The Importance of Social Support: Facilitating Positive Well‐Being Experiences of Elementary School Students

ABSTRACT The present nonexperimental study explores the role of the school social context in shaping students’ schooling experiences and personal well‐being. A dynamic school system provides a rich environment that encompasses various processes, factors, and outcomes, one of the most significant being the provision of quality social support. In particular, perceived social support is hypothesized to act as an antecedent of both learning and non‐learning experiences, such as personal well‐being. The focus of this study was to investigate the impact of different types of social support—specifically from parents, teachers, and peers—on the multifaceted nature of personal well‐being. We hypothesized that social support from key figures, like parents, would positively influence a child's overall well‐being. We employed a comparative methodological design, analyzing two distinct convenient cohorts of elementary school students from Australia ( N = 198) and Malaysia ( N = 162). Statistical analyses were conducted using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test our hypothesized relationships. The results supported our original proposition that different types of social support, including peer support, serve as positive antecedents for personal well‐being. Notably, we found that peer support positively influenced proactive engagement among students. An innovative aspect of our findings was the identification of a “higher‐order” latent factor of personal well‐being, which was positively associated with a state of “flourishing.” In conclusion, our study offers important insights into the practical implications of social support within the educational and social contexts. These findings are particularly valuable for the design of both educational and noneducational programs that capitalize on the social context to enhance personal well‐being.