Positive School Climate Research Articles

Developing Positive School Climate for Inclusive Education

A positive school climate enables inclusive education to be implemented in order to achieve its goals. However, many school administrators face difficulties in building a positive school climate for inclusive education yet articles that discuss the school climate in the context of inclusive education in particular are still lacking. In this article, through a systematic search on the methodology of literature review, we categorize characteristics of positive school climate for inclusive education into sense of physical and social-emotional security, learning process that supports student self-development as a whole, supportive relationships and respect for individual differences, school environment that creates sense of belonging and encourages active participation of school members, leadership and professional relationship that cultivate positive attitude toward inclusive education. We also provide strategies on how to build positive school climate for inclusive education.

The influence of school climate in bullying and victimization behaviors during middle school transition

This study analyses how perceived school climate variables (teacher–student relationships, student–student relationships, fairness of rules, school safety, and liking of school) influenced bullying and victimization behaviors during middle school transition in Portugal (fourth to fifth grade). A total of 671 middle school students participated in the study, of which 52.2% were boys. Bullying and victimization behaviors were assessed in three different time points (twice before middle school transition and once after) and perceptions of school climate were assessed twice (before and after middle school transition). Results showed that a more positive trajectory in students’ perceptions of teacher-student relationships, student–student relationships, school safety, and liking of school between fourth and fifth grade was associated with a more positive trajectory in victimization behaviors, and a more positive trajectory in students’ perceptions of fairness of rules in the same period was associated with a more positive trajectory in bullying behaviors. Additionally, regarding gender, boys showed a larger increase in victimization behaviors, but there were no differences due to classroom size. These results highlighted the importance of creating a positive school climate in middle school to reduce bullying and victimization behaviors during middle school transition.

School Climate, Cortical Structure, and Socioemotional Functioning: Associations across Family Income Levels.

School climates are important for children's socioemotional development and may also serve as protective factors in the context of adversity. Nevertheless, little is known about the potential neural mechanisms of such associations, as there has been limited research concerning the relation between school climate and brain structure, particularly for brain regions relevant for mental health and socioemotional functioning. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the role of school climate differs depending on children's socioeconomic status. We addressed these questions in baseline data for 9- to 10-year-olds from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study (analytic sample for socioemotional outcomes, n = 8887), conducted at 21 sites across the United States. Cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical volume were derived from T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging. School climate was measured by youth report, and socioemotional functioning was measured by both youth and parent report. A positive school climate and higher family income were associated with lower internalizing and externalizing symptoms, with no evidence of moderation. There were no associations between school climate and cortical thickness or subcortical volume, although family income was positively associated with hippocampal volume. For cortical surface area, however, there was both a positive association with family income and moderation: There was an interaction between school climate and income for total cortical surface area and locally in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. In all cases, there was an unexpected negative association between school climate and cortical surface area in the lower-income group. Consequently, although the school climate appears to be related to better socioemotional function for all youth, findings suggest that the association between a positive school environment and brain structure only emerges in the context of socioeconomic stress and adversity. Longitudinal data are needed to understand the role of these neural differences in socioemotional functioning over time.

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

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.

STUDY OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN RELATION TO SCHOOL CLIMATE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

School as the first social institute is responsible to bring about desirable change in the behaviour of the child because in the school, different kinds of individuals meet and interact this interaction is the key of learning and because of this education is regarded as a dynamic process. Thus, school develops social behaviour pattern in the child and it is for this reason that classroom is considered as a social situation, provided the atmosphere of the school is democratic, the feelings, views and ideas of each student and teacher are respected. This tone of school creates a positive relationship between the administration, teacher and the behavioural pattern of students. School climate refers to the quality and character of school life. School climate reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices and organizational structures. Anacceptable, positive school climate fosters student development and learning necessary for a productive human being.This climate includes norms, values and expectations that support people feelings socially, emotionally and physically. People are engaged and respected. Students, families and education work together to develop, live and contribute to a shared school vision. Education model and nurture attitude that emphasize the benefits and satisfaction gained from learning. Each person contributes to the operations of the school and the care of the physical environment. School climate research has indicated a relationship between the climate of a school and academic achievement.

Trans/Gender-Diverse Students’ Perceptions of Positive School Climate and Teacher Concern as Factors in School Belonging: Results From an Australian National Study

Background/Context: In recent years, numerous, ongoing moral panics with respect to the acknowledgment of gender and sexuality diversity within curriculum/policies have done considerable damage to Australian educators’ confidence and capacity to support gender and sexuality diverse students. Trans/gender-diverse students have been specifically targeted during this period. Purpose: Cisnormative microaggressions are a pervasive element of the Australian school climate, impacting trans/gender-diverse students’ relationships with school-based adults and peers and their experiences of schooling more broadly. This article seeks to contribute to scholarship exploring school well-being for trans/gender-diverse students, inclusive of students’ sense of their teachers’ concern for their personal and academic well-being, and its relationship to students’ perceptions of their school climate. Participants: This article explores data from trans/gender-diverse participants ( n = 685) in the 2021 Free2Be. . .Yet? Australian national online survey of gender and sexuality diverse high school students in Grades/Years 7–12. Research Design: Using students’ self-reported data on selected quantitative measures of school climate with respect to gender and sexuality diversity, alongside perceptions of teacher concern and expectations for success, as selected indicators of school-based well-being, this research sought to identify these variables’ predictive impact on students’ sense of belonging at school. Conclusion: Multiple regression analyses revealed the influence of an accepting and supportive schooling environment for gender and sexuality diversity on trans/gender-diverse students’ sense of school belonging, explaining additional factor variance beyond included demographic factors or students’ sense of teacher concern and expectations. Findings add to the body of existing literature recommending professional development for educators that interrogates and seeks to redress both structural and interpersonal cisnormative microaggressions and articulates the need for gender expansiveness.

School violence, depression symptoms, and school climate: a cross-sectional study of Congolese and Burundian refugee children

Forcibly displaced children are at increased risk of violence and mental health disorders. In refugee contexts, schools are generally perceived as protective environments where children can build a sense of belonging and recover from trauma. Evidence shows that positive school climates can support student skills development and socio-emotional wellbeing and protect them against a host of adverse outcomes. However, schools are also places where children may experience violence, from both teachers and peers. Prevalence estimates of violence against children in humanitarian settings are scarce and evidence on the relationship between school climate and student outcomes in these contexts is non-existent. The aim of the study is to estimate the prevalence of school-based violence against children and to explore the association between perceptions of school climate and students’ experiences and use of violence and their depression symptoms. We relied on data from a cross-sectional survey of students and teachers in all primary and secondary schools in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania, conducted as part of a cluster randomised controlled trial, to compute prevalence estimates and used mixed logistic regression analysis to assess the association between school climate and students’ outcomes. We found that students in Nyarugusu experienced high levels of violence from both peers and teachers in both primary and secondary schools in the camp, with little difference between boys and girls. Nearly one in ten students screened positive for symptoms of depression. We found that opportunities for students and teachers to be involved in decision-making were associated with higher odds of violent discipline and teachers’ self-efficacy was a significant protective factor against student depression symptoms. However, generally, school-level perceptions of school climate were not associated with student outcomes after adjusting for potential confounders. Our findings suggest that interventions to prevent and respond to teacher and peer violence in schools and to support students’ mental health are urgently needed. Our results challenge the assumption that education environments are inherently protective for children and call for further investigation of norms around violence among students and teachers to better understand the role of school climate in refugee settings.

The contributions of school and classroom climate to mathematics test scores: a three-level analysis

ABSTRACT Supportive school and classroom climates can add to student achievement and compensate for the negative contribution of low-socioeconomic status (SES) to academic achievement. We tested the added contribution of school and classroom climate to Chilean students’ mathematics test scores. We performed a secondary analysis of 151,015 eighth-grade students (attending 8,412 classrooms in 5,619 schools) who completed the Sistema de Medición de la Calidad de la Educación (SIMCE) test in Chile. We identified six dimensions of school climate, which we aggregated to the classroom and school level to fit three-level regression models. Students’ gender (girls) and low SES were major negative predictors of test scores. School and classroom climate made an additional contribution to the explained variance in test scores. A positive school and classroom climate compensates for the detrimental effects of gender and low SES on students’ mathematics achievement, which justifies investing resources to promote positive school and classroom climates.

Can teachers be victims of cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is a social phenomenon that takes place with the help of technology and that causes suffering to victims. Children being attracted to it and not having enough knowledge about the safe use of technological devices have become potential victims of this phenomenon. In order to prevent and reduce this phenomenon, most researchers have turned their attention to combating online bullying among teenagers. But, they lose sight of the fact that cyberbullying does not take into account gender, age or status and neglect the teachers. According to the few studies on online aggression against teachers, the effects of this phenomenon are similar to those experienced by children, such as: anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, frustration, weight loss, insomnia, somatization, low motivation, and low professional performance.
 In order to identify the level of victimization among teachers, we conducted a focus group with 12 teachers from primary, secondary and high school education. The analysis of the answers revealed that online aggression against teachers is generally present in middle and high school education and is influenced by digital skills. This article aims to highlight the need to create a positive school climate that helps teachers, students and parents to communicate assertively and develop harmonious relationships.
 
 Keywords. cyberbullying, students, teachers, parents, aggression

Positive School Climate and Emotional Engagement: A Mixed Methods Study of Chinese Students as Ethnocultural Minorities in Malaysian Secondary Schools

Past research on ethnocultural minority students indicates that persistent inequities require greater attention to the multiple learning supports needed to enhance school success. The present study was designed to extend research in this area by exploring school climate and emotional engagement among minority ethnocultural Chinese students in Malaysian secondary schools. We employed quantitative surveys with 724 students ( Mage = 16.1 years; 47.9% female), followed by qualitative interviews with a subset of 25 students ( Mage = 16.1 years; 52% female). Path analysis indicated that feelings of safety, socio-emotional support from teachers and peers, and student voice were predictors of emotional engagement for Chinese students, which further predicted cognitive engagement, academic performance, and school behavior. Thematic analysis further revealed that language and communication barriers and bullying negatively impacted students’ sense of safety and engagement. Caring, respectful relationships with teachers led to students having opportunities to direct their own learning and make decisions on schoolwide activities, promoting students’ feelings of engagement. Support from peers increased students’ emotional engagement by reducing school-related stressors. The findings suggest that a mutually respectful, caring school climate and opportunities for student voice can enhance critical school experiences for ethnocultural minority high school students.

Bullying Behavior and School Bonding for Predicting Student Engagement Among Chilean Adolescents

ABSTRACT Whereas most research has focused on the influence of teachers on student engagement, we postulate that peer experiences – particularly bullying behavior as a victim or perpetrator – impact student engagement over time. Using a sample of 525 adolescents (46% female, mean age = 13.51) nested within 31 classrooms from Chilean schools selected by convenience sampling design, we examined the relationship between victim and perpetrator on student engagement. Concurrently, we examined school bonding as a predictor of student engagement as well as its potential role as a protective factor. Our results indicated that perpetration predicted students’ cognitive engagement (at the individual level), whereas both being a victim (at the individual level) and school bonding (at the individual and classroom levels) predicted emotional engagement. However, classroom-level school bonding did not moderate the relationship between bullying and student engagement. Our study highlights the importance of building positive school climates for improving student engagement.

Social and Emotional Learning: Meeting and Addressing Educator and Student Concerns While Providing Benefits for All Involved

Guided by the social-emotional learning framework, this article establishes and discusses the associations between students’ perceptions of five core social emotional learning (SEL) competencies (i.e., responsible decision-making, social awareness, self-awareness, self-management, and relationship skills) and their effect on overall student learning and educational experiences. Social and emotional learning (SEL) provides a foundation for safe and positive learning, and enhances students’ ability to succeed in school, careers, and life. Educators have many concerns regarding various social and emotional needs of the students they serve including absenteeism, behavior, student achievement, higher order thinking, problem solving and overall student mental health. SEL initiatives within the classroom prove to show results in: greater academic success, fewer behavioral issues, less emotional distress, positive social behavior, improved teacher-student relationships, less bullying, improved career readiness, increased graduation rates, decreased teacher stress, and an overall positive school climate.

Examining the relationship between school climate and happiness according to primary school students’ perceptions

ABSTRACT The aim of the study is to determine the level of relationship between school climate and happiness according to student perceptions. This research is in the descriptive relational survey model. The sample of the study consists of a total of 539 students studying in public primary schools in the districts located in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, in the 2021–2022 academic year. In the study, two different scales were used to determine the relationship between school climate and happiness according to student perceptions. In the study, it was concluded that students’ perceptions of school climate and school happiness were high. In addition, as a result of the relationship analysis between school climate and school happiness, it has been found that as the level of school climate increases, the level of school happiness also increases. Academic, social and artistic activities can be enriched in order to create a high school happiness that can occur with a positive school climate. The results of the research indicated that school climate predicted and affected school happiness.

Language Choices at Home and Their Relationship With Educational Outcomes, With a Special Focus on Children With Origins in Former Yugoslavia and Turkey in Six European Countries.

Language has been conceptualized as both a measure as well as a predictor of integration among immigrants and their children. However, the relationship between language spoken at home and different educational outcomes remains poorly understood. Many studies indicate that nurturing students' first languages is positively associated with their learning at school. Other research suggests that one of the reasons why children of immigrants tend to perform worse at school is due to speaking a language other than that of instruction at home. In order to shed further light on the role of language choices at home for education, we examine both the correlates of language use at home as well as the relationship between this and reading scores and educational expectations. We differentiate between three language use groups: those who mainly use the language of origin at home, those who only use the language of instruction at home, and those who use both of these. We analyze these relationships using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). In order to examine country differences, we place a special focus on two immigrant-origin groups that are present in significant numbers in a number of European countries: children with origins in Turkey and former Yugoslavia. These two groups have also been identified as being at major educational disadvantage across Europe. Our results suggest that continuing to (mainly) use the language of origin at home is more prevalent among children from socioeconomically more disadvantaged families, but is supported by more socioeconomically advantaged and more diverse school environments. In the majority of countries studied, switching to the language of instruction is associated with higher reading scores but not with higher educational expectations than continuing to speak mainly the language of origin at home. These relationships are to a large extent confounded (or in some cases potentially mediated) by family factors such as socioeconomic status and school-related factors such as school's socioeconomic composition. We conclude by highlighting the role that linguistically responsive pedagogies and a positive school climate can play for the education of all young people but in particular newly-arrived immigrants.

Work readiness: Its determinants and association with work-related outcomes among new graduate nurses.

This study aimed to identify determinants of work readiness and to assess the influences of work readiness on work-related outcomes in graduate nurses. Higher work readiness facilitates smoother role transitions of new graduate nurses. However, determinants of work readiness had not been fully examined. In addition, the relationships between work readiness and work-related outcomes, such as coping self-efficacy and occupational commitment, are also crucial but had not been assessed. We recruited 794 graduate nurses and assessed their work readiness before working as nurses. After they commenced their work, we assessed their occupational commitment, coping self-efficacy and intention to remain. All assessments were conducted online. There were 728 (92%) female respondents. The mean scores and standard deviation (SD) of work readiness, coping self-efficacy, occupational commitment and intention to remain were 261.51 (SD: 45.40), 30.30 (SD: 6.13), 81.65 (SD: 11.56) and 11.01 (SD: 2.36), respectively. Based on a regression analysis, determinants of work readiness were positive school climate, student leadership experience, nursing as the primary choice of discipline and perceived influences of COVID-19 on the honorability of being a nurse and the willingness to be a nurse (p<.001). Moreover, after adjusted by all demographics and characteristics variables, higher work readiness would result in higher coping self-efficacy (estimated coefficient = 0.06, p<.001), occupational commitment (estimated coefficient = 0.06, p<.001) and intention to remain (estimated coefficient = 0.01, p=.002). Work readiness is a composite concept affected by psychosocial and environmental factors, which can predict new graduate nurses' future self-efficacy, occupational commitment and intention to remain. The management of new graduate nurses when they begin to work could target their work readiness. Transition programmes that consider our identified determinants can be provided to those who show lower work readiness.

Adaptation of the Classroom Cultural Diversity Climate Scale for Russia

School climate is an underestimated factor for sustainable development and resilience in the educational context. There is a need to develop and implement specific prevention and intervention programs that help maintain a positive school climate in cultural diversity to ensure psychological well-being, successful adjustment, academic achievement, integration of students from diverse cultural backgrounds, and prevention of extremism among youth. The current study tested the Classroom Cultural Diversity Climate Scale (CCDCS) in the context of cultural diversity in Russian schools. Participants included students with and without an immigrant background. Russian students had difficulty answering questions about racism and discrimination because these topics are not covered in the secondary school curriculum. The research results showed that the questionnaire questions effectively provided an impetus to test further the validity and reliability of the CCDCS for Russian participants. The adapted questionnaire will make it possible to examine the descriptive norms of school policies related to diversity. In addition, the questionnaire can be used to identify factors that influence the learning efficiency and adjustment of students from diverse cultural backgrounds, including immigrant students.

Instructional Leadership Practices at High-Performing Vocational Schools: Administrators’ vs Teachers’ Perception

Instructional leadership continues to be a prevalent subject in educational leadership and has been progressively implemented to solidify educational leadership practices globally. The duty of school leaders as instructional leaders has long been recognized as an essential factor in school organizations to improve the quality of learning in schools. This study aimed to explore and report the instructional leadership practices among school administrators (principals, and vice-principals, head of programs) from high-performing vocational schools based on administrators’ and teachers’ perspectives. A survey was used to acquire the quantitative data. The Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) was employed and administered to 155 school administrators and 336 teachers from twenty-three high-performing vocational schools. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to measure the level of instructional leadership practices. The t-test was utilized to assess the substantial differences between school administrators and teachers. The findings indicated that the school administrators’ instructional leadership practices are high in defining school goals, managing instructional Programme, and promoting positive school climate dimensions. The findings also show a substantial difference in scores between the perceptions of school administrators and teachers concerning instructional leadership practices by school administrators. This study contributes to the understanding of instructional leadership practices, which had previously received limited attention.

School connectedness, school climate and emotional and behaviour disorders in students: Examining relationships

Students with emotional and behaviour disorders (EBDs) have challenging school connectedness experiences related to their social, behaviour and academic problems. They need accommodative school climate. Therefore, it is necessary to know the relationship between variations in EBDs, school connectedness and school climate. This was a survey research on students with EBDs (N = 60) from 14 inclusive elementary schools. Questionnaires about EBD types, school connectedness and school climate were filled out by teachers as data. The data analysis technique used was descriptive statistics with product–moment correlation test. The results indicate that EBDs have a medium significant negative correlation with school connectedness (−0.591) and school climate (−0.521). School climate has a positive correlation with school connectedness (0.438). This study suggests positive school climate improvement to increase school connectedness of students with EBDs, because it can affect the reduction of problem behaviour. &#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: Student, emotional disorder, behaviour disorders, school connectedness, school climate, inclusive schools;

School Climate in Rural and Urban Schools and the Impact of SWPBIS

Positive school climate is associated with myriad positive student, staff, and school outcomes, including increased achievement and decreased problem behavior. Hence, universal evidence-based practices are necessary to increase school climate. One universal approach with evidence of effects on school climate is School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). However, little research exists evaluating the effects of SWPBIS on school climate focus on student perceptions. Furthermore, researchers have rarely examined differences in students’ perceptions of school climate in rural and urban schools and differences of SWPBIS effectiveness in rural and urban schools. Therefore, we used state-wide school climate data for elementary students in the U.S. state of Georgia and examined differences between rural and urban locale and SWPBIS implementation. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, we found that rural schools implementing SWPBIS with high levels of fidelity had significantly higher positive school climate than urban schools. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Challenges to implementing parent‐focused antibullying policies: Lessons learned in Connecticut

AbstractBullying is a public health concern warranting policy‐level responses. Toward this end, states are enacting antibullying policies that require schools to be inclusive of parents. The current study examines parent‐related challenges as schools implement newly amended antibullying legislation in Connecticut. School personnel data were analyzed from 24 semistructured interviews and qualitative survey responses across 300 schools. We used inductive coding techniques to synthesize data into broader themes. Four major challenges to implementing antibullying policies emerged from qualitative analysis: (1) challenges to parent engagement, (2) interpretation of the word “bullying,” (3) parent affective responses, and (4) conflicting home and school norms. State antibullying laws call for greater parent engagement, but schools are often not fully inclusive of parents. A greater focus on the developing a positive school climate and a culture of parental engagement can facilitate the implementation of antibullying laws and ensure the safety of children.