are the perspectives on wellbeing of teachers and students?

We conducted systematic search in international and Scandinavian research databases. The international databases included ERIC, PsychInfo and Scopus. The Nordic databases included Bibliotek.dk, Libris and Bibsys (Oria).The search terms were as follows (in English and translated/adapted into Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Wellbeing* OR well-being* OR "quality of life*" OR thrive* OR "mental health*") AND lv("secondary education" OR "elementary education" OR "grade 2" OR "primary education" OR "grade 3" OR "grade 4" OR "grade 5" OR "grade 1" OR "grade 10" OR "intermediate grades" OR "grade 6" OR "grade 7" OR "middle schools" OR "grade 8" OR "junior high schools" OR "grade 9") AND PEER. The inclusion criteria were as follows: Publication year 2012-2022; Language: English, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian; Peer-reviewed; 'Grey literature' (Danish); Book chapters (available online); Wellbeing interventions targeted at students aged 5-16 years; Analyses of the concept of wellbeing in a school context; Methods for promoting wellbeing in school; The importance of the school environment for student wellbeing; Teacher perspectives on wellbeing; Student perspectives on wellbeing. We excluded the studies that did not fulfil the inclusion criteria. Furthermore, we excluded the studies where the school simply functions as a location for the research; Studies that aim to validate wellbeing scales and other measurement instruments; Studies that focus exclusively on particular groups or themes (e.g. ADHD diagnoses, migrants or refugees, minorities, LGBTEQ+, trauma, sport and physical activity, school gardens, COVID, special needs); Studies that primarily deal with the well-being of teachers or other professionals; External stakeholders' perspectives on school wellbeing; Clinical studies of mental health. The initial search resulted in 14836 papers, 11914 were screened after removing duplicates, 1966 were selected based on reading titles and abstracts, 319 were selected for full text reading, and finally, 159 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the narrative analysis and synthesis. Two researchers (the authors of this paper) validated the selection process, extraction and condensation of the data and the analysis. In addition, a practice advisory board provided feedback on the analysis.

Based on the review we identified three central understandings of wellbeing at school: a) Wellbeing as skill and competence Wellbeing-promoting efforts in school that are based on this understanding can be social-emotional approaches (SEL), resilience-based approaches and approaches based on the regulation of emotions. The common element is that wellbeing is seen as a skill or competence that students can acquire or learn, and which can thus be made the subject of teaching and learning in school. b) Wellbeing as positive feelings and relationships Wellbeing initiatives based on this understanding emphasize wellbeing as joy of life, satisfaction, self-expression and mutual, strong relationships with others and the environment, including nature. Thus, wellbeing is understood as the ability to face and read difficult life situations, rather than as a competence or skill, and wellbeing can be cultivated as part of individual formation and development. c) Wellbeing as a socio-ecological concept Interventions based on this understanding operate from the premise that wellbeing arises from a complex interplay between the individual's sense of agency and purpose in life on the one hand and broader social, material, community-oriented, environmental or societal dynamics on the other. These can, for example, be interventions that work with holistic and whole-schools approaches. In addition the review indicates that the teachers view wellbeing as an important part of their professional practice, rather than as a politically imposed strategy aimed at preventing poor wellbeing and promoting mental health. The students place emphasis on the importance of the school's physical and psychosocial environment, where both physical and mental safety are emphasized together with aesthetic surroundings, good school facilities, and mutual respect among the students and between students and the school's professionals.

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