Optimal educational climate among students at risk: the role of teachers’ work attitudes

Abstract

One of the most significant phenomena among students at risk is low resilience. However, very little is known about teacher-related factors that affect students’ resilience. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to shed light on the relationships between teacher-level (affective and continuance organizational commitment, professional commitment, burnout, and job characteristics) and student-level variables (optimal educational climate, OEC: the needs of belonging, respect from others, autonomy, self-efficacy, and self-fulfillment), as OEC is viewed as a main source of students’ psychological resilience. A sample of 243 teachers and 1777 10th-grade students from 44 nationwide secondary schools in Israel participated in this study. The study included the entire population of this selected cohort. Using hierarchical linear model (HLM) coefficient models, we found two major factors that significantly predicted students’ OEC: teachers’ affective organizational commitment and teachers’ job characteristics. These findings indicate that schools may serve as a protective factor for students at risk, since schools can strengthen teachers’ affective abilities in order to ensure their students’ psychological resilience. These findings are especially important when working with students at risk, who tend to be exposed to a wider range of stress factors, both individually and academically. The importance of these relationships becomes even greater considering the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic, which has had a significant global impact on many aspects, including students’ relationships with schools and teachers.

Taking a step towards understanding interactions between teacher efficacy in behavior management and the social learning environment: a two-level multilevel analysis

“…For example, Baumrind's studies of parenting styles show that the most adaptive parenting style for children combines both parental demandingness (rules, discipline) and responsiveness (warmth and acceptance) (Baumrind, 1991;Maccoby & Martin, 1983). These findings are also concomitant with the results of many recent studies showing the importance of establishing meaningful relationships between students and their teachers for both parties as on one hand, they benefit students' emotional well-being through supporting important aspects such as achievement emotions or self-concept of ability, and on the other, they support teachers' emotional wellbeing, thus lessening stressful feelings that often accompany negative behavior management (e.g., Clem et al, 2021;Freund et al, 2022;Hagenauer et al, 2015). Positive relationships have been central to classroom and behavior management strategies for several years now (Gaudreau et al, 2015) and it is interesting to see the way they are taken into account by students when evaluating different aspects of the social learning environment.…”

Exploring Students’ and Teachers’ Insights on School-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Safety: A Case Study of Western Morava Basin, Serbia

“…Differences in attitudes among teachers with different levels of education may result from their varying experiences, expertise, and training in disaster management [181]. Teachers with higher education levels may have a deeper understanding of risk management principles and the possibilities for protecting school facilities [110]. Additionally, they might have greater trust in institutional support mechanisms, such as legal regulations and professional assistance, which could make them more optimistic about the resilience of school facilities to disasters [126].…”

“…On the other hand, numerous studies examine collaboration among various stakeholders, including government agencies, educational institutions, civil society organizations, and local communities, to enhance disaster risk reduction efforts. These studies focus on multi-sectoral partnerships, coordination mechanisms, and participatory approaches aimed at enhancing resilience [52,53,57,58,60,91,101,[109][110][111].…”

Exploring Students' and Teachers' Insights on School-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Safety: A Case Study of Western Morava Basin, Serbia

“…On the other hand, numerous studies examine collaboration among various stakeholders, including government agencies, educational institutions, civil society organizations, and local communities, to enhance disaster risk reduction efforts. These studies focus on multi-sectoral partnerships, coordination mechanisms, and participatory approaches aimed at enhancing resilience [43,44,48,49,51,82,94,[102][103][104].…”