Identifying profiles of school climate in high schools

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Sociology of Education
• Racial and Ethnic Studies

Background:

• Student perceptions of school climate are crucial for academic success and well-being.
• Existing research often overlooks racial/ethnic differences in how students experience school climate.
• Understanding these disparities is vital for creating equitable educational environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct profiles of student perceptions of school climate.
• To examine how school and student characteristics predict classification into these climate profiles.
• To investigate racial/ethnic differences in the predictors of school climate perceptions.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study utilizing data from 364,143 students across 492 high schools in Georgia.
• Latent profile analysis (LPA) to categorize student perceptions into positive, moderate, and negative school climate profiles.
• Multinomial logistic regression to identify predictive school and student characteristics, analyzed for the total sample and by race/ethnicity.

Main Results:

• Three distinct student-perceived school climate profiles were identified: positive, moderate, and negative.
• Predictors of positive and negative school climate profiles differed significantly between White and minoritized students.
• Black students in non-White schools reported more positive climates, unlike White students. Black/Other students were more likely in negative profiles, while Latino/a/e students were more likely in positive profiles compared to White students.

Conclusions:

• Student perceptions of school climate are not monolithic and are influenced by race/ethnicity.
• School-level factors associated with climate perceptions operate differently for White versus minoritized students.
• Findings highlight the need for culturally responsive practices to foster positive and equitable school climates for all students.