Effect of education on wellbeing among high school students in a poor rural zone of Yucatan, Mexico

摘要

Education provides the opportunity to overcome poverty and attain greater wellbeing. An evaluation was done of the impact of education - understood as formation of knowledge, values and attitudes - on wellbeing in high school students in a poor rural zone of Yucatan, Mexico. A total of 223 (94 women, 129 men) students from 14 to 19 years of age answered an instrument covering two wellbeing dimensions: eating habits and self-concept. Statistical analyses of their answers showed education to have an effect only in some aspects of eating habits. Differences by sex were present in both eating habits and self-concept, and age affected only self-concept. The education offered these students had only a minimal effect on improving their wellbeing, undermining one of the overarching purposes of education.