Relations Between Student Perceptions of Their School Environment and Academic Achievement

Abstract

This study examined student perceptions of their school environment (specifically, safety and inclusion in the school, experiences being bullied, and clear expectations for behaviour) and their relation with academic achievement at the school level. Participants were students in 969 elementary schools and 73 middle schools who took part in a provincewide achievement test and student satisfaction survey in Canada. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the amount of variance in student achievement explained by student perceptions of the school environment when controlling for school-level poverty and accounting for nesting by district. Results showed that perceptions of the school environment were significantly associated with academic success, above and beyond effects of school-level poverty and district. These results are discussed with regard to critical targets for enhancing the school environment to maximize academic achievement.