The impact of the socio-economic crisis on student well-being and happiness in Greece and Cyprus

Descrizione del progetto

Analizzare il benessere degli studenti nel corso della pandemia di COVID-19

Il progetto SHINE, finanziato dall’UE, si è avvalso di un approccio comparativo per esplorare l’impatto esercitato dalla pandemia di COVID-19 sul benessere e la felicità degli studenti a Cipro e in Grecia. In particolare, ha offerto a studenti e studentesse della scuola secondaria l’occasione di riferire le proprie esperienze e di condividere informazioni sulle ripercussioni della pandemia sulla società, sulla loro esperienza didattica e sulla loro vita quotidiana, nonché di esprimere il proprio punto di vista sul ruolo che l’istruzione può svolgere nell’affrontare tale effetto. SHINE ha sollevato importanti interrogativi sul ruolo che l’istruzione riveste nella promozione del benessere degli studenti in situazioni di emergenza e ha approfondito le pratiche e i discorsi attraverso cui felicità e benessere si sviluppano.

Obiettivo

The multiple and plural crisis that began in 2008 has had a profound impact on people's well-being and happiness, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens' satisfaction with their lives. Countries worst hit by the global financial crisis, such as Greece and Cyprus, saw their happiness levels, as well as their average life satisfaction levels, fall sharply. They also saw a rise in suicides and depression rates. Despite the vast number of studies that focus on the current social and economic situation in Cyprus and Greece, little is known about the impact of the crisis on students’ well-being, happiness and life satisfaction levels, and about how students themselves experience this impact. This proposed research project, which will be carried out (if funded by the EU) at the European University of Cyprus under the supervision of Prof Marios Vryonides, will use a comparative and an intersectional approach to explore the impact of the crisis on students’ well-being in Cyprus and Greece, in order to understand patterns of inequality that affect happiness attainment in children. Moreover, it will raise important questions about the possible role of education in the promotion of students’ well-being in said contexts. Through an in-depth look at students’ lives in Cyprus and Greece, this project will provide new ways for exploring the practices and discourses through which well-being and happiness are constituted. It will give secondary school students the opportunity to discuss their experiences and share insights into the impact of the crisis on their society, on education and especially on their own everyday lives, and to share their thoughts and views on the role which education could play in tackling this impact. It will also seize the opportunity to explore policy developments in this field, situate them within the European context, and strengthen the body of relevant literature.