Funded by: Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale, de l’Enfance et de la Jeunesse (MEN-JE) Luxembourg

Duration: 2023-2027

Project description:
This qualitative study examines children’s perspectives on subjective well-being in settings of non-formal education for school-aged children in Luxembourg. The starting point is the National Report on the Situation of Children in Luxembourg, which highlights the significance of non-formal education for the well-being of school-age children (MENJE 2022). The study broadens the focus on children’s educational success or the quality of care services for working parents to include a more child-centered perspective. 
Against this background, the study aims to identify context-specific conditions that, from the position of children, facilitate positive experiences and subjective well-being. The focus is on three analytical dimensions: spatial and material conditions, relational experiences, and social participation.
Methodologically, the study is based on group discussions with children aged eight to twelve, conducted in various settings of non-formal education in Luxembourg. This approach enables the reconstruction of collective patterns of interpretation of well-being while it focuses on children’s situated everyday experiences along the central dimensions of space, relationships, and participation. The sample takes into account both the size of the institutions and their regional location to ensure a comparative analysis. To establish field contacts and present the findings to children, the research team works together with the Competence Lab for children’s participation at the Plomm Children’s Museum in Wiltz.
The findings of the study will inform the evidence-based development of quality standards for quality monitoring in the field of non-formal education in Luxembourg. In doing so, they help to systematically integrate children’s needs and their subjective well-being into quality monitoring processes and also provide a basis for defining quality standards in settings of non-formal education.

Literature:
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enfance et de la Jeunesse (MENJE) (Ed.) (2022). Rapport national 2022 sur la situation des enfants au Luxembourg. Le bien-être des enfants au Luxembourg. Luxembourg: MENJE.