My Ideal School: A Personal Construct Psychology Approach to Understanding the School Constructs of Children Described as Anxious

This research explores the school constructs of children described as anxious. Little
research exists that looks at understanding children’s school-related anxiety through the
lens of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP). This qualitative research design includes
semi-structured interviews that followed a PCP theoretical framework. The interviews
were carried out with five children aged between 7 and 11, who attended state schools in
Malta, and who were experiencing school-related anxiety. Participants were asked to
comment and produce drawings about the kind of school they would like to attend (their
ideal school), and the kind of school they would not like to attend. The children’s
constructs were organised according to whether they related to adults in school, their
peers, the school and classroom environment, and the participants themselves in each of
these two imaginary schools. Participants were also asked to think of how the school they
currently attend can become more like their ideal school. Findings indicate the importance
of relationships between teachers and pupils, relationships amongst pupils themselves, a
positive learning environment within the classroom and the belongingness to a common
value system and school ethos to which anxious children can relate. This research aims
to shed light on the responsibility of professionals working with children with school-related
anxiety to look beyond within-child factors and understand possible stressors in
the child’s environment as potentially contributing to heightening their anxiety.