7.5.3 Percentage of First Nations students aged 12 to 17 who agreed or strongly agreed with the statements that they are happy at school and that their fellow students enjoyed being at school, Canada, 2013-2015

Happy at school Fellow students enjoyed being at school
School enjoyment 82.6 74.8

Note:
The youth survey covered First Nations youth 12-17 years old, and therefore represents a large proportion of the school-aged population living on reserve and in northern First Nations communities.

Source: CICH graphic created using data adapted from the First Nations Information Governance Centre, Our Data, Our Stories, Our Future: The National Report of the First Nations Regional Early Childhood, Education and Employment Survey, (Ottawa: 2016). 104 pages.

Between 2013-2015, the majority of First Nations youth aged 12 to 17 years who live on reserve or in Northern First Nations communities had generally positive feelings about their school.

83% agreed or strongly agreed that they were happy at school, while 75% agreed that most of their fellow students enjoyed being at school as well.

Implications
Young people are in school for a large part of their everyday lives. At school they learn to form relationships with others and form ideas about themselves. Schools thus play an important role in the health and well-being of youth. Students who feel positive about their experiences at school tend to have support from the teachers and peers, and higher levels of short and long-term academic success and healthy well-being.

Source: Freeman, J.G., King, M., Pickett, W.., & Craig, W. (2015). Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) in Canada: Focus on Relationships. Ottawa, ON: Public Health Agency of Canada.