Comparative Analysis of Parents’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Schoolchildren’s Psychological Well-being and Resilience-building

Abstract

The objective of this research was to investigate parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of schoolchildren’s psychological well-being and resilience-building as influenced by virtual violence (from cartoons, animated movies and video games), bullying, and socioeconomic status. Building resilience is crucial for schoolchildren to improve and sustain psychological well-being, enabling them to perform at their best in daily life. For this qualitative study, conducted in rural areas of six districts (Southern Punjab, Pakistan), a multistage sampling procedure was used to recruit 96 stakeholders (48 teachers and 48 parents) for semi-structured interviews. The results reveal that parents’ approach to psychological challenges is largely reactive whereas teachers adopt a broader, more holistic perspective to foster resilience-building in schoolchildren. Considering the poverty level in rural South Punjab and its connection with students' significant psychological challenges, this research recommends that the provincial government train school management and teachers to engage parents effectively and incentivise parents' participation in parental guidance programmes.