School Climate Research Articles

Boosting school staff well‐being and engagement through identity leadership: The mediating role of organizational climate

AbstractOrganizations and their leaders are recognized as key players in staff well‐being and engagement but there is limited longitudinal research with large samples. Moreover, it is not clear how specifically leader behaviour impacts on well‐being. Based on the social identity approach, we argue that school leaders who are capable of crafting and clarifying what it means to be an organizational member while actively representing the groups' interests—an identity leader—will be able to foster a positive school climate. In turn, this positive climate should result in a range of positive outcomes for school staff members, including better well‐being and engagement in their work. Using a longitudinal survey of over 6000 school staff, we found support for our hypothesis: school staff members who perceived their school leaders as being identity leaders perceived a more positive school climate 1 year later, which, in turn, predicted higher levels of well‐being (lower burnout, lower stress and higher self‐esteem) and engagement in school outcomes (higher organizational commitment, team morale and professional development). Overall, these results underline the key role that school identity leaders play in crafting positive working environments and outcomes for staff members.

Examining the Relationship between High School Students' Perception of School Climate and their Critical Thinking Disposition

Critical thinking skills is thought that it is important to structure the elements in the school climate in a way that will support students' participation in the process, find the opportunity to think and criticize in acquiring critical thinking skills. Based on this reason, this study aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between high school students' perception of school climate and critical thinking disposition. Relational scanning model, was used in the research. The sample of the study was determined by stratified sampling method. “Delaware School Climate Student Scale” and “UF/EMI Critical Thinking Tendency Scale” were used as data collection tools in the research. The data obtained in the study were analyzed with t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficients. According to the results of the research, a significant and positive relationship was found between the perception of school climate and the tendency to critical thinking.

School Effectiveness, Teaching Effectiveness and School Climate Change

School Effectiveness, Teaching Effectiveness and School Climate Change

The Effect of the Advocacy Social-Emotional Learning Program on Emotional Competence

School leaders are integrating social and emotional skills content into their academic curriculum to create a supportive learning environment and improve the implicit curriculum. The Generation Schools Network (GSN) Advocacy Program is a comprehensive, multi-component schoolwide initiative designed to promote students' social-emotional competence, college and career readiness, and academic success. Overall, the GSN Advocacy Program represents a holistic approach that promotes the interconnectedness of social-emotional development and academic success, aiming to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities they will encounter. The study aimed to test for baseline equivalence between the comparison and intervention groups regarding school climate, leadership, school connectedness, emotional distress, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. This quasi-experimental process compared secondary students in the intervention group (125) participating in the yearlong GSN Advocacy Program with students in the comparison group (115). After controlling for pre-assessment variables of social-emotional competence, the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed significant improvements among students in the intervention group for total social-emotional competence and constructs of school climate and school connectedness. The program's multi-component approach, including structural support through professional development for implementers and specific social-emotional learning lessons, helped students develop social-emotional skills. Accordingly, students also demonstrated increased interaction with others, an improved sense of school connectedness, and an enhanced ability to handle emotional distress, which is crucial for academic stressors. This study suggests that the multi-component approach, including student-centered social-emotional competency instruction and environmental focus, engendered the intervention group's acquisition of social-emotional skills. Accordingly, by adopting a multi-component approach that addresses these various aspects of social-emotional programming, school leaders can create a holistic support system that nurtures students' social-emotional competence, resilience, and overall well-being. This comprehensive approach enhances students' academic success and equips them with the skills and attitudes necessary for success beyond the classroom.

School belonging mediates the association between negative school climate and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents: a national population-based longitudinal study

BackgroundA negative school climate is an important factor affecting students’ mental health. However, few studies have focused on the mechanisms underlying the relationship. This study aimed to explore the mediating effect of school belonging on the association between negative school climate and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents, using a nationwide longitudinal survey.MethodsWe conducted a longitudinal study using data from the 2013 (T1) and 2014 (T2) waves of the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS). A negative school climate was assessed by school administrators’ reports. School belonging and depressive symptoms were evaluated using adolescents’ self-reports. We used a cross-lagged panel model to explore the mediating effect of school belonging on the association between negative school climate and depressive symptoms, adjusting for a set of covariates.ResultsIn total, 7,049 Chinese adolescents with a mean age of 12.9 years were included in this study. The results of the cross-lagged model showed that negative school climate at T1 was significantly negatively associated with school belonging at T2 (β = −0.089, 95%CI = −0.111–−0.067, p < 0.001), and was positively associated with depressive symptoms at T2 (β = 0.032, 95%CI = 0.012–0.054, p = 0.002). In addition, school belonging at T1 was significantly negatively associated with depressive symptoms at T2 (β = −0.025, 95%CI = −0.050–−0.001, p = 0.045). Mediation analysis showed that school belonging played a mediating role in the association between negative school climate and depressive symptoms (β = 0.002, 95%CI = 0.001–0.005, p = 0.041).ConclusionAmong Chinese adolescents, a negative school climate is associated with a greater risk of depressive symptoms. Improving school belonging may be helpful in decreasing the impact of a negative school climate on depressive symptoms in adolescents.

A Longitudinal Examination of Gun Reporting by Middle and High-School Students

ABSTRACT A variety of factors are associated with the likelihood of reporting guns at school; however, mixed empirical findings hinder our ability to inform policies to reduce school violence. Additionally, many of the established factors are difficult to change over time, and limited attention has been devoted to more malleable factors such as anonymous reporting. To better understand how to improve the likelihood of gun reporting at school, we drew from three waves of survey data from 3,633 students in St. Louis, Missouri. Using a multilevel model, we find that perceived risk of victimization and the availability of anonymous reporting increase the likelihood of gun reporting, while negative peer commitment, self-reported delinquency, and victimization decrease the likelihood of reporting. Additional analyses suggest that independent of known risk factors that inhibit reporting, increases in school climate and improvements in availability of anonymous reporting can increase the likelihood of reporting guns at school.

Exploring school culture and climate: The case of Dilla university community school

This study was undertaken to explore the culture and climate of Dilla University Community School, focusing on examining the school's shared values and beliefs across seven key dimensions that constitute its shared values and beliefs: attention to detail, innovation and risk-taking, people orientation, team orientation, outcome orientation, aggressiveness, and stability within its cultural framework. The participants in this study were teachers selected using the purposive sampling technique. The research employed an exploratory qualitative case study. The interview was the major data gathering instrument from key informants and the results were analyzed using thematic analysis, aided by NVivo 10 software designed for qualitative research, which facilitated the classification, sorting, arrangement, and analysis of the data. According to the results, the school culture placed a high value on attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation, and aggressiveness. Conversely, areas needing improvement were identified as innovation and risk taking, team orientation, and stability. Hence, it was recommended that Dilla University Community School should work on establishing systems that encourage all crucial dimensions of key values and beliefs, fostering positive interaction among members for the progress of the school.

Contribution of Principal Leadership and School Climate to the Performance of Junior High School Teachers in Padang City

Effective educational leadership and a positive school climate are crucial determinants of teacher performance. This research aims to elucidate the contribution of principal leadership and school climate to the performance of state middle school teachers in Padang City. The population for this study comprised all state junior high school teachers in Padang City, totaling 1,058 individuals. A sample of 158 teachers was selected using cluster random sampling techniques. Employing a quantitative correlational approach with an ex-post facto research design, this study analyzed the collected data to determine the relationships between the variables. The results indicate that principal leadership contributes 22.3% to teacher performance, while school climate contributes 68%. Together, principal leadership and school climate account for 62.7% of the variance in teacher performance. The overall teacher performance score was 83.46%, categorized as good. Principal leadership scored 84.16%, also in the good category, and school climate scored 84.66%, deemed conducive. These findings underscore the significant impact of leadership and environmental factors within schools on enhancing teacher performance, suggesting that targeted improvements in these areas could substantially elevate educational outcomes.

Regulatory flexibility and school climate moderate the relationship between stress exposure and depression severity in school educators

School-related stress may impair the mental health and the ability of educators to function at school adaptively. According to the Conservation of Resources (COR) model, coping with stress is affected by internal personal resources and external interpersonal resources. The current study focused on regulatory flexibility as an internal personal resource and school climate as an external interpersonal resource. It tested their moderating role in the relationship between school-related stress exposure and depressive symptoms. 1530 educators participated in the study. The results revealed that school climate and regulatory flexibility play a significant role in determining the severity of depressive symptoms following stress exposure. Specifically, when either school climate and/or regulatory flexibility were low, there was a positive association between school-related stress exposure and depressive symptoms. Hence, greater exposure was associated with increased depressive symptoms. However, when both school climate and regulatory flexibility were higher, there were no associations between stress exposure and symptoms. Therefore, these educators showed significantly lower depressive symptoms independent of their stress exposure. The findings shed light on the importance of both internal and external resources in reducing the aversive effects of school-related stress. The study may pave the way to developing tailored interventions to reduce depressive symptoms and enhance well-being in educators.

Parent-adolescent conflict and problematic internet use among Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of school climate

BackgroundProblematic Internet use (PIU) may lead adolescents to physical, emotional, social, or functional impairment due to the risky, excessive, or impulsive internet use manner. How do the experiences of adolescents influence them using the internet in a problematic manner? The answer to this question is the key to preventing and intervening PIU of adolescents. To address this question, we focus on the interactions among family (parent-adolescent conflict), school (school climate), and individual factors (PIU, depression), exploring the influence factors of PIU.MethodsA moderated mediation model was constructed to explore the relationship between variables. Using a two-wave longitudinal design with a six-month interval between timepoints, this study collected data from 801 Chinese adolescents (411 boys, Mage = 14.68) by questionnaires. Path analysis was employed to test the model and participants’ age, sex and baseline were controlled.ResultsParent-adolescent conflict at Time 1 (T1) was positively related to PIU at Time 2 (T2) in adolescents. Depression at T2 mediated the relationship between parent-adolescent conflict at T1 and PIU at T2. School climate at T2 significantly moderated the mediation effect of depression on the relationship between parent-adolescent conflict at T1 and PIU at T2. Specifically, positive school climate could significantly weaken the negative effect of depression on PIU for adolescents with low level of depression.ConclusionsThe present study reveals that parent-adolescent conflict leads to PIU in adolescents through depression whilst the school climate moderates the impacts of depression on PIU. This adds further evidence regarding the significance of systematically and consistently incorporating family and school in the alleviating of problem behaviors displayed by teens.

A person‐centered analysis of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation: Profiles, characteristics and relations

AbstractWith a sample of 470 kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong, this study first examined these teachers' emotion regulation strategies assessed by a newly adapted scale, the Kindergarten Teacher Emotion Regulation Scale. Then, the study adopted a person‐centred approach and conducted the latent profile analysis, identifying different profiles of teachers' use of the emotion regulation strategies. It also examined the relationships between these profiles and teachers' self‐efficacy and two contextual antecedents, instructional leadership and trust in colleagues in kindergartens. The study validated a three‐dimensional measurement of kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation in Hong Kong, namely cognition‐focused regulation, (negative) emotion‐focused regulation, and behaviour‐focused regulation. Moreover, it identified four profiles of kindergarten teachers' emotion regulation strategy use with distinctive characteristics, and revealed some significant relationships between teachers' emotion regulation and self‐efficacy as well as school contexts. The findings highlight the role of beneficial school climate in eliciting teachers' effective emotion regulation and thereby enhancing their self‐efficacy.

School climate: Using a person–environment fit perspective to inform school improvement

Strong and consistent findings suggest that a positive school climate is related to improved student outcomes. However, assessment of the school climate rarely considers the environmental fit (or misfit) between individuals' actual or lived experiences and their preferred environment. This study drew on a person-environment fit perspective to examine whether: students’ experiences of the school climate (actual environment) differed from their views of their ideal school climate (preferred environment); the views of the actual and preferred environment differed between schools; and the actual–preferred discrepancy (as a measure of the environmental fit) was related to student wellbeing, resilience and reports of bullying. The results from the analysis of data collected from 993 upper primary school students suggest that outcomes were enhanced when the perceived environment more closely matched the preferred environment. Our study’s findings support using a person-environment fit perspective alongside a socio-ecological approach to inform strategic decisions for school improvement efforts.

The role of school climate on student disclosure of private information and cyberbullying: a comparison of regular and vocational school students in China.

Adolescents are experiencing an unprecedented cyber-saturated environment where the disclosure of private information should be approached with caution. This study aims to investigate the effects of school environment, including student support, teacher support, and opportunities for autonomy, on students' disclosure of private information and their experiences with cyberbullying. In September 2022, a total of 1,716 students (mean age = 14.60, SD = 1.35) from three regular and vocational schools in China participated in the survey. The results showed that 35.6% of the participants had experienced victimization by cyberbullying, and 12.6% had perpetrated cyberbullying. Vocational school students reported significantly higher rates of cyberbullying and lower levels of perceived school climate than students from regular school. Student support in the school environment was found to negatively affect both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, with this impact appearing to be stronger in regular schools as compared to vocational schools. Opportunities for autonomy and the disclosure of private information were positively correlated with experiences of cyberbullying. This study introduces a novel perspective that perceived school climate influences adolescents' disclosure of private information and their involvement in cyberbullying. The findings could provide implications for future research and practices aimed at child protection in cyberspace.

Professional learning networks: a descriptive phenomenological study with primary school teachers in Greece

Purpose Professional learning networks (PLNs) involve teachers’ collaboration with others outside of their school to improve teaching and learning. PLNs can facilitate teachers’ professional growth and school improvement. This study aims to explore the drivers for participation within PLNs, the enactment process and the impact of PLN participation on teachers, students and schools in Greece. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted to explore the lived experience of primary school teachers participating in PLNs. Findings The findings showed that individuals who were open to change were driving innovation to address a need or a lack in their daily practice that was not satisfied within their usual community of practice. The key element of the participation was peer collaboration with openness of communication without attendant accountability pressures. The change was mainly identified in teacher skills and the school climate. An individual could bring change only if the school is already open to change. In some cases, resistance to change in schools was identified before enactment or during enactment. The transformation of teachers’ and leaders’ stances is discussed, enabling the opportunity to maximise school improvement. Originality/value The study examines PLNs as European Union-funded initiatives that are developed by teachers in centralised education systems under the phenomenological research paradigm. It explores the PLNs in a different setting compared to the existing conceptual theory of change for PLNs.

Parental Perspectives on Principals’ Responses to Homophobic, Biphobic, and Transphobic Bullying in Australian High Schools: An Exploratory Study

AbstractSchool principals may be well-placed to establish safe and affirming school climates for gender and sexuality diverse students by upholding zero-tolerance policies for homophobic, biphobic, and/or transphobic (HBT) bullying. Few qualitative investigations have examined how leaders are perceived, by those with vested interest, to be exercising their powers in this regard. Parents and caregivers (N = 16) completed a qualitative online questionnaire about their experiences navigating school responses to the HBT bullying of their child. Responses were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings indicate that principals were often either a first point of contact or an option for escalation. Intervention efforts were favourably appraised where empathy for the targeted student was accompanied by quick and decisive action. When this did not occur, participants described the injurious effects of inaction, prejudiced attitudes, and minimisation of the impact of non-physical bullying on both them and their child. We discuss implications for principals and schools with respect to the significant consequences of non-intervention.

A protocol for a critical realist systematic synthesis of interventions to promote pupils' wellbeing by improving the school climate in low- and middle-income countries.

The review described in this protocol will be the first critical realist review of the literature reporting on the impact of interventions to promote pupils' wellbeing by improving the school climate in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. The review is being carried out to inform the programme theory for a critical realist evaluation of a whole school mindfulness intervention in Ethiopia and Rwanda to improve pupils' mental wellbeing. Our initial programme theory hypothesises that pupils' (and teachers') responses to the mindfulness intervention as well as changing the behaviour and attitudes of individual pupils and teachers, will change the 'school climate' in ways that have a positive impact on mental wellbeing. This literature review will facilitate the identification of mechanisms for change working at the level of the whole school climate, something which is only infrequently discussed in evaluations of mindfulness interventions. A critical realist review methodology will be used to provide a causal interdisciplinary understanding of how school climate can promote the wellbeing of pupils. This will be done through a systematic literature review and extrapolating context, agency, intervention, mechanisms, and outcome configurations and synthesising these to provide a conceptual understanding of the impact of interventions to improve school climate. The review findings will inform a critical realist evaluation of a mindfulness intervention in schools that we will be carrying out. The findings from the review will enable us to focus more precisely and transparently on what policymakers and other stakeholders need to know about how school climate changes due to introducing mindfulness to the curriculum and how this impacts pupils' wellbeing [and for which pupils]. We will publish the findings from the review in academic and professional publications, policy briefs, workshops, conferences, and social media. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023417735.

Influence of academic procrastination and school climate on mental health among nursing and Midwifery students at colleges in Kwara State, Nigeria

Influence of academic procrastination and school climate on mental health among nursing and Midwifery students at colleges in Kwara State, Nigeria

The effect of teacher leadership and school climate on students’ learning outcomes

Student learning outcomes can be influenced by several factors. Some of them are teacher leadership and school climate factors. This study aims to determine the significance of teacher leadership and school climate on student learning outcomes. The method used in this research is a survey research method. The population from this research includes all class X students at Cendrawasih Catholic High School.There are 106 students in class X and consisting of 46 female students and 60 male students. Sampling in this study was carried out by means of simple random sampling. The sample size was determined using Issac & Michael’s table. Sampling of this study were 84 and consisting of 38 female students and 46 male students. Data collection techniques in this study were questionnaires and documentation. The data obtained were then analyzed using the Multiple Linear Regression analysis technique. The results of this study indicate that teacher leadership and school climate simultaneously have a positive and significant influence on the learning achievement of Class X Cenderawasih Catholic High School students in the subject of Catholic Religious Education as indicated by the values of the regression coefficients and correlation coefficients which are positive. The implication of this research is to provide enlightenment to all teachers and everyone involved in the world of education that creating a positive school climate and good teacher leadership will have a very good impact on student learning outcomes.

More money does not necessarily help: relations of education expenditure, school characteristics, and academic resilience across 36 education systems

Teacher quality, teaching quality, school resources, and school climate are commonly identified as protective factors in the academic resilience literature. Variables reflecting these four concepts were applied in a latent profile analysis across 36 education systems participating in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2019. The best-fitting model suggested four different latent profiles of protective factors. A three-step BCH method with an auxiliary regression model was adopted to investigate the influence of education expenditure on academic resilience across the profiles. Education expenditure promoted academic resilience in a profile characterized by low mathematics resources and another profile with low teaching quality and school climate. Education expenditure had no significant influence in the remaining two profiles characterized by very low and high levels of classroom and school protective factors, respectively. Moreover, countries were classified into six cultural groups representing education systems sharing similarities in language, history, or geography. Within each group, there was a certain degree of consistency in the distribution of profiles. Conclusions are drawn for strategies to promote academic resilience.

Memories of schooling amongst trans women and sexuality diverse men in Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT Drawing from a life history study we examine memories and experience of schooling in Papua New Guinea among 45 trans women and sexuality diverse men. While participants reported regulating their expression of gender and sexuality to ‘fit in’ and avoid physical and verbal abuse at school, others felt able and supported to express their gender and sexuality diversity more freely beyond stereotypical norms. Schools provided a varietyof experience for trans and sexuality diverse youth, unsupportive in many ways but supportive in others. The study highlights the importance of examining the impact of colonial discourses driving homophobia and transphobia in diverse settings, and understanding the socio-cultural climates of schools to identify solutions to the discrimination and violence experienced by trans women and sexuality diverse students. Further research into the current experiences of trans, gender and sexuality diverse young people in school would provide a valuable comparative perspective to our retrospective study.