Notes from: Thapa, A. & Cohen. J. (2013).  A review of school climate research.  Review of Educationa Research, 83(3), 357-385. 

In this review, we address five essential areas of focus, which we call the five dimensions of school climate:  (a) Safety (e.g., rules and norms, physical safety, social-emotional safety), (b) Relationships (e.g., respect for diversity, school connectedness/engagement, social support, leadership, and students’ race/ethnicity and their perceptions of school climate), (c) Teaching and Learning (e.g., social, emotional, ethical, and civic learning; service learning; support for academic learning; support for professional relationships; teachers’ and students’ perceptions of school climate), (d) Institutional Environment (e.g., physical surrounding, resources, supplies), and (e) the School Improvement Process. (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 358).

“(T)here is not yet a consensus about which dimensions are essential to measuring school climate validly…” (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 358).

“(I)t must be understood that both the effects of school climate and the conditions that give rise to them are deeply interconnected, growing out of the shared experience of a dynamic ecological system (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; L. Ma, Phelps, Lerner, & Lerner, 2009).” (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 359).

“There is growing evidence that educators also feel unsafe in schools.”  (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 362).  The feeling of being unsafe is due to threats and assaults by students.  “The authors also found that lower levels of student support were a consistent predictor of school records of more threats against faculty” (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 362).

The process of teaching and learning is fundamentally relational. The patterns of norms, goals, values, and interactions that shape relationships in schools provide an essential area of school climate. One of the most important aspects of relationships in schools is how connected people feel to one another. (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 363)

Research has also shown that teachers’ work environment, peer relationships, and feelings of inclusion and respect are important aspects of positive school climate. In a study of 12 middle schools.  Guo (2012) found that the teachers’ work environment, which may be considered an indicator of teachers’ relationships with each other and school administrators, fully mediated the path from a whole school character intervention to school climate change. This indicates the critical foundational role of positive adult relationships for a positive school climate. (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 364)

“A series of correlational studies have shown that school climate is directly related to academic achievement.” (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 365).

When a study was conducted regarding student and teacher perceptions of overall school climate and academic emphasis, it was found that teachers’ perceptions of school climate were more sensitive to classroom-level factors, such as “poor classroom management and proportion of students with disruptive behaviors,” whereas students’ perceptions were more sensitive to school-level factors, such as “student mobility, student- teacher relationships, and principal turnover (Mitchell, Bradshaw, & Leaf, 2010).  (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p. 367)

Literature indicates that when teachers feel supported by both the principal and their peers, teachers are more committed to their profession (Singh & Billingsley, 1998). A positive school climate is also associated with the development of teachers’ beliefs that they can positively affect student learning (Guo & Higgins- D’Alessandro, 2011; Hoy & Woolfolk, 1993). The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future defines school climate in terms of a learning community and argues that school climate is an important contributing factor to teacher retention (Fulton, Yoon, & Lee, 2005). Furthermore, research has shown that school climate enhances or minimizes teacher/staff emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of low personal accomplishment (Grayson & Alvarez, 2008; Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2002) as well as attrition (Miller, Brownell, & Smith, 1999).  (Thapa & Cohen, 2013, p 367)

“School climate—by definition—reflects students’, school personnel’s, and parents’ experiences of school life socially, emotionally, civically, and ethically as well as academically” (Thapa & Cohen, 0213, p. 369).

Guo, P. (2012).  School culture: A validation study and exploration of its relationship with teachers' 
     work environment.  (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).  Fordham University, New York.

Thapa, A. & Cohen, J. (2013).  A review of school climate research.  Review of Educational 
     Research, 83(3), 357-385.