Transcript Interventions to Promote School Climate Dr. Sandra

Interventions to Promote A Positive School Climate
Creating a Climate for Learning and Safety
Robin J. Morrison
Instructional Supervisor
Division of Special Education
Clinical Behavioral Services
Clemson University
National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities
Interventions to Promote A Positive School Climate
Creating a Climate for Learning and Safety
Dr. Sandra Covington Smith
M-DCPS National Coordinator
Coordinator of Technical Assistance and Training
Senior Research Associate
Clemson University
National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities
School Climate
Conceptualizing School Climate:
Importance, Organization, and
Composition
Meaningful
Functional
School Climate:
Organization and Composition
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Values
Norms
Beliefs
Sentiments
Practices
Social Interactions
National Research Council
Institute of Medicine
of the National Academies
School Climate:
Organization and Composition
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Atmosphere
Culture
Environment
Morale
School Morale
School Ethos
National Research Council
Institute of Medicine
of the National Academies
School Climate
Organization and Composition
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Community
Democracy
Ethic of Caring
Students’ attachment to school and their
academic and behavioral/social achievement
are contingent on first satisfying teachers’ and
students’ social and personal needs
National Research Council
Institute of Medicine
of the National Academies
Measuring School Climate
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Importance of understanding perceptions of school
experience through the eyes of
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Students
Teachers
Parents
Issues of
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Safety and social relationships
Conducive environment for working/learning (often times a
therapeutic milieu)
Experiences in the classroom
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Example survey findings in Baltimore
www.baltimorecityschools.org/Student_Performance/Institutional_R
esearch/index.asp
The Center For Social and Emotional Education
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School climate refers to the quality and character of school life as it relates
to norms and values, interpersonal relations and social interactions, and
organizational processes and structures.
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School climate sets the tone for all the learning and teaching done in the
school environment and, as research proves, it is predictive of students’
ability to learn and develop in healthy ways.
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Research proves that a positive school climate directly impacts telling
indicators of success such as increased teacher retention, lower dropout
rates, decreased incidences of violence, and higher student achievement.
The Center For Social and Emotional Education
 School climate refers to the quality and character of
school life.
 School climate is based on patterns of students', parents'
and school personnel's experience of school life and
reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships,
teaching and learning practices, and organizational
structures.
The Center For Social and Emotional Education
 A sustainable, positive school climate fosters
youth development and learning necessary for a
productive, contributing and satisfying life in a
democratic society.
 This climate includes: Norms, values and
expectations that support people feeling socially,
emotionally and physically safe.
The Center For Social and Emotional Education
 People are engaged and respected.
 Students, families and educators work together to
develop, live and contribute to a shared school vision.
 Educators model and nurture attitudes that emphasize
the benefits and satisfaction gained from learning.
 Each person contributes to the operations of the school
and the care of the physical environment.
(This definition of school climate and a positive, sustained school climate were consensually developed by the National
School Climate Council that CSEE co-leads with the Education Commission of the States.) www.schoolclimate.org
Activity 1:
School Climate: Improvement Efforts
Organization and Composition
1. How would you summarize your school’s past and current bully prevention
and/or school climate improvement efforts?
2. What has been most successful?
3. What has been most challenging?
4. Please review your schools mission and/or vision statements. *Consider to
what extent current instructional and school improvement efforts are or are
not aligned with the mission and vision statements. Describe.
5. How would you rate the level of trust shared between you and your
students? Colleagues? *Some school communities have worked to
establish higher levels of trust and collaborative problem solving abilities
and others are colored by a culture of blame and distrust. *These
experiences color and shape our ability to improve school climate!
*Key recommendations to remember.
School Climate: Improvement Efforts
Organization and Composition
Activity 1 – Answer Sheet
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Background on Research on Importance of
School Climate
 Educators have recognized the importance of school climate for a
hundred years (A. Perry, The Management of a City School, New
York: MacMillan). However, it was not until the 1950’s that
educators began to systemically study school climate. The
development of scientifically sound school climate assessment tools
spurred a research tradition that grows to this day.
Introduction to Importance of School Climate
 Over the last two decades, there has been a growing appreciation
that school climate, the quality, and character of school life, fosters –
or undermines – children’s development, learning, and achievement.
Research confirms what teachers and parents have claimed for
decades: a safe and supportive school environment, in which
student have positive social relationships and are respected,
engaged in their work, and feel competent, matters.
Definition of School Climate
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School climate refers to the quality and character of school life. It is based
on patterns of school life experiences and reflects norms, goals, values,
interpersonal relationships, teaching, learning and leadership practices, and
organizational structures.
A sustainable, positive school climate fosters youth development and
learning necessary for a productive, contributing, and satisfying life in a
democratic society. This climate includes norms, values, and expectations
that support people feeling socially, emotionally, and physically safe.
People are engaged and respected. Students, families, and educators work
together to develop, live, and contribute to a shared school vision.
Educators model and nurture attitudes that emphasize the benefits and
satisfaction gained from learning. Each person contributes to the
operations of the school and the care of the physical environment (A. Perry,
ibid.).
Benefits of Supportive School Climate
 Moreover, when such activities are presented in a supportive and
collaborative learning environment, they encourage students to build
upon one another’s ideas in productive and engaging ways. (K.
Wentzel and D. Watkins, “Peer Relationships and Collaborative
Learning as Contexts for Academic Enablers,” in School Psychology
Review, vol. 31, no. 3, 2002, pp. 366-367.) Together, the
experience realistically represents the social situation that they may
find themselves part of in the greater civil society. (A. Bandura,
“Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective,” Annual Review
Psychology, vol. 52, 2001, pp. 1-26; Power, et al., 1989; J. TorneyPurta, R. Lehmann, H. Oswald, W. Schulz, Citizenship and
Education in Twenty-Eight Countries, Amsterdam: International
Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement, 2001.)
Benefits of a Supportive School Climate
(Continued)
In an overlapping manner, positive school climate promotes
cooperative learning, group cohesion, respect, and mutual trust. (G.
Ghaith, “The relationship between forms of instruction, achievement
and perceptions of classroom climate,” Educational Researcher, vol.
45, no. 1, 2003 pp. 83-93; D. Kerr, E. Ireland, J. Lopes, et al.,
Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study: Second Annual Report:
First longitudinal Study, England: National Foundation for
Educational Research, 2004, pp. 1-154; C. Finnan, K. Schnepel and
L. Anderson, “Powerful learning environments: The critical link
between school and classroom cultures,” Journal of Education for
Students Placed at Risk, vol. 8, no. 4, 2003, pp. 391-418).
Benefits of a Supportive School Climate
(Continued)
 Positive school climate, by definition, is characterized by strong
collaborative learning communities.
 Research shows that this improves teacher practice as well as
student learning through dialogue and collaboration around
engaging classroom instruction. (R. Marzano, The Art and Science
of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction,
Alexandria, VA: Association for Curriculum and Supervision
Development, 2007; National Association of Secondary School
Principals, Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School
Reform, Reston, VA, 2004.)
Benefits of a Supportive School Climate
(Continued)
 In other words, when student, in partnership with educators and
parents, work to improve school climate they promote essential
learning skills (e.g., creativity and innovation skills, critical thinking
and problem-solving skills, communication and collaborative skills)
as well as life and career skills (e.g., flexibility and adaptability,
initiative, social and cross-culture skills, productivity and
accountability, leadership and responsibility) that provide the
foundation for 21st century learning. (Partnership for 21st Century
Skills, Learning for the 21st century: A report and mile guide for 21st
century skills, 2002, www.21stcenturyskills.org, accessed November
10, 2007; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Beyond the Three R’s:
Voter Attitudes toward 21st Century Skills, 2007,
www.21stcenturyskills.org, accessed November 10, 2007.)
School Climate
Upon Further Examination…
School Climate Indicators
 Students are most engaged when the physical and
social context promotes safety, provides structure, and
opportunities for youth to develop new skills in the
context of warm, supportive relationships, and promotes
positive social norms.
 Students need support from the people with whom they
interact and trust.
 Each dimension of school climate should allow for
meaningful and functional academic, emotional, and
social engagement, as well as success!
Activity 2:
Identifying the Indicators of School Climate
Within Your School
 12 Dimensions of School Climate Measured
– Review and reflect upon the information received thus far.
Clearly define each of the indicators according to the twelve
dimensions listed. Come to a consensus as a team. Record your
teams responses in the major indicators’ columns. Answers will
be reported to the group aloud.
Dimensions
Safety
1. Rules and Norms
2. Sense of Physical Security
3. Sense of Social-Emotional Security
Teaching and Learning
4. Support for Learning
5. Social and Civic Learning
Interpersonal Relationships
6. Respect for Diversity
7. Social Support - Adults
8. Social Support - Students
Institutional Environment
9. School Connectedness/Engagement
10. Physical Surroundings
Staff Only
11. Leadership
12. Professional Relationships
Major Indicators
Accessed 4/16/10 from http://www.schoolclimate.org/programs/csci.php
The Indicators of School Climate
Taking A Closer Look:
Assessing School Climate and
Making Relevant Connections
Indicators of School Climate
Teaching and
Learning
Safety
Dimensions of School Climate
Rules and Norms: Clearly communicated rules about physical
violence and verbal abuse and clear of consistent enforcement
Physical Safety: Sense that students and adults feel safe from
physical harm in the school
Social and emotional security: Sense that students feel safe from
verbal abuse, teasing, and exclusion
Support for learning: Supportive teaching practices, such as
constructive feedback and encouragement for positive risk taking,
academic challenge, individual attention, and opportunities to
demonstrate knowledge and skills in a variety of ways
Social and civic learning: Support for the development of social and
civic knowledge and skills, including effective listening, conflict
resolution, reflection and responsibility, and ethical decision making
Indicators of School Climate
Interpersonal
Relationships
Respect for diversity: Mutual respect for individual differences at all
levels of the school – student-student, adult-students, and adult-adult
Social support – adults: Collaborative and trusting relationships
among adults and adult support for students in terms of high
expectations for success, willingness to listen, and personal concern.
Social support-students: Network of peer relationships for
academic and personal support
Teaching and
Learning
Dimensions of School Climate
School connectedness/engagement: Positive identification with the
school, a sense of belonging, and norms for broad participation in
school life for students and families.
Physical surroundings: Cleanliness, order, and appeal of facilities
and adequate resources and materials.
Adapted from J. Cohen, T. Pickeral, and M. McCloskey,
“The Challenge of Assessing School Climate,”
Educational Leadership 66, no. 44 (2009).
Evidence-based Education and Traditional
Teaching and Learning
 When evidenced-based social, emotional, and ethical education is
integrated into traditional teaching and learning, educators can hone
the essential academic and social skills, understanding, and
dispositions that support effective participation in a democracy.
 There are two core processes that promote children’s school
success and health development: (a) promoting children’s socialemotional competencies and ethical dispositions throughout their
pre-K-2 school experience, and (b) creating safe, caring,
participatory, and responsive school systems and homes. I use the
term “social, emotional, ethical and academic education” (SEEAE)
as shorthand for sustained preK-12 programmatic efforts that
integrate and coordinate these pedagogic and systemic dimensions.
Exploring the Aims of Education within the
Context of School Climate
 What do we really want our children to have accomplished when
they graduate from high school?
 Educational philosophers have answered these questions in a
variety of ways, ranging from national prosperity, to managerial
efficiency, to individual happiness (Dunne and Hogan, 2004:
Marples, 1999; Noddings, 2003).
 Parents tend to answer this question in a more consistent manner.
For example, the 2000 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll found that over
the past thirty-two years, Americans have said the single most
important purpose of public schooling was to prepare people to
become responsible citizens (Rose and Gallup, 2000).
Creating a Climate for Learning and Safety
 Systemic intervention to create a safe, caring, and responsive
school climate is the unifying goal for evidence-based work in this
area, as it provides the platform upon which we teach and learn.
Perceptions of School Climate
 When students as well as parents, educators, and
community members walk into a school, they quickly
begin to form judgments about the experience of living
and working in that school.
 Will this school help to motivate my child to do well
academically and learn to be a “life-long learner?”
 How safe is the school?
 Is the physical environment (e.g., temperature,
cleanliness, size) supportive of learning?
 How respected and “connected” do students feel?
Perceptions of School Climate
 Are teachers and students engaged in interesting and
meaningful work?
 Is there a culture of intellectual rigor?
 To what extent are people in the school promoting the
social, civic, emotional and ethical as well as cognitive
skills and dispositions that provide the foundation for
learning and effective participation in a democracy?
 The ways in which groups of students, parents, and
school personnel answer these questions reflect group
norms and values that have a profound impact in
creating – or undermining – a climate for learning.
Gap Between Research and Policy
Re: School Climate
The critical gap in research and policy in terms of school climate is a
result of several problems: (L. McCabe, J. Cohen, and T. Pickeral,
School Climate: On the Gap between Research and Policy,
submitted for publication,2007.)
 The first major problem is inconsistency and inaccuracy in terms of school
climate definition
 Second, while there are superior options, state policymakers have made poor
choices in terms of school climate measurement at the state level.
 The third problem is a lack of defined climate-related leadership at the state
level.
 Fourth, many states continue to isolate school climate polity in heath, special
education and school safety arenas, without integrating it into school
accountability policies, or the beliefs of the community at large.
 Finally, many states have not yet created quality or improvement standards,
which can easily link data to improvement plans and technical assistance.
Policy and Practice
This situation presents many questions for policy and practice and
teacher education leaders:
 What policy options are available for state policymakers and education leaders to
ensure school climate is a critical component of accountability and school
improvement systems?
 How can we integrate research-based information about school climate into the
preparation and credentialing of teachers, school-based mental health
professionals, and school administrators?
 What are the basic components of research-based school climate improvement
efforts?
 How can building, district and state school leaders learn from one another to
further research and understanding about effective school climate improvement
efforts?
Guiding Principles
 School climate is an essential element of successful schools to
promote student achievement, preparation for democratic life and
preparation to be successful in the 21st century workplace.
 School climate evaluations need to be carried out with tools that
have being developed in a scientifically sound manner and are
comprehensive in the following two ways: (1) K-12 student, parent,
and school personnel “voice” is recognized; and (2) all of the major
dimensions of school life (e.g., safety, relationships, teaching, and
learning, the (external) environment) are assessed.
Guiding Principles (Continued)
 Comprehensive school climate assessment provides data that
should be used as a springboard for community-wide understanding,
school improvement planning, and implementation efforts as well as
accountability. Currently, there are research-based guidelines that
recognize the unique nature of each school’s history, strengths,
needs and goals, and provide benchmarks and a road map for
school improvement efforts.
 School personnel, whether they are aware or not, are school climate
leaders. Students, parents, and community leaders naturally follow
their lead. Therefore, emphasis on school personnel training in
classroom and school climate is pivotal for educational reform.
The Effects of School Climate
Effects of School Climate on Engagement
and Learning
1. Shared value system that pervades the school
and derives from a shared history
2. Common agenda for school members involving
coursework, activities, rituals, and traditions
that function as a unifying factor
3. Ethic of caring that permeates relations among
students and staff and between staff and
students
A Positive School Climate
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Increases academic engagement
Increases behavioral engagement
Increases cognitive engagement
Increases psychological engagement
Increases social engagement
A Positive School Climate
 Assists in increasing SCHOOL COMPLETION
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Increases attendance
Increases prosocial behavior
Increases academic competence
Increases student engagement
Increases parent engagement
A Positive School Climate
 Increases the holding power of our classrooms
 Increases the holding power of our hallways
 Increases the holding power of our schools,
universally
 Increases the holding power of our communities
 Assists in decreasing the drop out rates for
Students with Disabilities!
Organized schools should share a common
mission…
 Staff and students interact outside the classroom
 Teachers see themselves as responsible for students’
total development and success [in partnership with
families], not just for the transmission of lessons
 Teachers share responsibility for students’ academic
success, often exchanging information and coordinating
efforts between classrooms and across grades
Organized schools should share a common
mission…
 Adults must belief and set high
expectations for all students based on
their abilities and not their disabilities –
you must act upon your beliefs and follow
through.
 Make certain students feel supported and
are aware that you believe in them.
Universally Students Must…
 Feel physically safe
 Feel social and emotional security
 Believe they are supported in their learning and
goals (both short & long term)
 Believe their social and civic learning and
activities are imported and supported
 Believe they are respected, trusted, and
connected to the adults and the learning
environment
Within the Classroom Students Must…
 Feel welcome
 Be disciplined and not punished
 Be encouraged to contribute ideas for resolving
problems
 Be Offered choices
 Be Taught replacement behaviors
 Be disciplined and taught how to self manage
their behavior
 Taught social skills
Hard to Engage Students…
Targeted Group, Classroom, or Individual Student
 Model positive, engaging, and rewarding
relationships with their peers.
 Facilitate positive interactions with other
staff members.
 Communicate that every day of
attendance counts! You want to see their
face. Acknowledge their presence.
Hard to Engage Students…
Targeted Group, Classroom, or Individual Student
 Consider environmental, instructional, and
behavioral systems within classrooms
 Both universally and within the classroom,
students are more likely to feel welcomed and
engaged when then is a sense of order.
 Strategies: 1) Schools draft a clear statement of
purpose that focuses on both academic and social
outcomes for all students and included staff’s roles.
Activity 3:
Targeted Group, Classroom, or Individual Student
 Strategies: 1) Schools draft a clear statement of purpose that focuses
on both academic and social outcomes for all students and included
staff’s roles.
 Activity 4A:) Consider your school’s commitment to create, provide, and
maintain a positive school climate. Teams, develop a “draft” statement
of purpose that focuses on both academic and social outcomes for all
students and included staff’s roles. Teams will share their goal
statements aloud with the whole group. Statements become a part of
the team’s action plan.
 Activity 4B:) Specifically list all strategies and/or activities that support a
positive school climate for SWD. Be as specific as possible, noting that
many SWD are not involved in extracurricular activities or service
learning activities and are often isolated from adults and their peers. As
a team, list and describe three strategies that provide and support a
positive school climate at your school for SWD. Teams will share with
the whole group.
Activity 3: Answer Sheet
Targeted Group, Classroom, or Individual Student
 Strategies: 1) Schools draft a clear statement of purpose that focuses
on both academic and social outcomes for all students and included
staff’s roles.
 Activity 4A:)
 Activity 4B:)
Team Strategies
1)
School teams develop a clearly defined set of
expectations (expected behaviors).
2)
School teams develop procedures for teaching
expected behavior. Educators subsequently receive
training on a variety of strategies to teach social skills.
3) School teams develop procedures for encouraging
expected and school-appropriate behavior.
Team Strategies
4) School teams develop procedures for
discouraging problem behavior. Specifically,
teams should review current discipline policies
to (a) provide clear definitions of infractions; (b)
determine which behaviors should be
managed in the classroom and which should
be sent to the office; and (c) develop data
decision rules to ensure appropriate strategies
are used with repeat offenders.
Team Strategies
5) School teams develop procedures for
record keeping and decision making. In
addition to developing formative and
summative data-collective systems,
school teams should be taught to make
informed decisions based on data
patterns.
School Climate In Review
 Characteristics at the school level that are
not drawn from student performance
 Daily experience indicates that the
environment in which one operates
influences an individual’s ability and
willingness to engage, perform, and
succeed
Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health (December 13, 1999)
Dr. David Satcher M.D., Ph.D.
16th Surgeon General of the United States (1998-2002)
Assistant Secretary for Health (1998-2001)
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1993-1998)
 Prevention-based approach be emphasized
 Contingencies be arranged so an intolerant attitude toward
antisocial behavior is established
 Antisocial networks are actively broken up and monitored
 Schools provide parents with strategies to increase their
efficiency and effectiveness in the home
 Commitment to school is enhanced
 Academic success is increased
 Positive school climate is created and fostered
 Individual social skills and competence are taught and
encouraged across all students
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School Climate:
Meaningful and Functional
“The work of Meaningful Student Involvement is
not easy or instantly rewarding. It demands that
the system of schooling change, and that the
attitudes of students, educators, parents and
community members change.”
(Fletcher,2003)
Thank You For Your Time!
Robin J. Morrison
[email protected]
305-995-1733
Thank You For Your Time!
Sandra Covington Smith
[email protected]
864.656.1817
www.ndpc-sd.org