School climate


School climate refers to the quality and character of school life. It has been described as "the heart and soul of the school... that essence of a school that leads a child, a teacher, and an administrator to love the school and to look forward to being there each school day." A positive school climate helps people feel socially, emotionally and physically safe in schools. It includes students', parents' and school personnel's norms, beliefs, relationships, teaching and learning practices, as well as organizational and structural features of the school. According to the National School Climate Council, a sustainable, positive school climate promotes students' academic and social emotional development.
Many factors can affect the quality and character of school life. There is no consensus on the definition or dimensions of school climate. However, the factors that shape school climate are often grouped into four main dimensions. These dimensions are: safety, teaching and learning, relationships, and the environment. Each dimension is discussed in detail below.
Positive school climate is related to many positive student outcomes. For example, positive school climate is associated to higher academic performance, better mental health, and less bullying. Improving school climate can be used as a preventative approach to reduce disruptive behavior and improve attendance, achievement, and student and parent satisfaction with school. Many assessment tools and interventions have therefore been developed to help school in the climate improve process.

Dimensions

Safety

All humans need to feel safe socially, mentally, and physically. Feeling safe in school influences students' learning and their general development. However, many students do not feel safe in schools. Most students are not necessarily exposed to physical violence, but many students are exposed to social, emotional, and intellectual violence. A positive school climates therefore means feeling physically and emotionally safe and having clear and consistent rules to maintain order and discipline.
  • Physical Safety is the degree to which violence, aggression, and physical bullying are present. It also refers to the strategies used to eliminate violence.
  • Identity Safety pertains to humans being an asset in the classroom rather than a barrier. This refers to how a school can promote positive relationships and opportunities to learn where students feel they are welcomed, supported and valued as a member of the learning community.
  • Emotional Safety includes available school-based mental-health services, an absence of verbal bullying, and positive attitudes about individual differences. It is also affected by the students' and staff's attitudes about bullying and their response to it. There is experimental evidence that the adults in the organizational institution tend to regard bullying or social violence as less severe, even when the students have reported them as severe problems.
  • Order and discipline refers to how often students break the school's rules, and how misbehavior is handled. Schools with a positive climate have low rates of delinquency and clearly communicated rules that students consider to be implemented fairly and consistently.

    Academic climate

Academic climate refers to the teaching and learning practices promoted in the school. It is composed of three factors: leadership, teaching and learning, and professional development.
  • Leadership refers to the role of the principal and administration. It is influenced by how well they communicate their vision for the school and how supportive and accessible they are.
  • Teaching and learning refers to the actual methods and instructional practices used by teachers in their classrooms. It entails everything from the curriculum selected, evaluation methods, to how teachers communicate their expectations and give feedback to students. These practices influence student motivation and engagement in the classroom, which in turn affect academic performance.
  • Professional development refers to teacher's access to training programs they find relevant and helpful, and that are in line with the needs of the school. In schools with a positive climate, teachers have ongoing access to training where they can learn new strategies to improve the way they teach.

    Community

The quality of relationships between members of a school has an influence on students' behavior and achievement. The relationship between a student and their teacher affects their engagement in the classroom, self-esteem, and grades. The community aspect of school climate refers to the quality of relationships within a school. It also includes the school's connectedness, respect for diversity, and partnerships with other members of the community.
  • Relationships refers the quality and consistency of relationships among students, staff members, and between teachers and students. School climate is affected by how much students and teachers support, trust, respect, and care for each other. The relationships between the adults in a school also has an important influence on school climate.
  • Connectedness refers to students' feelings of attachment and belonging towards the school. Feeling accepted and included by the other members of the school will contribute to a positive school climate.
  • Respect for diversity refers to treating members of any ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation equally. It also means cultivating awareness and appreciation for other cultures in classrooms.
  • Community partnership refers to the involvement of parents and other community members in school life. It involves good communication between parents and school staff, high attendance of school events, the development of mentoring programs, and other initiatives that build relationships between students and the larger community.

    Institutional environment

The physical layout, size, and material resources of a school also affect school climate. For instance, environmental variables such as classroom layout and activity schedules can influence how safe students feel and how well they perform in school. Environmental variables include the adequacy of the school setting, the maintenance and infrastructure of the building, and the accessibility and allocation of educational resources.
  • Environmental adequacy refers to the physical characteristics of the school, such as cleanliness, lighting and temperature, and sound control, which all affect teaching and learning.
  • Structural organization is the physical layout of the school itself. It also includes organizational aspects, such as start and end times, and whether students are grouped based on ability. These characteristics can influence both feelings of safety and academic performance.
  • Availability of resources refers to how much access students and teachers have to equipment, materials, and supplies that improve teaching.

    Theoretical frameworks

There are several theories of school climate described in the research literature. They are ordered based on the scientific research that has supported them.

Bio-ecological theory

's bio-ecological framework suggests that human development occurs through the complex, reciprocal interactions that an individual has with others and the surrounding environment. This theory outlines four systems of operations including a microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem, where the self is microsystem and school is part of the mesosystem. It proposes that individuals have ultimate control over their own environments, altering and modifying to their needs, however, this is only possible through self-directed actions that combine biological and environmental attributes. One cannot engage in reconstructing their environment without both of these attributes working together. More depth of this concept can be referenced in the bioecological model. In the context of school climate, individual behaviors are shaped by the school environment, in which each child is embedded. For example, the structure and condition of the school, the use of specific school practices, and the interpersonal relationships between students and teachers, all play a role in influencing student development.

Risk and resilience perspective

The focus of this model is on identifying protective factors in a child's environment that promote healthy adjustment and reduce negative outcomes, despite the presence of risk. A risk factor refers to anything that increases a child's likelihood of experiencing a negative outcome in the future. For example, growing up in poverty is considered a risk factor. Children are considered resilient if they can rely on positive conditions or attributes to buffer the negative effects of adversity. Psychological resilience has been studied since the 1970s and continues to grow in research.

Social cognitive theory

affect how students view themselves as active learners within the classroom. School climate plays a role in student development through the quality of interactions with others. For example, setting appropriate academic expectations, promoting supportive teacher-student relationships, and creating a safe and secure environment where students' feel comfortable taking academic risks, all play a role in student development. Research has shown that people have the natural tendency to affiliate with others. Therefore, students living in a cooperative, helpful class are more likely to feel identity safe as they develop a sense of belonging and contribute to their class community. When students cooperate, it is evident that their learning is increased, and they develop a positive attachment to school. This capacity to work together has been a hallmark of humanity and the basis for building a civil society.