Subjective Well-Being (SWB)

In OST organizations that focus on student’s socio-emotional skills and wellbeing, pandemic conditions created new urgency to staff’s desire to know how students and caregivers were doing. While many OST organizations know how to ask families about basic needs created by the pandemic – health care, housing, food, transportation – sometimes staff are less comfortable checking in on mental health issues.

The concept of subjective-well-being (SWB) has traditionally been assessed using measures of happiness and satisfaction with life. Most of the measurement instruments developed to assess SWB use several items to assess each of several dimensions. However, for simplicity and efficiency, we recommend using only one item for each of the three dimensions: positive feelings, negative feelings, and life satisfaction.

Positive Feelings

On a scale of 1 to 10: During the past month, how often have you had positive feelings (e.g., happiness, joy, interest, calmness, and love)?

Negative Feelings

On a scale of 1 to 10: During the past month, how often have you had negative feelings (e.g., sadness, fear, boredom, anxiety, and hate)?

Life Satisfaction

On a scale of 1 to 10: During the past month, how satisfied have you felt with your life?

Management Practices Self-Assessment (MPSA)

The Management Practices Self-Assessment (MPSA) is a measurement instrument created to empower Michigan 21st CCLC Project Directors, who manage at least one program site. The MPSA provides Project Directors with the opportunity to check-in with themselves and their team by identifying practices and policies that are well-documented and working well, or that could be updated or improved, and areas where they need additional assistance to reach their full potential.

Citation: Smith, Thoreson, Smith, Peck, Sipes (2020). Management Practices Self-Assessment (MPSA) for Project Directors in Michigan’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Michigan Department of Education and QTurn LLC.

These materials were developed under a grant awarded by the Michigan Department of Education.