Child Vulnerability in the School Environment

Today, education has become a crucial indicator of development and the success of society, focusing on the knowledge and skills that children, as future workers, need to acquire. National and international education development plans and vision documents emphasise that besides achieving academic success, it is important to contribute to children’s well-being and agency at school. In practice, however, children’s experiences may not be in line with the goals set by adults, and instead of enjoying school, they can experience reluctance and stress. This chapter explores the sources of vulnerability in the school environment by observing the experiences of children in Estonia who are high scorers in the PISA test (an international comparison) but enjoy rather modest school satisfaction. The chapter seeks to answer the question of how well-being or vulnerability is created through relationships and how this is associated with the perception of stress, motivation to learn and liking school.