More than marks: How wellbeing shapes academic success

In a world first* study of more than 215,000 students, UniSA researchers found that while standardised tests measure academic skills, different dimensions of wellbeing — emotional wellbeing, engagement, and learning readiness — can play a crucial role in performance.

Specifically, the study found that learning readiness – which includes foundational skills such as perseverance, confidence, and engagement — was not just a desirable outcome, but a catalyst for academic success.

UniSA researcher Dr Rebecca Marrone says there is an intricate relationship between student wellbeing and academic achievement.

“Wellbeing is increasingly recognised as a crucial factor that can shape students’ academic success and overall development. Yet, it is often overlooked because education systems tend to focus on standardised academic achievement,” Dr Marrone says.

“In this research we show how wellbeing factors, particularly learning readiness, can influence students’ learning and academic performance, especially when under test conditions.

“When we talk about learning readiness, we mean how prepared a child is to learn, not just academically, but also in their ability to stay focused, to overcome challenges, and believe in their ability to succeed. It’s about having good learning habits, and a motivation to learn, which together can help them perform better at school.”

This study draws on data from the South Australian Wellbeing and Engagement Collection (WEC) to assess the impact of student wellbeing and engagement of students in Years 4-10, and their academic achievement in NAPLAN and PAT tests between 2016-2019.

UniSA’s Benjamin Lam says the results show that schools need to shift towards a model that values both student wellbeing and academic achievement as integral components of a holistic education.

“Student learning is complex, and it is affected by a range of contextual and individual differences,” Lam says.

“When students are mentally and emotionally healthy, they’re more likely to be engaged and motivated and perform better academically. But the relationship is certainly not linear, and we can’t infer that low-achieving students have low levels of wellbeing, or high-achieving students have high levels of wellbeing.

“This means that schools must look beyond test scores and take a more personal, holistic approach to supporting students’ confidence, perseverance and learning readiness.

“They can do this by adopting learner profiles that incorporate wellbeing and engagement metrics alongside traditional grades, so that schools can better understand and respond to each student’s needs.

“Now, as students prepare for their pending NAPLAN tests, this research serves as a reminder that education is about more than just scores — it’s about building confidence, resilience, and readiness to learn.”

Department for Education Chief Executive Martin Westwell says that learning and thriving go hand-in-hand, and both must be supported by schools.

“Academic achievement and learning readiness are intrinsically interconnected, and that is recognised through our Strategy for Public Education,” Westwell says.

“We not only have to build the academic knowledge of each student, but also build their confidence, resilience, and engagement to ensure they thrive both at school and in life beyond that.

“This research highlights that it is critical to have a well-rounded picture of young people to help them succeed at school.”

Minister for Education, Training and Skills, Blair Boyer says South Australia is focused on supporting mental health and wellbeing in schools.

“If a student is struggling with their mental health, we know they will be less able to focus on school, they lose connection with their friends and they start to disengage from study,” Boyer says.

“This research from UniSA — the first of its kind in the world — confirms that South Australia’s focus on mental health and wellbeing in public education, supports academic achievement.

“That’s why we have invested $50 million to recruit 100 mental health and learning support specialists who are based on-site at schools — the largest investment of its kind. By addressing concerns at the coalface, we have the best chance of supporting our students to achieve academically.”