[7] A positive school climates therefore means feeling physically and emotional safe, and having clear and consistent rules to maintain order and discipline.
For instance, environmental variables such as classroom layout and activity schedules can influence how safe students feel and how well they perform in school.
Environmental variables include the adequacy of the school setting, the maintenance and infrastructure of the building, and the accessibility and allocation of educational resources.
Urie Bronfenbrenner's (1979) bio-ecological framework[10] suggests that human development occurs through the complex, reciprocal interactions that an individual has with others and the surrounding environment.
[11] It proposes that individuals have ultimate control over their own environments, altering and modifying to their needs, however, this is only possible through self-directed actions that combine biological and environmental attributes.
[4] The focus of this model is on identifying protective factors in a child's environment (e.g., supportive relationships) that promote healthy adjustment and reduce negative outcomes, despite the presence of risk.
[13][14] A risk factor refers to anything that increases a child's likelihood of experiencing a negative outcome in the future.
Children are considered resilient if they can rely on positive conditions or attributes (e.g., supportive relationships with teachers, academically challenging instruction) to buffer the negative effects of adversity.
[23][24] The quality of a schools' climate is important for promoting students' commitment and involvement in academic activities.
[4] Studies have shown that school climate can directly affect students' mental health and social-emotional well-being.
The quality of life within a school setting can promote the healthy social and emotional development of students.
A positive school climate can also help students coping with social-emotional issues to develop resiliency.
[25] Research findings have also shown that a negative school climate can have detrimental effects on students' psychological and social-emotional well-being, leading to mental health problems.
[27] A negative school climate can also make existing social-emotional difficulties worse,[25] and these effects can be long-term.
[28] For example, the severity of a student's mental health problems can increase over time if classroom conditions do not improve.
[33][34] When students perceive that their school has a strong sense of solidarity and belonging, they are more likely to intervene or report when a peer engages in risk activities.
[35] Research studies have also shown that reductions in student behavioral problems, aggression, and victimization are associated with positive relationships among school staff and peers.
For instance, poor relationships with students and colleagues and low parental and community involvement are related to emotional exhaustion (burnout) in teachers.
[36] A negative school climate is also associated to teachers having more feelings of low personal accomplishment, more cynicism, and depersonalization.
[37] Research suggests that engaging all members of the community is crucial for successful school improvement efforts.
[4] Conducting interviews and focus groups are other ways to collect information on school climate, with an estimated 8% of research studies making use of these methods.
Therefore, having behavior problems, being held back a grade, coming from a single-parent family, or having a different ethnic background can all influence a student's perception of school climate.
For instance, a survey of American middle and high school students conducted in 2013 found that more than half the students who identified as gay, bisexual, lesbian, or transgender felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and more than a third felt unsafe because of their gender expression.
For example, it was found that LGBT students who had an Asian background reported lower rates of peer victimization directed at their sexual orientation or gender expression.
[47] These findings highlight the importance of considering the perspective of students from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds when trying to improve school climate for all.