Positive School Climate Research Articles

Creating Optimal Learning Environments through Invitational Education: An Alternative to Control Oriented School Reform

The importance and benefits of developing an intentionally positive school climate are often overlooked as education policy makers focus on accountability mandates that are increasingly control-oriented. Such school reforms often negatively impact the intrinsic motivation of educators and their students, while also unintentionally sabotaging the intended goals of the reform initiatives themselves (Deci & Ryan, 1985).

Structural empirical model of personal positive youth development, parenting, and school climate

AbstractThis study tested an empirical model of the relationship between Personal Positive Youth Development (PPYD) and two contextual factors: Positive Parenting (PP), and Perception of the Climate and Functioning of the School (PcfS). The hypothesis tested was that a positive relationship with parents and a positive perception of the school will contribute to the prediction of PPYD. The sample was composed of 1507 adolescents recruited in 10 Spanish schools who were aged between 12 and 18 years and 52% were female. PPYD was evaluated through Dispositional optimism, Self‐competence, and Sense of coherence. PP was evaluated through Affect and communication, Autonomy granting, Humor, and Self‐disclosure. PcfS was evaluated through School climate, School bonds, Clarity of rules and values, and Empowerment. Previous reliability and validity analyses of the constructs were carried out, and correlational analyses and structural predictions were made. The results show that both PP and PcfS were associated with better scores in PPYD. Also, a positive correlation between those two contextual factors was found. Implications for applied research are discussed.

OKAPI, an Emotional Education and Classroom Climate Improvement Program Based on Cooperative Learning: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation

A positive school climate can directly influence the relationships and social interactions among students while also contributing to the development of socio-emotional skills. Simultaneously, the school climate depends on these said skills. Despite this close relationship, emotional education and school climate improvement programmes have traditionally been studied separately. This study describes and evaluates the effectiveness of a new programme, OKAPI (Organisation, Cooperation, Positive Environment, Participation and Emotional Intelligence), for the development of socio-emotional skills and the improvement of classroom climate for primary school students using a cooperative learning methodology. The total sample comprised 86 students aged 9–11 years. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measures with a control group was used. The results show that the program’s implementation is effective both for the improvement of the classroom climate and the acquisition of training in the field of emotional intelligence, as well as for the development of cooperative competences. Among the fundamental pillars of the OKAPI programme are its simplicity and transversality, so that teachers are responsible for its application and monitoring; thus, the programme becomes an agent of change in their educational practice.

Exploring Risks Associated With Bullying Perpetration Among Hispanic/Latino Adolescents: Are They Similar for Foreign-Born and U.S.-Born?

Previous research indicates that racial and ethnic minority adolescents show an increased risk for bullying involvement. However, research on racial and ethnic differences in bullying has mainly focused on the differences between Whites and African American adolescents in the U.S.A. Research on the bullying perpetration of foreign-born students is scarce. To fill this gap in the literature, this study utilizes the immigrant paradox to compare the prevalence rates and correlates of bullying perpetration between foreign-born and U.S.-born Hispanic/Latino adolescents. Data from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children, 2009 to 2010 cohort study in the United States were used. The sample included 1,451 Hispanic/Latino adolescents from which 287 were foreign-born ( Mage = 13.32, SD = 1.68; 55% girls) and 1,164 were U.S.-born ( Mage = 13.05, SD = 1.68; 51.4% girls). Self-report questionnaires were administered to measure bullying involvement, substance abuse, befriending deviant peers, physical fight, demographic variables, and family characteristics. Findings showed that foreign-born adolescents did not differ from U.S.-born Hispanic/Latino adolescents (9.8% vs. 9.9%) regarding bullying perpetration. In addition, logistic regression analyses revealed that only bullying victimization was a common correlate for bullying perpetration across both groups. For foreign-born Hispanic/Latino adolescents, only befriending deviant peers was significantly associated with bullying perpetration. For the U.S.-born group, alcohol use and physical fights increased the odds of bullying perpetration. Implications for future research (e.g., the significance of the intersection of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class) and practice (e.g., the need to foster a positive school climate) will be discussed.

In-Person Versus Online Learning in Relation to Students’ Perceptions of Mattering During COVID-19: A Brief Report

We examined students’ perceptions of mattering during the pandemic in relation to in-person versus online learning in a sample of 6578 Canadian students in Grades 4–12. We found that elementary school students who attended school in-person reported mattering the most, followed by secondary school students who learned part-time in-person and the rest of the time online (blended learning group). The students who felt that they mattered the least were those who learned online full-time during the pandemic (elementary and secondary students). These results were not driven by a selection effect for school choice during the pandemic—our experimental design showed that students’ perceptions of mattering did not differ by current learning modality when they were asked to reflect on their experiences before the pandemic even though some were also learning online full-time at the time they responded to our questions. No gender differences were found. As a validity check, we examined if mattering was correlated with school climate, as it has in past research. Results were similar in that a modest association between mattering and positive school climate was found in both experimental conditions. The results of this brief study show that in-person learning seems to help convey to students that they matter. This is important to know because students who feel like they matter are more protected, resilient, and engaged. Accordingly, mattering is a key educational indicator that ought to be considered when contemplating the merits of remote learning.

Perceptions of School Climate: Views of Teachers, Students, and Parents


 
 
 It has been widely documented that positive school climate significantly contributes to academic success and student well-being. This study explored teachers, students, and parents’ perceptions of school climate as measured by the Inviting School Survey- R (ISS-R). The ISS-R was administered to over 10,000 school community members from over 60 schools across the United States. The ISS-R was used to identify perceptions of school climate between factors such as participants, gender, type of school, size of school, and student age. Results showed there were statistically significant association with self-reported perceptions of school climate and these five factors on the six ISS-R scales. The implications of the results are discussed, and it is concluded that the study’s findings will facilitate the development of more inviting schools. 
 
 

Is positive school climate associated with better adolescent mental health? Longitudinal study of young people in England

Background and objectivesStudies suggest that individual student-reported connection to school is associated with better mental health. However, there is less evidence for associations between schools’ overall school climate and the mental health of their students. This may reflect limitations in which mental health outcomes have been examined. We conducted a large longitudinal study in schools, hypothesising that we would find associations at both the student and school levels between student-reported positive school climate, and reduced student conduct and emotional problems and improved mental wellbeing. MethodsWe tracked students in 20 English secondary schools from near the end of the first year of secondary school (age 11/12) over 3 years using reliable measures of school climate and mental health. ResultsWe found associations between student-level reports of positive school climate at baseline, and reduced conduct and emotional problems and better mental wellbeing at 3-year follow-up adjusting for various potential confounders. We also found some evidence of adjusted associations between baseline school-level measures of overall positive climate and better student mental health at follow-up. However, these student- and school-level associations reduced considerably when also adjusting for baseline mental health. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that there are associations between school climate and student mental health at both the student and school level but these associations are complex and not necessarily causal.

COMPARE THE SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND STRESS LEVEL OF PRIVATE AND GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS WORKING AT SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS

A number of contributors to teacher stress have been identified, including personal coping strategies and available social supports, perceived self-efficacy, test-based accountability policies, and the larger school climate. The most common predictors of teacher satisfaction include student academic success in the classroom and organizational influences such as positive principal leadership styles and a positive school climate. Not surprisingly, stress and satisfaction often display inverse relationships with similar predictors. For instance, negative teacher-student relationships create stress, while positive teacher-student relationships are associated with greater job satisfaction. A quantitative non-experimental approach was used in the present study. For the present study, a Descriptive Cross-sectional Comparative Survey Research design had been adopted. This study was conducted in selected government and private Vijayapura, Karnataka high schools. The target population for the study is high school teachers working in various private and government high schools in Vijayapur District. Sample and the sample size for the present study included 200 male and female teachers who are in the age group of 25 to 60 years working at selected government and private high schools in Vijayapur District.

Policing the School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT The implementation of school-based law enforcement officers, commonly referred to as school resource officers (SROs), became an increasingly popular response to school crime in the United States, particularly in the aftermath of high-profile school shootings in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Following the expansion of SRO programs came the growing concern that SROs hypercriminalize trivial student misbehavior, contribute to a culture of youth punishment and control, and are instrumental in facilitating a link between schools and the juvenile justice system. Therefore, it is necessary to better understand what schools and police departments can do to foster a positive school climate without violating the rights of students. Drawing from qualitative data obtained through semi-structured interviews from a sample (n = 20) of school resource officers in a southeastern city, the current work examines how one SRO program is addressing these challenges. Policy recommendations for the use of school resource officers are addressed.

Principal’s Practices and School’s Collective Efficacy to Preventing Bullying: The Mediating Role of School Climate

Differences in bullying rates between schools could be explained by school efficacy. This study examined the relationships among teachers’ perceptions of principals’ practices, school climate, and school collective efficacy to prevent bullying. The sample comprises 403 Mexican elementary-school teachers; 35% were male, and 65% were female. The teaching experience ranged from 2 to 35 years ( M = 13.2 years, SD = 9.1). Teachers answered self-report measures. A latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used. SEM model indicated that principal’s bullying prevention was directly related to a positive school climate, but they did not influence teachers’ perceptions of school collective efficacy. Also, principals’ support for teachers’ antibullying practices positively affected school climate and school collective efficacy. Both principal involvement and support had an indirect relationship with school collective efficacy. Overall, findings suggest that the principal has a critical role in promoting teachers’ perceptions of school collective efficacy in bullying prevention.

HUBUNGAN ANTARA IKLIM SEKOLAH DAN KOMITMEN GURU

A positive school climate will produce high-quality human capital, while teachers ’commitment is a driver to achieve goals. A conducive school climate can increase the commitment of teachers in ensuring the success of educational institutions. Therefore, the study was developed to examine the relationship between school climate and teacher commitment. Teachers were randomly selected from 18 high-achieving secondary schools in Kelantan, with a total of 360 respondents. A cross-sectional survey method was applied to collect data. The questionnaire consisted of 44 items. IBM SPSS software was used to analyze t-test, correlation, and regression. The t-test analysis obtained differences based on study variables according to gender. The results of the analysis show that the level of climate is different based on the gender of teachers. Findings of Pearson correlation analysis confirmed a positive and significant relationship of weak correlation variables for school climate and commitment (r = .24, p <.01). Next, regression analysis of the influence of school climate on teacher commitment showed that R2 = .06, p <.01 was significant. The beta values indicated that school climate contributed 0.24 (24%), which significantly influenced commitment. The findings of this study suggest a significant relationship of school climate to increase teachers ’ self-commitment. This study also makes a significant contribution to the theory and expansion of knowledge by explaining the role of school climate in increasing teacher commitment.

Social context factors and refugee children's emotional health.

Refugee children face numerous challenges associated with pre-migration trauma and post-migration adaptation. Much research pertaining to refugee children's well-being focuses on psychiatric symptoms. Relatively few studies have examined how social context factors-such as perceptions of peer belonging, and support from adults at home and at school-contribute to the emotional health of refugee children. Informed by social-ecological theories emphasizing dynamic interactions between the contexts in which children develop, we examined associations between social context factors and emotional health in refugee children. Data were drawn from a population-based data linkage in British Columbia, Canada. The analytic sample included 682 grade 4 students (Mage 9.2years; 46.3% female) with a refugee background who responded to the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) during the 2010/2011-2016/2017 school years. The MDI is a self-report survey of children's social and emotional competencies and social context factors completed at school. Regression analyses were used to examine associations of social context factors (school climate, supportive adults at school and at home, and peer belonging) with indicators of emotional health (life satisfaction, self-concept, optimism, and sadness). Refugee generation status (first/second) was considered through stratification and testing of interactions with social context factors. Perceived supportive school climate, support from adults in school and at home, and peer belonging were each independently associated with better emotional health. Results were similar for first- and second-generation children. Taken together, results suggest a unique role of the school context to refugee children's emotional health. School-based programming that promotes positive school climate can be considered as an important approach to support newcomer refugee children and their families.

Assessing Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs Using Bandura’s Scale

The study aimed to assess the level of teacher’s self-efficacy belief as input to faculty development plan based on Bandura’s instrument. Mean and ranking were utilized to determine the Teachers’ Self- efficacy level. The results show that faculty members have higher efficacy in terms of discipline, instruction, create a positive school climate. Meanwhile, low efficacy in terms of influence in school resources, enlist parental and community involvement, and influencing decision making in the University. Generally, it indicates that faculty members need to enhance their self-efficacy belief in some aspects. It is suggested to include a plan as part of the faculty development program to enhance the teachers’ self-efficacy level particularly on decision making, community involvement, getting school resources, and parental involvement.

Promoting School Safety for LGBTQ and All Students.

Schools are often unsafe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) students; they frequently experience negative or hostile school climates, including bullying and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at school. Negative school climates and discriminatory experiences can threaten LGBTQ students' well-being. Simultaneously, a consistent body of research identifies strategies to support LGBTQ and all students to be safe and thrive at school. First, policies that specifically identify or enumerate protected groups such as LGBTQ students create supportive contexts for all youth. Second, professional development prepares educators and other school personnel with tools to support and protect all students. Third, access to information and support related to sexual orientation and gender identity or expression (SOGIE), including curricula that is SOGIE-inclusive, provides students with resources, support, and inclusion, creating school climate. Fourth, the presence of student-led clubs or organizations such as gender-sexuality alliances (i.e., GSAs) improve students' school experiences and well-being, and contribute to positive school climate. This article reviews the research foundations of each of these strategies and concludes with recommendations for multiple audiences: policy-makers, school personnel, parents, and students.

Positive school climate for school staff? The roles of administrators, staff beliefs, and school organization in high and low resource school districts.

Despite continued calls for positive school climate, school staff members are rarely included in school climate research or theories. This qualitative case study explored how socioeconomic status (SES), school districts, leadership, and school contexts combine to create school climate. Four schools were selected from a sample of positive and negative climate schools in one high and one low-SES district. Data collection involved key informant interviews and observation. District and school SES did not directly dictate the quality of climate. Organizational variables such as the principal's decisions and vision were key influences on the quality of climate for staff members. Staff members often prioritize student experiences of climate above their own experiences. School organization and the influence of the principal are critical for the quality of school climate staff members experience; these along with staff voice are critical ongoing contributions to school climate research, theory, and practice.

School climate and bullying victimization among adolescents: A moderated mediation model

The present study constructed a moderated mediation model to investigate whether self-esteem mediated the relationships between school climate and bullying victimization and whether psychological suzhi and gender moderated the mediation of self-esteem. The participants were 3645 students (Mage = 14.01 years, SD = 1.19) from 5 urban public secondary schools in Southwest China. The results indicated that school climate was negatively associated with bullying victimization and that self-esteem mediated the relationship between them. Furthermore, psychological suzhi moderated the first link of the mediational chain and the direct relationship between school climate and bullying victimization. More specifically, psychological suzhi increases the association between school climate and self-esteem and reduces the link between school climate and bullying victimization. The results further showed a gender difference in the association between self-esteem and bullying victimization. The negative effect of self-esteem on bullying victimization was larger among boys than girls. The findings provide implications for school decision makers and school professionals regarding the importance of fostering a positive school climate and improving psychological suzhi to prevent school bullying and promote positive development among Chinese adolescents.

Cultivating and nurturing a positive school culture and climate: Impacts of Philosophy for Children Hawai‘i at Waikiki Elementary School

This study investigates the development of positive school culture and climate at a mid-sized public elementary school in urban Oahu, Hawai’i, over fifteen years. Researchers ask: what key people, initiatives, and programs positively impacted the school culture and climate at Waikiki Elementary School? Qualitative methods are applied to design and carry out a portrait study, which included interviewing 22 members of the school community. Analysis of the data reveals how one particular school initiative—philosophy for children Hawai’i (p4cHI)—had a positive impact. p4cHI helped create a school culture and climate characterised by intellectual safety, learner-centred inquiry, integration of experience, and a reputation to be proud of. While no one school community is the same, this study sheds light on the factors that might help cultivate and nurture a more positive elementary school culture and climate in other contexts.

Adult and student perspectives on racial and ethnic equity-informed school-based strategies.

Although racial and ethnic equity‐informed school‐based strategies are important to addressing racialized structures and processes that create and sustain racial trauma, disadvantage and disparity, little is known about the process of embedding racial and ethnic equity in school‐based strategies and how adults and young people perceive them to promote a positive school climate and youth development. Using a qualitative research approach that included focus groups, this study examined student of color and school and community partner staff perceptions of the role and influence racial and ethnic equity‐informed school‐based strategies in one middle school have on the school's climate and students of color experiences and development. Findings suggest that racial and ethnic equity‐informed social and emotional learning strategies are important in facilitating positive student–teacher interactions and identity and social‐emotional development among students of color. Participant's experiences in and perceptions of the impact these strategies have on school climate and youth development substantiate the need to understand racial and ethnic equity as a process‐oriented approach that requires continuous improvement, rather than just an outcome‐focused endeavor. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

School bullying: consequences, risk and protective factors and successful school interventions worldwide.

Bullying and victimization in the school environment have been a major concern in recent years for students, parents, teachers and state authorities. The purpose of this article is to describe the multidimensional phenomenon and its short- and long-term social and emotional consequences on all parties, whether directly or indirectly involved, and to examine the risk and protective factors through Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, focusing on one of the main "systems", during adolescence, that of the school. The cultivation of social skills, coupled with a consistently positive school climate, are identified as key protective factors against bullying. In addition, two particularly successful approaches to preventing and tackling school bullying internationally are presented, namely social-emotional learning (SEL) and peer support programs. Social-emotional learning is based on the cultivation of social and emotional skills, while peer support capitalizes on the key role of “bystanders”. As evidenced by the existing literature, a significant number of meta-analyses have demonstrated the multiple benefits that result from the systematic implementation of social-emotional learning programs at all levels of education. Also, empirical research has shown that the proven success of peer support programs needs further documentation, as their diversity and complex structure require systematic and long-term implementation prior to their final evaluation.

Student engagement in schools serving marginalised communities

ABSTRACT This paper shares findings from a project that examined how schools serving marginalised communities facilitated students’ substantive engagement. Through interviews with students, parents, teachers and school leaders, we determined that substantive engagement was supported by formal and informal strategies that enabled access to rich learning opportunities, the provision of welcoming school and classroom climates, and the enactment of pedagogies of care and school-wide programmes focused on substantive engagement. There were four key areas of substantive engagement: engaging curriculum and pedagogy, engaging school climate, engaging with learners, and engaging with communities. Strategies to support engagement included the removal of barriers to learning, such as assistance with breakfast or public transport, nurturing a positive school climate, providing support for ethnic groups and the delivery of alternative or flexible programmes. Drawing on the findings from five case studies, we propose four principles for substantive student engagement in complex contexts, which will be useful for school leaders and teachers who work in schools that serve marginalised communities.