Students' perceived well-being at school (SWB), defined as the aggregated cognitive and emotional evaluation of all school-related experiences (Kullmann et al., 2023), has repeatedly been identified as an important quality indicator for inclusive education (Külker et al., 2023). With reference to its indicative function, the question concerning the characteristics of the SWB of students with special educational needs (SEN), who are exposed to potentially challenging learning and development conditions in inclusive schools (Lütje-Klose et al., 2018), appears to be of particular interest. The few empirical findings available, which are based on a comparison of students with and without SEN, do not provide clear evidence of any special educational labeling effects in relation to the manifestation of SWB (e.g. Kröske, 2020; Pozas et al., 2021; Venetz, Zurbriggen & Schwab, 2019; Weber, Bebermeier & Vereenooghe, 2023). However, international findings on the determinants of SWB imply that psychosocial problems in particular should be considered as significant predictors of SWB (e.g. Arslan & Coskun, 2020; Arslan & Renshaw, 2018; Kaplan, 2017; Kim & Choe, 2022; Tobia et al., 2018). The question concerning the SWB of students with psychosocial problems who do not meet the diagnostic criteria for special educational needs must be considered highly relevant both empirically and pedagogically, taking into account epidemiological findings on the persistently high prevalence of behavioral disorders and problems in childhood and adolescence (e.g. Klipker et al., 2018). To date, there are no empirical findings on the characteristics of the SWB of pupils with SEN in inclusive schools, with particular consideration of psychosocial problems. This presentation is therefore dedicated to

(1) the question of the relationships between internalizing, externalizing and comorbid problems and the manifestation of SWB in inclusive lower secondary schools and

(2) the predictive relationship between psychosocial problems and SEN in relation to the manifestation of SWB.

The presentation reports the first results of a research project on the relationship between SWB in inclusive schools and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. For this purpose, N=977 students in grades 8-10, including 97 students with special educational needs, were questioned at seven inclusive schools in Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia about their SWB and their self-perceived behavioral strengths and weaknesses. The questionnaire for assessing school well-being in inclusive classrooms (Kullmann, Geist & Lütje-Klose, 2015) was used to survey SWB. The questionnaire measures SWB using the six subscales Attitudes Towards School (ATS) (“I like going to school.”), Affinity to Class (AC) (“I like being with my classmates.”), Academic Self-Worth (ASW) (“I am satisfied with my academic successes.”), Concerns in School (CAS) (“In the last few weeks I have been worried about school.”), Social Problems in School (SPS) (“In the last few weeks I have had problems with individual classmates.”) and Physical Complaints (PC) (“In the last few weeks I have had stomach aches because of school.”). The format of the six-point scale includes response options from 0 = "does not apply at all" to 5 = "fully applies". The self-assessment version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Deu-S, Goodman, 2005) was used to record psychosocial problems. The questionnaire comprises 25 items relating to five scales. These include four problem scales, which can be subsumed into two superordinate broadband scales: internalizing problems (emotional problems, problems with peers) and externalizing problems (behavioural problems, hyperactivity problems). With reference to the German standardization by Lohbeck et al. (2015), risk groups for internalizing (problem score ≥ 9), externalizing (problem score ≥ 10) and comorbid (internalizing and externalizing) problems (problem score ≥ 16) were formed on the basis of threshold values. Pupils who did not reach the risk thresholds were categorized as “problem-free”. Taking into account the nested data structure, the analyses were conducted using cross-sectional multilevel regression models with random intercept (significance determination using the Kenward-Rogers Method). In order to investigate the (1) relationship between psychosocial problems and the SWB, the groups (problem-free, internalizing, externalizing and comorbid) were modelled as categorical predictors for the six components of the SWB. In order to (2) determine the predictive relationship of SEN and psychosocial problems with regard to SWB, SWB and psychosocial problems were tested for possible interaction effects.

With regard to the first research question, two contrasting extreme groups could be identified - while students without psychosocial problems had the highest values across all components, students with comorbid problems reported the lowest values. The more complex and severe the students' perceived psychosocial problem potential, the higher the probability of a low SWB. The disproportionately high percentage of female students (67%) highlights the importance of gender in this particularly vulnerable group. Although the proportion of students with SEN is highest in the extreme group with comorbid problems, the analyses conducted with regard to the second research question were unable to demonstrate an independent effect of SEN on SWB. Rather, it was shown that the occurrence of SEN can strengthen or mitigate the identified negative correlations between psychosocial problems and SWB. It was shown that SEN could represent a potential risk factor with regard to internalizing problems and a potential protective factor with regard to externalizing problems for the development of SWB. The findings are discussed with regard to labeling processes and inclusive prevention structures.

Arslan, G. & Coskun, M. (2020). Student subjective wellbeing, school functioning, and psychological adjustment in high school adolescents: A latent variable analysis. Journal of Positive School Psychology 4(2), 153-164. Arslan, G., & Renshaw, T. L. (2018). Student subjective wellbeing as a predictor of adolescent problem behaviors: a comparison of first-order and second-order factor effects. Child Indicators Research 11(2), 507–521. Goodman, R. (2005). Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Information for researchers and professionals about the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaires. Kaplan, Y. (2017). School–Specific Subjective Wellbeing and Emotional Problems among High School Adolescents. Journal of Positive Psychology and Wellbeing, 1(1), 1-9. Kim, E. K. & Choe, D. (2022). Universal Social, Emotional and Behavioral Strength and Risk Screening: Relative Predictive Validity for Students’ Subjective Well-Being in Schools. School Psychology Review 51(1) 40-54. Klipker, K., Baumgarten, F., Göbel, et al. (2018). Psychische Auffälligkeiten bei Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland – Querschnittergebnisse aus KiGGS Welle 2 und Trends. Journal of Health Monitoring 3 (3), 37-34. Kröske, B. (2020). Schulisches Wohlbefinden, Zugehörigkeit und Unterstützung bei Schülerinnen und Schülern im gemeinsamen Unterricht der Sekundarstufe I. Unterrichtswissenschaft 48, 243–272. Külker, A., Guth, T., Geist, S. et al. (2023). Wohlbefinden und Inklusion an der Laborschule Bielefeld (WILS): Ausgewählte Ergebnisse der Interviews mit Schüler*innen der Jahrgänge 8 bis 10. Schule – Forschen – Entwickeln, 2, (p. 58-76). Kullmann, H., Geist, S., & Lütje-Klose, B. (2015). Erfassung schulischen Wohlbefindens in inklusiven Schulen ‒ Befunde zur Erprobung eines mehrdimensionalen Konstrukts in fünf Jahrgängen der Sekundarstufe I an der Laborschule Bielefeld. Wiesbaden: Springer VS. Kullmann, H., Zentarra, D., Lütje-Klose, B. et al. (2023). Wohlbefinden und Inklusion an der Laborschule Bielefeld (WILS): Ausgewählte Ergebnisse der Fragebogenerhebungen 2013 – 2018 in den Jahrgangstufen 6 – 10. Schule – Forschen – Entwickeln, 2, (p. 77–110). Pozas, M., Letzel, V., Lindner, K.-T., & Schwab, S. (2021). DI (differentiated instruction) does matter! The effects of DI on secondary school students’ well-being, social inclusion and academic self-concept. Frontiers in Education 6. Tobia, V., Greco, A., Steca, P. et al. (2019). Children’s Wellbeing at School: A Multi-dimensional and Multi-informant Approach. Journal of Happiness Studies 20, 841–861. Venetz, M., Zurbriggen, C.L.A., & Schwab, S. (2019). What do teachers think about their students’ in- clusion? Consistency of students’ self-reports and teacher ratings. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1637. Weber, C., Bebermeier, S., & Vereenooghe, L. (2023). Relationships and psychosocial aspects in inclusive secondary schools in Germany. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 38(6), 894-908.