Potential Moderation Across Racial Groups in Perceptions of Authoritative School Climate and Peer Victimization and Student Engagement

Abstract

Positive perceptions of school climate are associated with improved academic and behavioral outcomes, such as lower bullying victimization experience and higher student engagement. The present study evaluated the consistency of these relations across racial/ethnic student groups using the Authoritative School Climate (ASC) model which defines school climate as a 3-factor model including disciplinary structure, student support, and academic expectations. Data were collected from 5,878 middle/high school students from Missouri and Oklahoma. School-level fixed effects model revealed more negative perception of school climate and higher peer victimization experiences (i.e., general or bullying) amongst racially minoritized groups. Minoritized Racial Identity also negatively moderated the effect between perception of school climate and the selected outcomes with a small to medium effect. These findings may provide further evidence in utilizing Authoritative School Climate Theory in evaluating school climate and implications for educators to establish better teacher–student connections in creating a positive school climate. Impact Statement Student perceptions of school climate have been shown to be related with the quality of student schooling experience and their respective academic and perception of behavior outcomes. This study evaluated school climate perceptions and found minoritized racial/ethnic status negatively moderated the associations between school climate and bullying victimization experiences with a small to medium effect. These results further help inform educators how establishing positive academic and behavior expectations in school may help mitigate student bullying/victimization experiences in school.