What does PISA Tell Us about the Paradoxes of Students’ Well-Being and their Academic Competencies in Mainland China?

Recent research has shown a growing interest in understanding the relationship between students’ well-being and their academic achievement. However, many studies have narrowly focused on the linear relationship and hedonic well-being, such as life satisfaction and positive affect, leading to ambiguous results regarding the association between well-being and academic performance. Concerns persist about potential trade-offs between well-being and academic success, particularly with Chinese students often perceived as sacrificing well-being for academic excellence. This study adopts a broader perspective, considering both hedonic (measured by life satisfaction and positive affect) and eudemonic well-being (measured by meaning in life) to investigate the well-being of students from mainland China. Additionally, it examines the linear and curvilinear relationship between these well-being indicators and two academic competencies: reading performance and reading self-concept. Utilizing data from 12,058 mainland Chinese students (47.9% girls) who participated in PISA 2018, the findings reveal that mainland Chinese students exhibit lower levels of life satisfaction but higher levels of positive affect and meaning in life compared to the OECD countries’ average. Results from multi-level modelling and the Johnson-Neyman technique suggest no simple and convincing trade-offs between students’ well-being and academic competencies. While the relationships between two hedonic well-being indicators and reading performance are inverted U-shaped, the relationship between eudemonic well-being and reading performance is U-shaped. Additionally, all three well-being indicators show predominantly positive associations with reading self-concept. These results underscore the importance of considering the multi-faceted nature of student well-being and challenge assumptions regarding trade-offs between well-being and academic competencies.