The Importance Of School Climate

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In the tailwind of industrial and organizational climate research, the systematic study of school climate developed to understand the variation in student achievement associated with school-specific processes (Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & D’Alessandro, 2013). Today, the research literature on school climate, although expansive, remains a dynamic point of study that continues to present challenges to researchers, educators, and policy-makers that seek to implement appropriate interventions to enhance the quality of students’ education.
The Construct of School Culture
The challenge of researching and understanding school climate begins with it definition. Past research has established, contrary to popular belief, that there is an important distinction …show more content…

It is one of the most salient and significant domains of school climate because correlation is found between climate and academic achievement for all levels of schooling (Wang & Degol, 2015; Thapa et al., 2013; MacNeil, Prater, & Busch, 2009).
Enhanced school climate easily cultivates high academic achievement. Schools that emphasize commitment to high academic standards and promote effective leadership from teachers and principals have demonstrated an increase in student math and science achievement (Ma & Wilkins, 2002). Schools that maintain high academic standards and expectations also demonstrate lower student disengagement (Pellerin, 2005). However, in a culture-focused study by Boykin, Albury, Tyler, Hurley, Bailey, & Miller (2005) that investigates African American students’ perceptions of high academic achievement, results indicate that African American students tend to disengage to the mainstream, Euro-cultural themes (e.g., individualism and competition) that many high-achieving students are expected and encouraged to use in schools, preferring Afro-cultural themes (e.g., communalism and verve) instead. Thus, in further school climate research and intervention that aims to promote academic achievement, it is also important to account for the cultural diversity of the

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