Evaluation of School Climate Behaviors in the School Context: CONVIVE Questionnaire

School climate research has traditionally been carried out by separating its two main components, prosocial and antisocial behaviors. This is often a partial view of the school climate. Hence, the goal of this study is to develop an evaluation instrument (CONVIVE) that takes into account both perspectives of the school climate through a dual-strategy design, psychometric and non-experimental, cross-sectional, and descriptive-comparative. The sample includes 600 Primary and Secondary Education students from a southeastern region of Spain. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factorial Analysis fit indices were used for the psychometric study. The result is a 26-item instrument (CONVIVE) made up of four scales that evaluate antisocial and prosocial behaviors, both performed toward others and received by peers: Prosocial Behavior Actor, Prosocial Behavior Receiver, Antisocial Behavior Actor, and Antisocial Behavior Receiver. These behaviors differ as a function of sex and the educational stage.

Download Full-text

School Climate and Responsibility as Predictors of Antisocial and Prosocial Behaviors and Violence: A Study towards Self-Determination Theory

Behavioral Sciences ◽

10.3390/bs11030036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 36

Author(s):

David Manzano-Sánchez ◽

Alberto Gómez-Mármol ◽

Alfonso Valero-Valenzuela ◽

José Francisco Jiménez-Parra

Keyword(s):

School Climate ◽

Prosocial Behavior ◽

Antisocial Behavior ◽

Social Factors ◽

Autonomous Motivation ◽

Self Determination Theory ◽

Psychological Needs ◽

Basic Psychological Needs ◽

Self Determination ◽

Different Types

Self-determination theory and Vallerand’s hierarchical model have been studied taking into account different types of social factors that can result in different consequences. The purpose of this work was to see if responsibility and social climate could predict antisocial and prosocial behavior and violence. For this, 429 students (M = 11.46, SD = 1.92) participated in the study, answering a questionnaire with five variables: school climate, responsibility, motivation, satisfaction of psychological needs, prosocial and antisocial behavior, and violence. The main results indicated that most variables correlated positively and directly, except in the case of antisocial behavior and violence. On the other hand, a prediction model (X2 = 584.145 (98); RMSEA = 0.104 [90% CI = 0.096, 0.112]; TLI = 0.849; CFI = 0.894) showed that responsibility and school climate can predict basic psychological needs, and that these needs can improve autonomous motivation, which, in turn, could positively predict on improving prosocial behavior and reducing antisocial behavior and violence. In conclusion, school climate and responsibility can encourage the development of positive consequences in the classroom, specifically in terms of prosocial behavior and the reduction of violence and antisocial behavior.

Download Full-text

Rurality and Dropout in Virtual Higher Education Programmes in Colombia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13094953 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 4953

Author(s):

Alfredo Guzmán Rincón ◽

Sandra Barragán ◽

Favio Cala Vitery

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Evaluation Instrument ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Social Stratum ◽

Level Of Education ◽

Explanatory Variables ◽

Rural Student

As part of the 2030 Agenda, higher education has been conceptualised as one of the ways to overcome the social disparities experienced in rural areas in Colombia. Thus, in concordance with the benefits of this level of education, the state has been designing public policies during the last few years, in order to facilitate access to undergraduate programmes to these populations, focusing mainly on the implementation of the virtual modality. In this context, it is recognised that access itself is not enough, but that continuance and timely graduation are required to materialise the benefits obtained along with a higher education degree; hence, dropout is a subject of interest for study, especially due to the high rates existing in the rural student population. Therefore, the event of dropout becomes an obstacle to social change and transformation in rural areas. Thus, this article aimed to identify which individual, institutional, academic and socio-economic characteristics influence rural student dropout in virtual undergraduate programmes in Colombia. For this purpose, an exploratory, quantitative and cross-sectional study was proposed, with a sample of 291 students to whom a student characterisation instrument and a classroom evaluation instrument were applied. With these data, it was proceeded to establish which of them had deserted, constituting the extraction of the sample of the study, which were 168. With the information, an exploratory factor analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and descriptive statistics were used to establish which explanatory variables are involved in the dropout of this type of student. The results showed that the academic variables analysed do not have an impact on the event, while marital status (associated with family obligations), age, social stratum, work obligations, parents’ level of education and type of work, income and type of employment relationship of the student, and, finally, the number of people who depend on the family’s income do.

Download Full-text

Parental Warmth, Gratitude, and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Effect of School Climate

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18137033 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (13) ◽

pp. 7033

Author(s):

Haocheng Luo ◽

Qingqi Liu ◽

Chengfu Yu ◽

Yangang Nie

Keyword(s):

School Climate ◽

Prosocial Behavior ◽

Longitudinal Design ◽

Positive Association ◽

Theoretical Explanation ◽

Parental Warmth ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Low Levels ◽

Moderating Role

Parental warmth plays an important role in the development of adolescents’ physical and mental health. There are numerous empirical studies indicating a relationship between parental warmth and prosocial behavior among adolescents, although the underlying mechanisms of this association remain unclear. Adopting a longitudinal design across two time points, the present study proposes a moderated mediation model to explore the mediating role of gratitude and the moderating role of the school climate between parental warmth and prosocial behavior. The sample consisted of 943 participants (483 boys and 451 girls) who participated in the second assessment and completed questionnaires assessing gratitude, school climate, and prosocial behavior in April 2019. Their parents participated in the first assessment and completed a questionnaire pertaining to parental warmth in October 2018. After controlling for the gender and age of the adolescents, the results showed that the positive association between parental warmth and prosocial behavior is mediated by gratitude, and school climate does play a moderating role in the second half of the mediating path. Specifically, the school climate can play a protective role in adolescents with low levels of gratitude. For adolescents with less gratitude, a strong school climate can promote more prosocial behaviors and can effectively alleviate the negative prediction of low levels of gratitude. This study provides a theoretical explanation for the generation of adolescents’ prosocial behavior and provides theoretical guidance for the interventions of schools and parents.

Download Full-text

Bracketed Morality Revisited: How Do Athletes Behave in Two Contexts?

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.35.5.449 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 35 (5) ◽

pp. 449-463 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Maria Kavussanu ◽

Ian D. Boardley ◽

Sam S. Sagar ◽

Christopher Ring

Keyword(s):

Moral Reasoning ◽

Prosocial Behavior ◽

Antisocial Behavior ◽

Goal Orientation ◽

Moral Disengagement ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Moral Behavior ◽

Male And Female ◽

Ego Orientation ◽

Highly Correlated

The concept of bracketed morality has received empirical support in several sport studies (e.g., Bredemeier & Shields, 1986a, 1986b). However, these studies have focused on moral reasoning. In this research, we examined bracketed morality with respect to moral behavior in sport and university contexts, in two studies. Male and female participants (Study 1: N = 331; Study 2: N = 372) completed questionnaires assessing prosocial and antisocial behavior toward teammates and opponents in sport and toward other students at university. Study 2 participants also completed measures of moral disengagement and goal orientation in both contexts. In most cases, behavior in sport was highly correlated with behavior at university. In addition, participants reported higher prosocial behavior toward teammates and higher antisocial behavior toward opponents in sport than toward other students at university. The effects of context on antisocial behavior were partially mediated by moral disengagement and ego orientation. Our findings extend the bracketed morality concept to prosocial and antisocial behavior.

Download Full-text

(In)effective leadership? Exploring the interplay of challenges, goals and measures in the context of school improvement

Journal of Educational Administration ◽

10.1108/jea-07-2020-0162 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Susanne Böse ◽

Stefan Brauckmann-Sajkiewicz

Keyword(s):

School Improvement ◽

School Effectiveness ◽

School Quality ◽

School Principals ◽

School Context ◽

Strategic Decision ◽

Future Research ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Content Type ◽

The Government

PurposeThis study aims to explore the extent to which schools principals serving disadvantaged communities in Germany are able to set appropriate goals and choose suitable measures for improving their schools according to the specific challenges they face. The authors determine whether principals are able to identify their schools' challenges or whether they merely follow “universal recipes” of the school effectiveness research paradigm regardless of their particular school context. This effectiveness-driven accountability approach requires an in-depth evaluation of the school and its stakeholders and might lead to a new attitude toward failure that sees it as an essential part of developing effective school improvement plans.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted descriptive and correlative analyses as well as exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using longitudinal data of 164 school principals. Through cross-sectional analyses, the authors investigated the connection among challenges, goals and measures and how they correlated with (self-reported) improvements.FindingsFrom a leadership perspective, priorities for school improvement should be aligned with the school-specific challenges they identify and the goals they set to address them.Research limitations/implicationsThe extent to which legislation concerning individual school quality development programs can translate into feasible and effective actions is unclear. Caution should be taken when interpreting the findings of this study, as they reflect school principals' self-selected evaluation measures and therefore might be biased.Practical implicationsIn future research, emphasis should be placed on school management processes, in particular, the development of strategic decision-making, structuring of target perspectives and derivation of steps in school improvement and instructional development. The authors recommend the government offer school principals appropriate and adequate training and support services to prevent them from overburdening their staff.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to a deeper understanding of processes concerning strategic leadership, as opposed to operative management, of schools by revealing context-sensitive considerations.

Download Full-text

Women’s Participation in Self-Care and the Importance of Paying Attention to Cultural Capital: A Cross-Sectional Study among Women in Yazd (Iran)

International Quarterly of Community Health Education ◽

10.1177/0272684x211033463 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0272684X2110334

Author(s):

Hamideh Shiri Mohammadabad ◽

Seyed Alireza Afshani

Keyword(s):

Cultural Capital ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Self Care ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Fit Indices ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Equation Modelling ◽

Women's Participation ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Relationship

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between women's cultural capital and self-care. A survey was employed with a sample size of 737 women living in the marginal, middle, and upper areas of Yazd in terms of socioeconomic characteristics. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling by SPSS and Amos version 24. The results revealed that the effect of cultural capital on self-care was positive and significant (β = 0.46, p < 0.001). The effectiveness rates of cultural capital on women's self-care in the marginal, middle, and upper areas were 0.44, 0.32 and 0.45, respectively (p < 0.001). Besides, there was no significant difference between the intensity of the relationship between cultural capital and self-care in the three areas (CR < 1.96). The fit indices also indicated that the model had a good fit (CMIN/DF = 2.560, NFI = 0.916, RMSEA = 0.033, CFI = 0.946, TLI = 0.922, GFI = 0.963, IFI = 0.947).

Download Full-text

Disentangling the Main Components of Hydromorphological Modifications at Reach Scale in Rivers of Greece

Hydrology ◽

10.3390/hydrology7020022 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 22

Author(s):

Konstantinos Stefanidis ◽

Anna Latsiou ◽

Theodora Kouvarda ◽

Anastasia Lampou ◽

Nektarios Kalaitzakis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Modification ◽

Ecological Quality ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Habitat Features ◽

Wide Range ◽

Cross Sectional Profile ◽

Sectional Profile ◽

Main Components ◽

The Individual ◽

River Habitat Survey

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires from member states to monitor hydromorphological features of rivers in order to assess their ecological quality. Thus, numerous hydromorphological assessment methods have been developed with most of them focusing on the dynamics of hydrology, geomorphology and riparian zone extent. Within the scope of this study, we assessed the hydromorphological features of 106 river reaches distributed among thirteen WFD River Basin Districts (RBDs) to identify the main drivers of hydromorphological perturbation at a national scale. The studied reaches reflect a wide range of natural variability as they include various types of watercourses extending from lowlands to mid-altitude and mountainous systems. We employed the River Habitat Survey (RHS), and we recorded hydromorphological features and modifications in both banks and the channel bed along 500 m for each reach. Then, the Habitat Modification Score (HMS) and the individual sub-scores that indicate the extent of specific modifications (e.g., bridges, fords, weirs, bank reprofiling, bank reinforcement, etc.) were calculated in order to a) assess the severity of the total artificial modification and b) to highlight the most common and severe causes of overall alteration. The results showed that alterations such as reprofiling and reinforcement of banks contributed the most to the total HMS followed by the presence of fords and bridges. Particularly, the bank alterations indicate a serious deterioration of the longitudinal profile of the reaches, while the occurrence of many fords and bridges is the main cause for perturbations that affect locally the stream cross-sectional profile. Overall, these results compile a first nationwide assessment of the hydromorphological status of Greek rivers in line with the WFD and set the basis for further research that will focus on the diversity of stream habitat features as a measure for the overall ecological quality.

Download Full-text

Child-to-Parent Violence: Attitude towards Authority, Social Reputation and School Climate

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16132384 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (13) ◽

pp. 2384 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Gonzalo Del Moral ◽

Cristian Suárez-Relinque ◽

Juan E. Callejas ◽

Gonzalo Musitu

Keyword(s):

School Climate ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

School Adjustment ◽

School Context ◽

Age Group ◽

Independent Variables ◽

Institutional Authority ◽

Social Reputation ◽

Family Variables ◽

Practical Implications

Research into child-to-parent violence (CPV) has focused mainly on the description of individual and family variables of adolescents. It is observed that the school context has received little attention despite being a context of development of great importance. In order to deepen the understanding in this field, the objective of this study was to analyze the relationships between child-to-parent violence (CPV) and the attitude towards authority, social reputation and school climate. A total of 2101 Spanish adolescents (50.1% males and 49.9% females) from 13 to 18 years participated. A multivariate factorial design (MANOVA, 3 × 3) was carried out using as independent variables CPV level and age. It was found that adolescents with high CPV presented lower values of positive attitude towards institutional authority (PATIA) and school climate (involvement, friendships and teacher’s help), and higher values of positive attitude towards the transgression of social norms (PATTSN) and of perceived and ideal non-conformist social reputation (PNCSR and INCSR, respectively). Younger participants obtained the highest PATIA scores and lowest of PNCSR and the 15–16 years age group obtained the highest scores in PATTSN and INCSR. Adolescents aged 17–18 years show the highest scores in involvement and teacher’s help. Also, three interaction effects were found and indicated that there is an improvement in attitudinal and school adjustment indicators according to the age, except in ideal non-conformist social reputation, which has important practical implications.

Download Full-text

School Climate and Peer Victimization. Involvement, Affiliation and Help Perceived in School Centers as Protective Factors against Violent Behavior in Adolescent Couples

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12114705 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 4705 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marta Ruiz-Narezo ◽

Rosa Santibáñez Gruber

Keyword(s):

School Climate ◽

Romantic Relationships ◽

Vocational Training ◽

Romantic Relationship ◽

Violent Behavior ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adolescent Group ◽

The Relationship

This article presents the results of a non-experimental, quantitative cross-sectional study conducted on an adolescent group. The sample of adolescents was acquired from high schools and vocational training, where the relationship between the school climate, more specifically, the involvement, affiliation, and perception of help and violence that is both experienced and exercised between partners. The study sample consisted of 433 adolescents aged 12–19 years from four educational centers from a municipality of Greater Bilbao. Since there are analyses that refer specifically to romantic relationships, in those cases, the 67.7% (N = 275) of the sample that claims to have or have had a romantic relationship is considered. Finally, there was evidence to suggest the existence of influence between the school climate and the implication of violence in adolescent couples.

Download Full-text

Family and School Context: Effects on the Mental Health of Brazilian Students

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17176042 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (17) ◽

pp. 6042

Author(s):

Daise Fernanda Santos Souza Escobar ◽

Thais Ferreira de Jesus ◽

Priscilla Rayanne e Silva Noll ◽

Matias Noll

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Peer Relationships ◽

School Health ◽

Context Effects ◽

School Context ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

School Life ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Brazilian Students

Mental health during adolescence can affect an individual’s long-term quality of life. However, the effects of family and school contexts on students’ mental health have been little explored. This study aims to analyze the relationships between family and school life and feelings of loneliness and trouble sleeping owing to worries in adolescents. The data from this cross-sectional study were obtained from Brazil’s National School Health Survey (PeNSE), which obtained its data through questionnaires. This study’s sample consisted of 102,072 ninth-grade students aged between 11 and 19 years, 52,782 (51.7%) of whom were female, enrolled in public and private schools throughout Brazil. The methodology consisted of an analysis using the Poisson regression model. Regarding the family context, mental health issues were associated with hunger, distant relationships with parents, and family violence. Regarding the school context, feelings of loneliness and trouble sleeping were associated with poor peer relationships, insecurity at school, and schools in more violent areas. This study contributes to the elaboration of public policies aimed at bringing awareness to family members and school bodies that indicators of mental health in adolescents are influenced by the quality of bonds established within these environments.

Download Full-text