Adventist Education: Engagement on Spiritual Activities as Correlate to Well-Being Levels Through Selected Life Domains among Senior High Students

Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) schools integrate faith into learning (IFL) to cultivate students’ spiritual development alongside academic rigor (Clear, 2020; Waterman, 2020). This study explores the cognitive engagement of senior high school students in Adventist academies within Western Visayas, Philippines, with their schools’ spiritual activities. It further examines potential correlations between this engagement and student well-being in self-compassion, life satisfaction, and equanimity. A descriptive-correlational design was employed with a census approach (Oppenheim, 2019) surveying 65 in-campus students residing in dormitories. Data was collected through four instruments: a researcher-developed Cognitive Engagement in Spiritual Activities Questionnaire (CESA-33), the Self-Compassion Scale – Short Form (SCS-SF), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Equanimity Scale (ES-16). Students exhibited a slightly high level of cognitive engagement in spiritual activities (mean score: 4.19). Interestingly, non-SDA students had the highest mean score. Overall well-being scores indicated a slightly high level (mean: 4.26) with variations across self-compassion, life satisfaction, and equanimity. No significant correlations emerged between student profiles and overall well-being. However, a significant positive correlation was found between cognitive engagement (CESA) and overall well-being, life satisfaction, and equanimity. The study suggests a positive association between cognitive engagement in spiritual activities and student well-being. While the sample size limits generalizability, findings offer valuable insights for future research on the influence of parental involvement, educational background, and school continuity on well-being within Adventist education. Future research with a larger and more diverse population is recommended. Additionally, developing a shorter version of the CESA questionnaire and analyzing existing student data are valuable next steps. Teachers and principals can utilize these findings to design engaging classroom activities and leverage existing data to target student outreach efforts, ultimately promoting student well-being.