ارتباط زمینه مدرسه تا اندازه گیری عوامل روانی برای دانش آموزان
Abstract
1- Introduction
2- Method
3- Results
4- Discussion
References
Abstract
Individual differences in motivation, social engagement, and self-regulation help explain variation in academic outcomes. But less is known about how school context relates to these psychosocial factors (PSFs) and whether it moderates the relationships between PSFs and outcomes. We defined school context as the union of school characteristics (e.g., school size, poverty concentration) and school climate (students' perceptions of relationships with school personnel and school safety). We examined these relationships in a large sample of 6th–9th graders. We also examined how school context relates to measures of student PSFs, and whether it moderates the relationships between PSFs and academic outcomes. School poverty concentration was negatively related to students' perceptions of school safety, and to a lesser extent, perceptions of relationships with school personnel. Students in lower grades had lower perceptions of school climate. Neither the locale of the school nor the concentration of racial/ethnic minority students was related to climate. Higher school safety was positively related to higher motivation, self-regulation, and social engagement. PSF scores were predictive of educational outcomes in the expected directions (e.g., positively predicted grades and standardized test scores; negatively predicted suspension from school and absences). There was little evidence of moderation by school context on outcomes.
Introduction
Previous studies have established a consistent link between psychosocial factors (PSFs), measured in middle school, and later educational outcomes. However, little is known about the relationships between school context and PSFs, or if the risk associated with low PSFs varies by school context. Although relationships between contextual factors and educational outcomes are documented (see Section 1.2), we know less about how these impact PSFs and/or interact with them to influence outcomes. Using a large sample of middle schools, we examine the relationship between school contextual factors and PSFs. School contextual factors include school characteristics (poverty concentration, size, locale, racial/ethnic minority concentration, grade level, and school transition status) and measures of school climate based on student perceptions of school safety and relationships with school personnel. The school climate measures are regarded as aspects of school context that may be affected by interventions and the actions of school leaders, teachers, and community members. School characteristics, on the other hand, typically are not regarded as malleable. We treat school context as the combination of school characteristics and school climate.