Schools Climate and Student Achievement in Secondary Schools of Ethiopia

Abstract

A corelational research design was employed to examine if a relationship exists between organizational school climate and student achievement in Ethiopia secondary schools setting, and to investigate whether the various elements of school climate have independent effects on student achievement. Organisational climate was measured using the School Climate Index (SCI) developed by Tschannen-Moran, Parish and Dipaola and student achievement was measured by students’ test scores at the Ethiopia General Education Leaving Certificate Examination (GELCE) in the year 2014/15. A total of 32 schools, 973 teachers and 14882 students were involved in the study. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation, Pearson r correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were applied for the data analysis. The results indicate that school climate has a significant and positive relationship with student achievement in Ethiopia secondary schools, but nonetheless, a weak one. The collegial leadership, teacher professionalism, and academic press were significantly and moderately correlated to students’ achievement while the community engagement sub scale was not. The four factors used both for the SCI as predictor variables in the regression model were shown to have a significant relationship with student achievement when viewed as a whole, but they generated more varied results when examined individually. Teachers’ professionalism is the most positive predictor of student achievement in Ethiopia secondary schools. Similarly collegial leadership and academic press are also found to be significant predictor of academic achievement. This study found no independent effect of community engagement on student achievement. It is recommended that school leaders should design school improvement plans that entail the school climate construct. School leaders need to find ways of including the community in the life of the school and foster positive relationships with the community. Principals in particular need to be mindful that the climate of a school affect achievement and the former can be enhanced to improve results.

Analysis of School Climate Factors as Predictors of Academic Achievement in Junior High Schools: A Literature Review

“…Galeta's research results. A in 2017, found that school climate has a significant and positive relationship with student achievement in Ethiopia, but the correlation is weak (28). In general, the findings from this literature study state that there is indeed an influence between the school climate and academic achievement in various countries, because the school climate can make the emotional bonds of students and schools tighter so that anything related to school makes students enthusiastic about participating in it.…”

“…School climate reflects the situation of students, school staff, and parents, experiences about school life socially, emotionally, and socially as a step in increasing academic achievement (30). Studying the impact of school climate on student academic achievement and identifying the factors that shape the school climate can be used as benchmarks in planning and designing appropriate strategies to improve a positive school climate and student academic achievement (28). A positive school climate is an effort to improve the quality of learning to achieve superior academic achievement (30).…”

“…A positive school climate can improve or limit the performance of teachers and other school staff members. A positive school climate can support fostering good relations between school principals and teachers to create a good school climate and improve student academic achievement (28). From several studies on positive school climate, it can be concluded that in general a positive school climate can affect student achievement.…”

Discourteous Behaviour among Students in High School of Duhok City

“…Geleta defines school climate as the learning environment produced by the combination of interpersonal connections, physical surroundings, and psychological atmosphere. So, the ecology, social structure, milieu, and culture make up the school's overall environment [9]. Also, the collective personality of a school or school system is referred to as its "school atmosphere.…”

Human resource management practices in senior high schools: An account of those who matter

“…It has been realized that active school managers are positively connected to students' achievements through the provision of orderly school climate, setting instructional strategies, supervising and supporting teachers (Geleta, 2017). This explains why scholars have reiterated the fact that effective human resource management practices assist employees to get the required skills and knowledge through the organization of effective training.…”