Since positive school climate has been consistently associated with many desirable student outcomes in both middle and high schools, but there has been little work comparing the perceptions across these two school settings, the U.S. Department of Education conceptualized a three-factor model for school climate consisting of safety, engagement, and environment. Drawing on data from 29,720 middle and 34,950 high school students, the fit of the three-factor model was examined for measurement invariance, to explore whether the measure functioned similarly across both middle and high schools.
The results indicated measurement invariance, which suggests that practitioners and researchers can confidently compare findings across middle and high schools to inform local decision making related to school-based programming. A series of multilevel analyses also explored the extent to which perceptions of school climate differed for middle and high school students; these results generally indicated that middle school students perceived the school more favorably than high school students. Implications of these findings for social workers are considered. (Publisher Abstract Provided)
Downloads
Similar Publications
- Understanding and Reducing Deaths in Custody, Interim Summary Report
- Victimized Teachers' Perceptions of Procedural Justice and the Impact on Satisfaction with School Responses
- “We Need to Not Fear You”: Essential Factors Identified by Sworn Officers and Civilian Staff for Implementation and Expansion of a Co-Response Program