Despite significant investment in school-based wellbeing programs, one in four Australian adolescents continues to experience mental health challenges impacting academic performance. This mixed-methods study examined student perceptions of wellbeing and program effectiveness across three Western Australian secondary schools, revealing critical gaps between adult-designed interventions and student needs.
Through surveys, interviews, and focus groups with final-year secondary students who had participated in wellbeing programs throughout their schooling, this research uncovered a student-derived definition of wellbeing encompassing six interconnected components: connections, health, balance, uniqueness, mental capacity and stability, and influence. Notably, students emphasised "influence" - their ability to affect change in their environment and impact others' wellbeing - a dimension rarely acknowledged in existing frameworks.
Students expressed significant scepticism about current program effectiveness, identifying eight characteristics crucial for successful interventions: appropriate program type, engaging delivery, relatability, strategic timing, developmental appropriateness, systematic measurement, genuine teacher engagement, and authentic student voice integration. Critically, students preferred external presenters closer to their age and consistently reported feeling their feedback was disregarded, transforming data collection into "cynical rituals" rather than meaningful consultation.
The research revealed concerning teacher role ambiguity. While students valued supportive teacher relationships for wellbeing, they questioned teachers' effectiveness as program deliverers. Teachers themselves struggled with expanded responsibilities beyond their training, suggesting need for role clarification and adequate professional development.

Key implications include:
• Developing wellbeing definitions through student consultation rather than adult assumptions
• Involving students as active co-designers rather than passive recipients
• Distinguishing between teachers' supportive relationships and program delivery roles
• Implementing systematic measurement to demonstrate authentic commitment to student feedback
This research challenges current approaches by demonstrating that effective school-based mental health initiatives must authentically centre student voice, moving beyond tokenistic consultation toward genuine partnership in creating programs that resonate with adolescent experiences and needs.

Three Key Learings:
1. Student-Defined Well-being: Students conceptualise well-being through six components including "influence" - their ability to affect environmental change and impact others' well-being - absent from adult-created frameworks.

2. Authentic Co-Design: Current consultation approaches are counterproductive. Students distinguish between tokenistic feedback collection and genuine partnership. Meaningless surveys create "cynical rituals" that disengage students and undermine program credibility.

3. Teacher Role Clarity: While students value teacher supportive relationships for well-being, they question teachers' effectiveness as program deliverers. Clear role boundaries, appropriate training, and potentially separating supportive relationships from program delivery may improve outcomes while reducing teacher burden.