The student population in American public schools has become increasingly diverse; however, the teacher workforce remains primarily White (80%). The purpose of the current paper was to examine the relationship between student-teacher racial composition and perceptions of school climate and the impact of Whiteness on the educational outcomes of minoritized students and their counterparts. Findings from the study indicate that more than 90 percent of the minoritized students in the sample are being educated by a majority White teaching staff. White students’ perceptions of cultural acceptance and connectedness increased as the number of White teachers increased. However, there was no effect for minoritized students. For minoritized students, perceptions of school climate did increase as the number of minoritized students increased. Recommendations for addressing ways to create more equitable learning environments for minoritized students and address and reduce teacher bias are discussed.

The purpose of the current study was to examine perceptions of school climate among students who self-identify as having an emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD) and their counterparts without disabilities on the Georgia Student Health Survey 2.0. Although research examining the link between perceptions of school climate and student outcomes has increased, no research has examined how students with disabilities, particularly those with EBD, perceive school climate, and the relation of those perceptions to outcomes including peer victimization and mental health problems. The current study found that in comparison with students without disabilities (SWOD), students with EBD (SWEBD) reported significantly lower perceptions of school climate and significantly higher rates of mental health problems and peer victimization. Perceptions of school climate and mental health were inversely associated with reports of victimization among both SWOD and SWEBD. We discuss how educational leaders can improve school climate for SWEBD through tiered systems of supports such as School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports to support mental health and reduce peer victimization.

School climate has been established as an important construct to measure because of its connections to student psychological, social, and academic outcomes (Anderson, 1982 Anderson, C. S. (1982). The search for school climate: A review of research. Review of Educational Research, 52(3), 368–420. doi:10.3102/00346543052003368. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ; Koth, Bradshaw, & Leaf, 2008 Koth, C. W. , Bradshaw, C. P. , & Leaf, P. J. (2008). A multilevel study of predictors of student perceptions of school climate: The effect of classroom-level factors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(1), 96–104. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.100.1.96. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ; Kuperminc, Leadbeater, Emmons, & Blatt, 1997 Kuperminc, G. P. , Leadbeater, B. J. , Emmons, C. , & Blatt, S. J. (1997). Perceived school climate and difficulties in the social adjustment of middle school students. Applied Developmental Science, 1(2), 78–88. doi:10.1207/s1532480xads0102_2. [Taylor & Francis Online] [Google Scholar] ). Prior research has also established relationships between student perceptions of school climate and individual (i.e., race and ethnicity, gender), classroom (i.e., class size, academic environment), and school (i.e., school size, teacher characteristics) cultural factors. While these variables provide insight into the ways that students come to experience school climate differently, there still remains a need to examine the effect of additional cultural and ecological variables that also have a proximal effect on students' school experiences and perceptions of climate. The current paper presents the Cultural-Ecological Model of School Climate as a method for understanding the interrelationships between personal characteristics, culture, ecological contexts, and school climate, and describes a methodological framework for examining the CEMSC model with individual, family, school, and community variables using multilevel methodologies. Future directions for research will describe how the application of the Cultural-Ecological Model of School Climate can help guide future research aimed at identifying culture-specific prevention and intervention strategies to promote a positive school climate for all students.

School climate is a topic of increasing importance internationally. The current study investigated the established measurement invariance of an eight-factor school climate scale using a multinational sample of secondary students. School climate factor means across 14 international groups were compared and findings on the association between school climate factors and mental health were also investigated. Findings, from this study, illustrate several cross-national similarities regarding the ways in which secondary students perceive school climate and the influence of school climate on student mental health. These findings can support school psychologists' efforts to identify strategies and supports that improve the school environment in areas that are most consistently related to student experiences, such as school safety and school connectedness. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).