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Based on the premise that classroom interactions unfold through a complex series of circular influences between teacher and students, the aim of this longitudinal study was to test a reciprocal effects model connecting students’ perceptions of interpersonal justice, on the one hand, and student engagement, agency and anger, on the other. Self-report measures of interpersonal justice, student engagement, agency and anger were collected from 454 Year Nine students from Northern Italy in a 3-wave longitudinal research design. Structural equation modelling with latent variables indicated that interpersonal justice in wave 1 had a negative effect on both student agency and anger in wave 2, while interpersonal justice in wave 2 only negatively predicted student anger in wave 3. With respect to the reciprocal effects, student engagement in wave 2 was found to positively predict interpersonal justice in wave 3, while a negative effect close to statistical significance was observed from student agency in wave 2 to interpersonal justice in wave 3. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for teacher practice, as they emphasize that (a) the two main facets of student participation, namely engagement and agency, are differently interconnected with the learning environment, and (b) the perception of being treated fairly is important to the point that its deficiency triggers a persistent feeling of anger in students.

The aim of the present work was to identify latent profiles of adolescents characterized by unique patterns of student agency, enjoyment and anger, and to investigate whether students belonging to different profiles differ in respect to academic achievement and intention to dropout. Data were collected on a sample of 542 9th grade students at the middle (T1) and at the end (T2) of a school year with a self-report questionnaire measuring student agency, enjoyment and anger at T1, academic achievement and intention to dropout at T2. Five students' profiles emerged, which we labelled Lukewarm, Annoyed, Lethargic, Restive and Enthusiastic. The groups differed in their academic achievement and intention to dropout, with Enthusiastic students scoring significantly higher in academic achievement and lower in intention to dropout as compared with all the other profiles. The study results are discussed in terms of their implications for teacher practice.

In this study, we adopted a person-oriented approach to (a) identify latent profiles of adolescents characterized by unique patterns of perceived teacher autonomy support and student agency, (b) investigate whether perceived interpersonal justice can predict profile membership and (c) compare different profiles in relation to personal responsibility. Participants were 545 Italian secondary school students (55% boys, 94% born in Italy, Mage = 14.24, SDage = .53). Five adolescents’ profiles emerged: disengaged (24%), average students (34%) and committed (28%), with low, mean and high scores, respectively, in both teacher autonomy support and agency; resistant (5%), with low scores in teacher autonomy support and high scores in agency; compliant (9%), with high scores in teacher autonomy support and low scores in agency. Perceptions of interpersonal justice significantly predicted profile membership in the comparison of almost all profiles. Several significant differences in responsibility among profiles also emerged. Implications of the findings for practices and policies are discussed.

This chapter provides some findings from the Blurred Lives Project, funded under the Erasmus+ scheme within the EU. This project aimed to investigate cyberbullying in schools among young people (age range 14–16 years old) in Northern Ireland, England, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The young people came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. In the first phase a survey was given to a minimum of 400 participants from schools in each country. The second phase aimed to provide accessible, up-to-date resources for teachers, pupils, and parent/carers, and make important recommendations to social networking providers. In each country, two classes were selected out of the schools that participated in the survey. Two procedures were then used to enable pupil voice: sequential focus groups (SFGs) and quality circles (QCs). The SFG sessions were carried out at three separate points; (1) before QCs, reflecting on the survey findings, and (2) and (3) after the QCs, reflecting on what the latter had produced. The QC sessions involved two classes from each country meeting for at least seven sessions. The task for the QCs was to design resources for pupils, what would be helpful for parents to know, how teachers could better equip pupils for using the internet, and recommendations for social network providers. In this chapter we will discuss the experience of carrying out SFGs and QCs with pupils from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, the challenges and difficulties faced, and recommendations for similar work in the future. We will also discuss the feedback from the young people themselves about the process of being involved in this way. The resources produced will be going on the Project website. We will evaluate the extent to which giving pupils power to design the resources themselves was appreciated by them, and the extent to which this led to new ideas and insights. The strengths and limitations to this kind of approach will be discussed.

Background: Bullying is a serious public issue, which mainly occurs in school with negative consequences for the students involved as victims. Very few teacher-delivered interventions have shown positive changes in the victims. The present study aimed at implementing the P.E.A.C.E. (Preparation, Education. Action, Coping, Evaluation) pack program, developed in Australia, in Italian high schools. Method: The effectiveness of the program was analyzed through an observational study (pre/post-intervention), involving 551 Italian high school students who completed a questionnaire on bullying victimization, self-efficacy, and bystander behavior. The students were divided into three groups (not involved students, occasional and severe victims) according to their self-reported victimization in the pre-intervention. Results: After the intervention, severe victims (victimized once/week or more often) showed a significant decrease in victimization and higher scores in self-efficacy, while an increase in victimization was observed in the not involved students. As reported by all the groups after the intervention, classmates were perceived more likely to intervene when a bullying episode occurred. By contrast, occasional and severe victims perceived their teachers as less likely to intervene. Conclusions: The P.E.A.C.E. pack is a promising program confirming in Italian schools the effectiveness already shown in other countries. This program is very useful for severe victims, supporting their self-confidence with a decrease in the frequency of aggressive episodes.

The aim of this study was to compare students’ and teachers’ perceptions of two differently organized learning environments, i.e. teacher- versus student-centred activities. Specifically, we considered their views on the dimensions of student agency, responsibility and context equity. The study was held on a sample of 26 teachers and 397 middle school students. The results showed that student-centred activities—organised ad hoc after a teacher training—were only partially perceived as differently promoting the three dimensions. Moreover, our study confirmed that teachers tended to emphasize their capacity to foster agency, responsibility and equity both in teacher and student-centred activities. In contrast with the core recommendations contained in European and local documents, the results of this this study suggest that there is still a resistance in school that limits the possibility for students to be positioned as active authors of their teaching and learning environment.

Notwithstanding the large consensus on the idea that justice should be favoured in school contexts to promote student well-being, there is still a lack of research that has investigated how the experience of justice at school spreads impact on global adolescent psychological health. The aim of this study is to investigate the degree to which the experience of teacher (in)justice is possibly related to some of the indicators of adolescent global psychological health, namely individual and social functioning, psychological problems, and somatic symptoms. We also test the role of two components of school-specific well-being, i.e., emotional engagement and classroom connectedness, here considered as potential mediators between teacher justice and psychological health. Structural equation modelling indicated that teacher justice is positively associated with emotional engagement, classroom connectedness and individual functioning, and negatively related to psychological problems. The relation from teacher justice to individual functioning was partially mediated by emotional engagement and classroom connectedness. The relation from teacher justice to social functioning and somatic symptoms was fully mediated by classroom connectedness, while a partial mediation was found between teacher justice and psychological problems via classroom connectedness. These results are commented at the light of their implications for teacher practices.

The emotion of boredom is commonly experienced by students. Nevertheless, hardly any research has focused on the evolution of this emotion over time by also considering individual differences. The aim of this study was to identify groups of students with different trajectories of boredom over a school year, and compare these profiles on academic achievement, motivation and intention to drop out. Participants were 546 students (55% male, 94% born in Italy, Mage = 14.24, SDage = 0.53). We found four trajectories of boredom: starting not bored and (a) increasing, or (b) rearing up; starting bored and (c) decreasing, or (d) maintaining. Trajectories of boredom were related to academic outcomes both at the beginning and at the end of the school year, with students showing a steep increase reporting the most detrimental outcomes. The results are discussed in terms of their educational and practical implications, as they emphasize the need to pay attention to an emotion that is often overlooked in the school context.

Background. Recent studies have consistently identified the negative consequences of cyberbullying on adolescent mental health. Nevertheless, not all cybervictims are alike, and in the last few years some evidence has appeared indicating that faced with cyberbullying, victims may manifest different emotional outcomes. In this study, we explored whether cybervictim resilience fully or partially mediates the effects of cybervictimization and whether a confrontational coping strategy impacts emotional symptoms. Methods. The study was carried out with a sample of 474 high school students equally distributed between males and females. Data were collected using a questionnaire comprising four measures assessing cybervictimization, direct confrontation coping strategy, resilience and emotional symptoms. Results. Structural equation modelling indicated that the effects of cybervictimization and confrontational coping strategy on emotional symptoms were mediated by resilience, with cybervictimization showing a positive effect while direct confrontation a negative effect. Cybervictimization also showed a positive direct effect on emotional symptoms. Conclusions. These results are presented in light of their implications for designing effective interventions able to protect and promote adolescents&rsquo, psychological wellbeing.