Interventions to Promote Safe and Supportive School Climate

Abstract

School climate affects students’ abilities to learn, meet the school’s behavioral and academic demands, and realize academic success (Osher & Kendziora, 2010; Osher, Kendziora, Spier, & Garibaldi, 2014). School climate reflects the quality of school life, which includes the availability of effective supports to students and adults for improved teaching and learning and the way in which these supports are organized (Clifford, Menon, Gangi, Condon, & Hornung, 2012). Those aspects of school climate that are proximal to learning and development have been conceptualized as conditions for learning (CFL). The CFL include the experience of emotional and physical safety, connectedness and support, academic challenge and engagement, and peer and adult social and emotional competence (Osher & Kendziora, 2010). Students’ academic performance is higher in schools that have positive CFL and school climate (Brand, Felner, Seitsinger, Burns, & Bolton, 2008; Osher, Poirier, Jarjoura, Kendziora, & Brown, 2015; Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2013). Teachers’ job satisfaction is higher and their stress level is lower in schools with positive CFL (Collie, Shapka, & Perry, 2012; Rawles, 2010). The purpose of this chapter is to highlight school-wide and classroom-based practices that can promote positive school climate and are applicable to all grade levels. In particular, this chapter discusses practices that support the well-being of vulnerable children and adolescents who are exposed to chronic stress or who have experience traumatic life events.