Imagine a classroom where learners not only excel academically but also radiate positivity and gratitude – qualities that research increasingly shows are as vital to success as traditional academic skills. With this study we aimed to determine the levels of gratitude, school subjective well-being, academic performance, and the relationship between these variables, among Grade 7 learners at a primary school in Windhoek, Namibia. The gratitude questionnaire (GQ-6) and the student subjective well-being questionnaire (SSWQ) were administered to 89 learners selected using voluntary response sampling. Descriptive statistics reveals high levels of gratitude and school subjective well-being, alongside average academic performance. Significant positive correlations were observed between academic performance and academic efficacy, academic performance and gratitude, and gratitude and school subjective well-being. One factor for the GQ-6 and 5 factors for the SSWQ were identified through exploratory factor analysis, while parallel analysis indicated 3 factors for the SSWQ. Academic efficacy significantly contributed to the variance in academic performance. No significant difference was found in the gratitude levels and school subjective well-being levels between boys and girls. Recommendations include providing learners with training in academic efficiency as well as learning and applying the art of gratefulness. Furthermore, the development of child-specific gratitude measurement instruments is suggested, given that gratitude may differ between adults and children. We also highlight the need for more research focused on understanding gratitude in children.

https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v45ns2a2490

ORCiD iDs of authors:
Carmen Janik – https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4984-0433
Armas EE Shikongo – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1489-2332
Manfred Janik - https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2632-4102