Understanding School Discipline Climate: A Multilevel Latent Class Analysis Approach

School discipline reform has gained considerable attention at the local, state and national levels in recent years, and in 2011 the U.S. Department of Education and Justice called for a focus on rigorous research that can guide school discipline policy decisions. School discipline climate, or the degree to which schools demonstrate student support and disciplinary structure, has been found to predict several outcomes associated with school discipline, including the racial suspension gap, student disengagement, and school safety. Based in authoritative parenting theory, researchers have theorized that entire schools can be characterized as having a school discipline climate typology, which reflect authoritative (high support, high structure), authoritarian (low support, high structure), permissive (high support, low structure), and uninvolved (low support, low structure) styles, and that these school discipline climate typologies are strongly related to the socialization of students to school norms and their success in school. In an effort to better understand this construct at the student and school-levels, the current study used multilevel latent class analysis (MLCA) to identify latent classes of student perceptions of school discipline climate, model school-level variation in these student experiences, and examine the relation between school discipline climate and important student and school demographic characteristics. Using a nationally representative sample of approximately 12,610 students nested within 580 public high schools in the U.S. from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, results show that student perceptions of school discipline climate fall into four classes: authoritative, permissive, authoritarian, and uninvolved, which are consistent with authoritative parenting theory and the school discipline climate literature. In addition, schools tend to have one school discipline climate type that is experienced by more students than the others (a predominant school discipline experience), although considerable variability in individual student experiences exists. Student gender, ethnicity/race, and SES all impact a student’s likelihood of membership in these classes. Current findings address gaps in the previous literature on school discipline climate and have important implications for future research and school policy decisions

School Sense of Community, Teacher Support, and Students\u2019 School Safety Perceptions

This study examined the association between two characteristics of school climate (sense of community and teacher support, measured both at the individual and at the school level) and students\u2019 feelings of being unsafe at school. The study involved a sample of 49,638 students aged 10\u201318 years who participated in the 2010\u20132012 California Healthy Kids Survey. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), our findings revealed that, at the individual level, students perceiving higher levels of sense of community and teacher support at school were less likely to feel unsafe within the school environment. At the school level, sense of community was negatively associated with unsafe feelings, whereas there was no association between school-level teacher support and feelings of being unsafe at school

Positive Education in the United Arab Emirates: Navigating Through and Beyond the Global Pandemic

Drawing on data from the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) in the UAE, this study looks at using Positive Education (PE) to build strengths, competencies, well-being, and toughness in educational communities, to combat learning loss before and during the pandemic. We were interested in understanding how educational leaders, teachers, and students perceive PE and its impact on student well-being, as well as how well-equipped they were to handle the effects of the pandemic after participating in PE. Using qualitative data from semi-structured in-person interviews, focus groups, classroom observations, and document analysis, this study argues that PE supported students in coping with stressors associated with the pandemic. We show three significant findings. First, we found that the pandemic impacted student well-being in numerous academic and nonacademic ways. Second, our results demonstrate that PE was helpful in supporting student resilience and well-being during the pandemic. Third, data show that because PE was rolled out just before the pandemic began, the pandemic curtailed its full implementation. We conclude by recommending a whole school approach to PE that includes family members since the pandemic revealed that when students are engaged in remote learning or otherwise not face-to-face at school, it is critical that parents/families can support youth who may be struggling. Finally, we note the need for school-based support, like PE, to engender student resiliency

Educator Perceptions of Adult-Student Relationships, Racial Climate, and Associated Discipline Techniques

The overuse and misuse of exclusionary and punitive discipline practices in schools have been consistently linked to social and educational inequities across the globe, particularly for students of color. However, there is an ongoing need for a greater understanding of how school climate factors (e.g., adult-student relationships, racial climate) relate to the types of discipline approaches observed, particularly from the viewpoints of educators. The current study used hierarchical multiple regression analyses to investigate teacher, administrator, and staff (N = 168) survey responses from four junior high schools where discipline disproportionality for Latinx students had been previously established. Analyses explored how perceptions of adult-student relationships were associated with the perceived use of punitive and positive discipline practices and the potential moderating effect of racial climate. Results suggest that perceptions of more positive adult-student relationships were associated with less punitive discipline, but not meaningfully related to positive discipline approaches (i.e., social-emotional instruction, positive reinforcement). Additionally, racial climate was a significant moderator in the relation between adult-student relationships and punitive discipline techniques, enhancing the inverse relation between positive adult-student relationships and punitive discipline. Implications for theory, research, and practical application are discussed

Languishing Students: Linking Complete Mental Health Screening in Schools to Tier II Intervention.

Despite innovations in the screening and early identification of students who may benefit from school mental health services, many schools struggle to link screening to intervention decisions, particularly at the Tier II level. Universal complete mental health screening, which measures strengths along with risk factors, is a strength-based approach that enables identification of students who do not report active mental health risk yet have limited psychosocial strengths. These languishing students are ideal candidates for Tier II interventions. Using a case study to link screening to intervention, this paper describes a contemporary approach to complete mental health screening, identify candidates for Tier II intervention, select appropriate interventions, and monitor student outcomes. Implications and challenges for school psychologists are discussed

How School can Teach Civic Engagement Besides Civic Education: The Role of Democratic School Climate

Civic engagement, defined as involvement in community life, is influenced by reciprocal relationships between individuals and contexts and is a key factor that contributes to positive youth development. The present study evaluates a theoretical model linking perceived democratic school climate with adolescent civic engagement (operationalized as civic responsibility and intentions for future participation), taking into account the mediating role of civic discussions and perceived fairness at school. Participants were 403 adolescents (47.9 % male) ranging in age from 11 to 15 years old (mean age = 13.6). Path analysis results partially validated the proposed theoretical model. Higher levels of democratic school climate were associated with higher levels of adolescent civic responsibility; the association was fully mediated by civic discussions and perceived fairness at school. Adolescents' civic responsibility, then, was positively associated with a stronger intention to participate in the civic domain in the future. \ua9 2014 Society for Community Research and Action