Improving students' emotional well-being in an extracurricular activity: contrasting students' and professionals’ views on an emotionally supportive learning environment

The role of school in promoting youth mental health is critical since students spend long hours at school navigating challenging situations such as evaluations, peer interactions and deadline pressures. Participation in extracurricular activities (ECAs) is linked to gains in academic performance and emotional well-being. However, little is known about how ECA-based interventions aimed at enhancing students' emotional well-being are perceived by professionals and by students. This qualitative study examines Projecta't, an ECA implemented in 24 state secondary schools in Barcelona, Spain, designed to improve first-year baccalaureate and vocational education and training (VET) students' academic performance and well-being by combining academic support and emotional-well-being interventions delivered jointly by teachers and psychologists. The study's objectives were to identify professionals' interventions and perceptions of roles; explore students' views of these roles and interventions; and analyse professionals' understandings of ECA's successes and failures. We interviewed eight professionals and 16 students across four schools and observed eight ECA sessions. All data underwent deductive content analysis. Findings show that learning interventions involved tutoring subject content, structuring study routines and priorities and enhancing group work. Well-being interventions comprised creating talking spaces, offering emotional support and stimulating reflection. Teachers and psychologists shared responsibilities for students' emotional well-being but described distinct bonds with students. Students acknowledged the benefits from both learning- and well-being-focused interventions praising the ECA's friendly, flexible, and open learning environment. We argue that educational interventions targeting students' emotional well-being should simultaneously foster learning and promote changes beyond potential psychotherapeutic effects while avoiding overly direct clinical approaches.