School well-being and self-concept or self-esteem in secondary education students: a systematic review

Abstract

Despite longstanding interest in adolescent self-concept/self-esteem and growing research on school well-being in Secondary Education, evidence regarding the relationship between them remains fragmented and inconclusive. This systematic review aims to provide a narrative synthesis of the relationships between school well-being and self-concept/self-esteem among Secondary Education students. Using PRISMA guidelines, 2,800 records were identified in WoS and ERIC databases (last search: March 30, 2026). Inclusion and exclusion criteria included type of study, age range/educational stage, language, publication year, components and relationships examined. Bias risk was analyzed within each study using JBI's critical appraisal tool. The final sample identified 10 quantitative records. Findings were extracted to examine correlations, predictions, and mediations between school well-being, self-concept/self-esteem, and their components. Results showed that, despite heterogeneity across studies, school well-being components were correlated with self-concept/self-esteem, identifying predictive relationships especially for self-esteem. No studies examined school well-being and self-concept holistically or addressed psychological well-being. Most research focused on subjective and social school well-being, self-esteem, and academic self-concept. It highlights the relevance of addressing students' needs beyond academic outcomes while incorporating students' perspectives. Gaps in the literature, future research directions, and implications including interprofessional collaboration and training for educational stakeholders, are discussed. https://osf.io/hm394/overview .