- Do Black, Hispanic, and White students differ in their perceptions of school climate?
- Do the associations between authoritative school climate and student engagement as well as peer aggression differ for Black, Hispanic, and White students?
– Perceptions of school climate differed between Black and White groups, but not between Hispanic and White groups.
-Race/ethnicity did not moderate the associations between school climate and either engagement or peer aggression.
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Although correlational and cross-sectional in nature, these results are consistent with the conclusion that a positive school climate holds similar benefits of promoting student engagement and reducing victimization experiences across Black, Hispanic, and White groups.
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All contrasts controlled for parent education level, student gender, the percentage of students in the school sharing the same race as the respondent, the percent of students in the respondents’ school receiving free- or reduced-prices meals, and school size.
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Results indicated that White students reported higher levels of student support and disciplinary structure than Black students, while Black students reported higher academic expectations in comparison to White students. By contrast, White and Hispanic students reported similar levels of student support, disciplinary structure, and academic expectations.
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A positive school climate characterized by high disciplinary structure, supportive teacher-student relationships, and high academic expectations for students was associated with higher levels of student engagement and lower levels of peer aggression.
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White students reported statistically higher levels of support and disciplinary structure than Black students, while Black students reported significantly higher academic expectations.
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Differences between Hispanic and White students were statistically indistinguishable across these measures of school climate.
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Higher reported levels of student support and disciplinary structure were statistically associated with increases in student engagement and decreases in the reported prevalence of teasing and bullying, bullying victimization, and general victimization.
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As percent of Free/Reduced Price Lunch increases, reports of bullying experiences also increases when comparing Black to White students.
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As percent of Free/Reduced Price Lunch decreases, reports of bullying experiences also decrease, when comparing Hispanic to white students.