School climate, family structure, and academic achievement: A study of moderation effects.

Abstract

School climate has been lauded for its relationship to a host of desirable academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes for youth. The present study tested the hypothesis that school climate counteracts youths' home-school risk by examining the moderating effects of students' school climate perceptions on the relationship between family structure (i.e., two-parent, one-parent, foster-care, and homeless households), and academic performance (i.e., self-reported [grade point average] GPA). The present sample consisted of 902 California public high schools, including responses from over 490,000 students in Grades 9 and 11. Results indicated that, regardless of family structure, students with more positive school climate perceptions self-reported higher GPAs. Youths with two-parent, one-parent, and homeless family structures displayed stepwise, linear improvements in self-reported GPA as perceptions of climate improved. Foster-care students' positive school climate perceptions had a weaker effect on their self-reported GPA compared with students living in other family structures. A unique curvilinear trend was found for homeless students, as the relationship between their school climate perceptions and self-reported GPA was stronger at lower levels. Overall, the moderation effect of positive school climate perceptions on self-reported GPA was strongest for homeless youth and youth from one-parent homes, suggesting that school climate has a protective effect for students living in these family structures. A protective effect was not found for youth in foster-care. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Early Life Psychosocial Stressors and Housing Instability among Young Sexual Minority Men: the P18 Cohort Study

“…O'Malley and colleagues examined whether family structure (including one-and two-parent households, foster care, and homelessness) and academic achievements moderated the effect of students' perceptions of school climate. 29 Their findings suggest that students who lack structure at home but rather obtain it from a supportive school environment achieve more than students who do not have a positive school climate 29 Having access to counselors, social workers, teachers, or other trusted adults and an overall positive school climate might help prevent potentially adverse housing circumstances.…”

Authoritative School Climate and Student Academic Engagement, Grades, and Aspirations in Middle and High Schools

“…A study by O'Malley, Voight, Renshaw, and Eklund (2015) found that a more positive school climate was associated with higher self-reported grade point averages in high school students. School climate was measured by averaging four constructs (school connectedness, relationships with adults at school, opportunities for meaningful participation in school, and school safety).…”

Impacto de la convivencia escolar sobre el rendimiento académico, desde la percepción de estudiantes con desarrollo típico y necesidades educativas especiales

“…Al parecer el clima positivo de la escuela puede proporcionar cierta protección para los estudiantes, especialmente de contextos y familias vulnerables. Así, la percepción del clima escolar por parte de los estudiantes, constituye un factor moderador con respecto a dicha estructura familiar poco favorable, como también respecto de su desempeño académico, expresado en el promedio de calificaciones (Maxwell, 2016;O'Malley, Voight, Renshaw, & Eklund, 2015). Más aun, se ha logrado constatar que en aquellas instituciones escolares donde se da una convivencia democrática los estudiantes presentan niveles más altos de desempeño, al controlar el efecto de variables socioculturales de partida (Castro-Morera, García-Medina, Pedroza-Zúñiga & Caso-Niebla, 2015).…”