Well-being at School of 10-year-old Students Living in France in a Bilingual Family Language Context with a Minorated Language: Role of Teacher-Student and Peer Relationship Satisfaction

Abstract

Research on the well-being at school of children living in a bilingual family language context are not very numerous. The cultural, social, and emotional challenges that their schooling implies can be complex, in particular when the family language is minorated and thus not much valued socially. The many available studies on immigrant children are generally not confronted with the problem of speaking different languages at home and at school. The present cross-sectional study was conducted with 216 children aged 10 attending school in France, and living in a monolingual family French language context (n = 103) or in a bilingual family language context with a minorated language (n = 113). It aims at comparing these two groups of students with regard to various dimensions of their subjective well-being at school (global satisfaction with school, satisfaction with teachers and with peers) and the relationship between these dimensions. The results of the comparative and moderation analyses indicate that the two groups do not differ with regard to global school satisfaction and satisfaction with peers. However, children who live in a bilingual family language context feel less supported by their teacher even though this support contributes more significantly to their global school satisfaction. These results suggest the necessity to raise teachers’ awareness of the educational needs of students who hear and use at home a different language than that of instruction to have a better relationship with them and fulfil their needs. They also encourage the fostering of an efficient communication between school and home.