Psychology, Education, and Human Development in Schools

Explaining the Relationship Between Perceived Educational Justice and Students’ Mental Health with the Mediating Role of Sense of Worth at School

Amir Ali Sadeghi Nia , Neda Sadat Mousavi Tabar ^*

This study aimed to explain students’ lived experiences of the relationship between perceived educational justice and mental health, with emphasis on the mediating role of sense of worth at school. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The participants were 22 upper-secondary school students in Tehran, Iran, selected through purposive sampling with attention to variation in gender, grade level, school type, and academic status. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Inclusion criteria included enrollment in grades 10 to 12, willingness to participate, ability to articulate school-related experiences, and provision of informed consent. Data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding using NVivo software. Credibility and trustworthiness were enhanced through member checking, peer review, an audit trail, and constant comparison of codes and categories. Data analysis led to the identification of five main categories: “fairness in learning opportunities and access to resources,” “justice in teacher–student interactions,” “fair assessment and respectful feedback,” “being seen, belonging, and feeling valued at school,” and “psychological consequences of perceived justice or injustice.” The findings indicated that perceived educational justice contributes to students’ mental health when students feel heard, are not judged merely by grades, have equal opportunities for development, and experience recognition of their human worth in school relationships. Sense of worth at school emerged as a mediating mechanism explaining how educational justice may influence psychological calmness, reduced anxiety, academic hope, and self-acceptance. The results suggest that educational justice is not merely an administrative or instructional principle; rather, it is a psychological and relational experience that can promote students’ mental health by strengthening their sense of worth at school. Accordingly, school policies should focus not only on equal distribution of educational resources but also on interactional quality, assessment practices, student voice, and a culture of respect.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Self-Compassion Training in Reducing Academic Anxiety and Enhancing Self-Acceptance among Adolescent Students

Hossein Radmanesh ^* , Shiva Masoumi Far , Ali Akbar Sajadi Nejad

This study aimed to explore adolescent students’ lived experiences of self-compassion training and its perceived role in reducing academic anxiety and enhancing self-acceptance. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The research population consisted of adolescent students in Tehran who had participated in a self-compassion training program. Participants were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation, and sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. A total of 21 adolescent students aged 14 to 17 years from secondary schools in Tehran participated in the study. Data were collected exclusively through semi-structured interviews. Each interview lasted approximately 40 to 60 minutes and was audio-recorded after obtaining informed consent. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using NVivo software. Data analysis involved open coding, categorization of codes, development of subthemes, and extraction of main categories. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer review, analytic memo writing, and an audit trail were employed. The analysis resulted in five main categories: reduction of self-criticism and evaluative academic anxiety, improvement of emotional regulation in academic situations, enhancement of self-acceptance and reduction of social comparison, reconstruction of students’ relationship with academic failure and mistakes, and strengthening of psychological safety and help-seeking in school. Participants reported that self-compassion training helped them respond to exams, low grades, parental criticism, and peer comparison with less self-blame and greater calmness, realism, and kindness toward themselves. The findings indicated that self-compassion training can be considered a school-based psychological and educational intervention for reducing academic anxiety and promoting self-acceptance among adolescents. By reducing self-judgment, normalizing academic mistakes, strengthening mindfulness, and fostering supportive inner dialogue, self-compassion training may contribute to students’ academic adjustment and psychological well-being.

Designing a Psychological Model for Dropout Prevention Based on School Belonging, Future Hope, and Teachers’ Emotional Support

Mohammad Mehdi Ebrahimi Nasab ^*

This study aimed to design a psychological model for preventing student dropout based on school belonging, future hope, and teachers’ emotional support. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The participants consisted of 24 individuals, including at-risk secondary school students, teachers, and school counselors in Tehran, Iran. They were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Inclusion criteria included direct experience with dropout risk or students at risk of dropout, willingness to participate, and the ability to describe lived experiences in detail. All interviews were audio-recorded with participants’ consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. The analysis process included initial coding, categorization of codes, development of subthemes, and extraction of main themes. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer debriefing, analytic memo writing, and an audit trail were employed. The analysis resulted in four main categories: “reconstructing school belonging,” “strengthening future hope and imaginable pathways to success,” “teachers’ emotional support as a relational protective factor,” and “school-based intervention for early identification and re-engagement of at-risk students.” The findings indicated that dropout, from participants’ perspectives, was not merely the consequence of poor academic performance but rather the outcome of a gradual erosion of emotional connection to school, diminished future orientation, perceived rejection or indifference, and the lack of stable emotional support from teachers. The proposed model highlights the interaction between belonging, hope, and teacher support as central mechanisms of dropout prevention. Dropout prevention requires a psychological, relational, and school-based intervention model in which school becomes a belonging-oriented environment, teachers function as emotional support figures, and future hope serves as a motivational force for educational persistence. The proposed model may provide a practical basis for counseling, educational planning, and school policy interventions aimed at reducing dropout risk among secondary school students.

Analyzing the Role of Learning Styles, Cognitive Flexibility, and Intrinsic Motivation in Predicting Sustainable Academic Success

Sana Karami Pour ^* , Amir Mohammad Lotfi Tabar

This study aimed to explain Tehran high school students’ lived experiences of how learning preferences and strategies, cognitive flexibility, and intrinsic motivation contribute to sustainable academic success. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. Participants included 22 upper-secondary school students from Tehran, selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation in gender, grade level, school type, and academic performance status. Data were collected only through semi-structured interviews. Inclusion criteria were at least two continuous years of secondary school attendance, experience of sustained academic effort or achievement, and willingness to participate voluntarily. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached; saturation occurred at the twentieth interview, and two additional interviews were conducted to confirm the stability of the emerging categories. Data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding using NVivo software. Credibility was enhanced through member checking, peer review, researcher reflexivity, and preservation of an audit trail. Thematic analysis led to the identification of five main categories: strategic and multimodal learning, cognitive flexibility in response to academic difficulties, intrinsic motivation and ownership of learning, sustained feedback-oriented self-regulation, and contextual support from school and family. The findings indicated that sustainable academic success is not primarily the product of a fixed learning style. Rather, it emerges from students’ ability to shift flexibly among learning strategies, reinterpret academic failure, maintain internal interest in learning, manage time and effort, and use feedback constructively. The results suggest that sustainable academic success is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by the interaction of learning preferences, cognitive flexibility, intrinsic motivation, and supportive educational contexts. Educational interventions should therefore move beyond rigid learning-style labeling and instead promote strategic flexibility, self-regulated learning, intrinsic interest, and supportive classroom climates.

The Effect of School Culture on Students’ Social Skills Development with Emphasis on Participation, Respect, and Collective Responsibility

Ali Reza Moradi Nia ^*

This study aimed to explain how school culture contributes to the development of students’ social skills, with a particular focus on participation, mutual respect, and collective responsibility. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The research population included students, teachers, and school counselors from secondary schools in Tehran, Iran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were collected exclusively through semi-structured interviews, and sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. A total of 24 participants, including 18 students, 4 teachers, and 2 school counselors, participated in the study. After obtaining informed consent, interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. Data analysis involved open coding, categorization of initial codes, development of subthemes, and extraction of main categories. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer debriefing, audit trail documentation, and constant comparison were applied. The analysis revealed five main categories through which school culture influenced students’ social skills development: “active participation and student voice,” “mutual respect and preservation of personal dignity,” “collective responsibility and school belonging,” “teacher modeling and fairness in school rules,” and “peer relationships and everyday social learning.” Participants reported that schools providing opportunities for dialogue, shared decision-making, cooperation, acceptance of differences, and group responsibility created richer conditions for practicing communication, empathy, self-control, conflict resolution, and prosocial behavior. The findings suggest that school culture is not merely a hidden organizational characteristic but an active educational context that shapes students’ social skills through daily interactions. Strengthening student participation, institutionalizing respect, fostering collective responsibility, and supporting positive teacher–student and peer relationships can contribute to sustainable social development in schools.

Explaining the Psychological Mechanisms Underlying the Formation of Academic Amotivation among Students: A Grounded Theory Study

Seyed Mohammad Javad Hashemi Rad ^* , Fatemeh Sadat Ahmadi Nasab

This study aimed to explain the psychological mechanisms underlying the formation of academic amotivation among students in Tehran using a grounded theory approach. This qualitative study was conducted using a grounded theory design. The participants were 24 lower- and upper-secondary school students from Tehran, Iran, selected through purposive and then theoretical sampling. Data were collected exclusively through semi-structured interviews. Sampling continued until theoretical saturation was achieved; saturation emerged at the twenty-first interview, and three additional interviews were conducted to confirm and refine the categories. All interviews were conducted after obtaining informed consent, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. Data analysis followed the procedures of open, axial, and selective coding. Credibility was enhanced through member checking, peer review, prolonged engagement with the data, and the use of maximum variation in participant selection. The analysis led to the identification of five major categories: erosion of perceived academic competence, meaninglessness of learning and reduced task value, experience of control and weakened agency, negative emotions and protective avoidance, and weak school belonging and social support. The core category was “gradual extinction of the intention to learn,” indicating that academic amotivation is not a sudden or isolated condition, but rather a process shaped by the continuous interaction of repeated academic failure, external pressure, perceived incompetence, lack of relevance between school content and real life, and insufficient emotional support from teachers, parents, and peers. The findings suggest that academic amotivation should be understood as a multidimensional, process-oriented, and context-dependent phenomenon. Effective interventions should simultaneously address students’ perceived competence, the perceived meaning and value of learning, autonomy-supportive educational practices, negative achievement emotions, and the quality of relational support within school and family contexts.

Explaining the Role of School Counselors in Promoting Students’ Mental Health with an Emphasis on Preventive Interventions and Continuous Psychological Support

Samira Ahmadi Nia ^*

This study aimed to explain the role of school counselors in promoting students’ mental health by focusing on preventive interventions, early identification of psychological concerns, and continuous psychological support within the school context. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The participants included 24 school counselors, teachers, and school principals from secondary schools in Tehran, Iran, selected through purposive sampling with attention to variation in gender, work experience, school type, and educational district. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. All interviews were audio-recorded with informed consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer debriefing, analytic memo writing, and constant comparison were used throughout the analytic process. Data analysis led to the extraction of five main categories: “early identification and informal screening of psychological problems,” “preventive interventions based on psychosocial skills training,” “continuous psychological support and a safe counseling relationship,” “multilevel collaboration with families, teachers, and referral systems,” and “structural and professional challenges in performing the counselor role.” The findings indicated that school counselors can play a central role in preventing the escalation of psychological problems and improving students’ well-being when they have adequate time, professional autonomy, student trust, and effective cooperation from families and school staff. The role of school counselors is not limited to post-crisis intervention; rather, it includes prevention, psychoeducation, continuous monitoring, emotional support, school-family communication, and timely referral to specialized services. Strengthening the professional status of counselors, reducing non-specialized duties, and designing comprehensive school-based mental health systems may contribute to the improvement of students’ mental health.

Modeling the Effect of Family Emotional Climate on School Adjustment Through the Mediating Roles of Attachment Security and Academic Self-Concept

Mohammad Reza Qasemi Taheri ^* , Leila Sadat Moradi

This study aimed to develop a qualitative conceptual model explaining how family emotional climate influences students’ school adjustment through attachment security and academic self-concept. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The research field included lower- and upper-secondary school students in Tehran, Iran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation in gender, grade level, and school type. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached; saturation occurred at the twenty-first interview, and three additional interviews were conducted to confirm the stability of the emerging categories. Thus, the final sample consisted of 24 students. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using NVivo software. The analytic process involved open, axial, and selective coding. To enhance trustworthiness, member checking, peer debriefing, prolonged engagement with the data, and an audit trail were used. Data analysis led to the identification of five main categories: “family warmth and emotional security,” “parental availability and attachment security,” “academic representation of the self,” “behavioral, emotional, and social school adjustment,” and “the emotional transfer cycle from home to school.” The findings indicated that a supportive family emotional climate reduces school-related anxiety by strengthening attachment security and enables students to develop a more positive academic self-concept. Conversely, family conflict, emotional instability, excessive criticism, and comparison were associated with academic self-doubt, avoidance of school participation, and weaker adjustment to school routines and relationships. The findings suggest that school adjustment is not merely a function of individual student characteristics or school conditions; rather, it emerges from the dynamic interaction between family emotional climate, attachment security, and students’ academic self-concept. Therefore, school-based interventions should consider the family as an essential component of students’ psychological and academic support systems.

Psychology, Education, and Human Development in Schools

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Explaining the Relationship Between Perceived Educational Justice and Students’ Mental Health with the Mediating Role of Sense of Worth at School

Investigating the Effectiveness of Self-Compassion Training in Reducing Academic Anxiety and Enhancing Self-Acceptance among Adolescent Students

Designing a Psychological Model for Dropout Prevention Based on School Belonging, Future Hope, and Teachers’ Emotional Support

Analyzing the Role of Learning Styles, Cognitive Flexibility, and Intrinsic Motivation in Predicting Sustainable Academic Success

The Effect of School Culture on Students’ Social Skills Development with Emphasis on Participation, Respect, and Collective Responsibility

Explaining the Psychological Mechanisms Underlying the Formation of Academic Amotivation among Students: A Grounded Theory Study

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Explaining the Relationship Between Perceived Educational Justice and Students’ Mental Health with the Mediating Role of Sense of Worth at School

Investigating the Effectiveness of Self-Compassion Training in Reducing Academic Anxiety and Enhancing Self-Acceptance among Adolescent Students

Designing a Psychological Model for Dropout Prevention Based on School Belonging, Future Hope, and Teachers’ Emotional Support

Analyzing the Role of Learning Styles, Cognitive Flexibility, and Intrinsic Motivation in Predicting Sustainable Academic Success

The Effect of School Culture on Students’ Social Skills Development with Emphasis on Participation, Respect, and Collective Responsibility

Explaining the Psychological Mechanisms Underlying the Formation of Academic Amotivation among Students: A Grounded Theory Study

Explaining the Role of School Counselors in Promoting Students’ Mental Health with an Emphasis on Preventive Interventions and Continuous Psychological Support

Modeling the Effect of Family Emotional Climate on School Adjustment Through the Mediating Roles of Attachment Security and Academic Self-Concept