‘School is their whole world’: Teachers' perspectives on loneliness among children and adolescents from England and mainland China

Abstract

As front-line observers and active participants in pupils' daily lives, teachers closely monitor pupils' social interactions, emotional states and behavioural changes. Their unique perspective enables them to detect problems in the social lives of their pupils that may not be immediately visible to peers, parents or mental health professionals. The current study captures the perspectives of 16 teachers (8 from England and 8 from China) on pupil loneliness through qualitative interviews; their pupils ranged in age from 6 to 18 years. Thematic analysis of the interviews found four core themes: different types of loneliness observed in schools, factors contributing to pupils' susceptibility to loneliness, emotional and behavioural responses of lonely pupils and the cyclical impact of loneliness. Cross-cultural comparisons highlighted that teachers' conceptualisations of loneliness show more similarities than differences between England and China, though cultural orientations, emotional norms and educational structures shaped its expression and detection. These findings suggest the potential for developing an integrated school-based framework to address loneliness; those would incorporate culturally sensitive approaches to ensure that interventions are effectively tailored to diverse cultural contexts.