What Parents of Russian State Schoolchildren Expect from Schools Regarding Care for Student Well-Being and Their Level of Satisfaction: The Development of a Questionnaire

One of the most effective forms of parental involvement in children's education is when parents actively communicate the value of schooling and a positive attitude toward it. For this to happen, they need to be satisfied with the quality of schooling, which depends on how well the school meets their expectations, among which well-being at school holds a central place. Most tools for measuring parental satisfaction are based on marketing models, which may not fully reflect the specific features of the educational context. This article presents a methodology for developing an instrument to assess parental expectations and satisfaction with schools, grounded in Self-Determination Theory relevant in education. The Well-being Expectations and Satisfaction Questionnaire (WESQ) was specifically developed for this study. The article provides analysis of data obtained from a sample of 1,568 parents in Russia. WESQ includes two reliable scales: the Expectations Scale (α = .96) and the Satisfaction Scale (α = .96). Each scale consists of 20 items; parents are asked to rate their satisfaction only for expectations they previously endorsed. IRTree modeling revealed that parents were most likely to endorse expectations related to relatedness, and were least likely to endorse those related to autonomy. A similar pattern was observed in satisfaction ratings. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified four distinct clusters of parents. This is the first study to apply Self-Determination Theory to operationalize parental expectations regarding school and to assess parental satisfaction in this context. The study introduces and validates a new instrument.