Promoting adolescent subjective well-being: a classroom environment approach

Extensive studies have examined adolescent subjective well-being (SWB) and classroom environment separately. The recent decade has witnessed a new line of research on the relationship between SWB and classroom environment. However, researchers have yet to reach an agreement in terms of the definition and operationalization of the two constructs. As a result, there is a lack of empirical studies to test theoretical propositions underscoring the essential role of classroom environment in SWB, which could limit our approaches in the maintenance and improvement of adolescents' SWB in school settings. This article presents a brief review of the SWB and classroom environment constructs (i.e., psychosocial, pedagogical, and physical), illustrates the conceptual relationship between these two constructs based on three classic theories (i.e., person-environment fit theories, ecological system theory, and the classroom environment framework), discusses challenges arising when investigating adolescent SWB in the classroom environment, and proposes potential solutions to these challenges and direction for future research.