Bullying remains a pervasive problem in schools across the nation. Various detrimental social, psychological, emotional, and academic effects can result from involvement in bullying regardless of whether a student is the perpetrator, victim, witness, or a combination of the three. Recent literature has made significant connections between a school’s overall climate and bullying behaviors, suggesting the need for school-wide interventions to combat the problem. As a part of school climate, unstructured areas such as the playground, have been targeted as a critical area in need of support. Researchers attribute poor safety on the playground to lack of adequate and trained supervision. Fortunately, Systematic Supervision is a training program based in empirically supported principles that shows likelihood for success to improve climate and reduce bullying behaviors on the playground and the school as a whole (Smith, & Sprague, 2011). Yet, this program has not been thoroughly evaluated in peer reviewed journals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Systematic Supervision for improving playground safety, reducing bullying behavior, and enhancing school climate. Behavioral observations and student and teacher school climate surveys collected from 35 schools over two years were assessed. Comparisons were made between schools that received the intervention with those that were wait-listed controls. Results of the study suggest that Systematic Supervision is an effective means of training playground monitors to use active supervision behaviors. Unfortunately, no significant connections could be made with regard to the implementation of Systematic Supervision and subsequent changes in student or teacher perceptions of safety, in perceptions of school climate, or in bulling behaviors. A discussion of the results and their implications is included in detail.

The grounded theory presented in this study describes practices elementary principals utilize in influencing new teachers to remain in education. Eleven teachers and three elementary principals from one school division in Virginia participated in this study. Interview data were collected, elementary principals were shadowed, and documents were analyzed. Thematic categories and sub categories were formed through data analysis. The grounded theory that resulted from this study is: principals who create an atmosphere of trust, of mutual respect, and of service to children within a school foster teachers who state they feel successful, valued, safe, loyal, and professional and want to and expect to continue teaching. New teachers reported three themes that created their sense of success, value, safety, loyalty, and professionalism. Those themes are: (a) support; (b) communication; (c) first year success stories. Principals stated they employed a variety of practices to create the climate identified by the new teachers. The practices are: maintaining an open door policy, utilizing positive communication, developing leadership teams, encouraging professional development, designing and implementing support structures, providing opportunities for professional development, participating in decision making, encouraging and expecting peer collaboration and child centered instructional and behavioral programs. / Ed. D.

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Studies suggest a relationship exists between school climate and student achievement (Hoy & Woolfolk, 1993; Smith, 2005; Warren, 2007). This study investigated the relationship between school climate and student achievement in elementary schools located in a school division in Virginia. School climate is defined operationally as the perceptions of stakeholders, students, parents and educators in regard to instructional programming, interpersonal relationships, communication/collaboration, safety/discipline, and physical environment. The factors that shape school climate and the perceptions of students, parents, and educators in regard to school climate were also investigated. The population for this study was 55 elementary schools in the selected school division. The study used hierarchical clustering to cluster the schools into four clusters. The clusters were analyzed to determine if a relationship existed between school climate and student achievement. Regression analysis was completed on school climate and student achievement data from each school. The purpose of this analysis was to investigate the relationship between the factors of school climate and student achievement. Of additional interest was the relationship between student achievement and the perspective of stakeholders in regard to school climate. This study used data from the 2007-2008 fifth grade Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests in reading and math to measure student achievement. Data collected from the school division's 2008 Annual School Climate Survey was used to measured school climate In the content areas of reading and math lower pass percentages on the Virginia SOL tests related to lower agree percentages in response to the School Climate Survey. Conversely, in the content areas of reading and math higher pass percentages on the Virginia SOL tests related to higher agree percentages in response to the School Climate Survey. Based on these findings schools that have a negative school climate as perceived by its stakeholders can expect to have lower student achievement scores, whereas, schools with a positive school climate as perceived by its stakeholders can expect to have higher student achievement scores. The analysis of data representative of school climate and student achievement found a relationship exists between school climate and student achievement. / Ph. D.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The educational landscape in South Africa is unique and has also seen many changes since the dawn of democracy more than 20 years ago. The apartheid education system was marred by severe inequalities between schools and, for this reason, the democratic government post 1994 established a number of policies and interventions in an attempt to improve access, equity and quality between schools. The country has made significant advances in improving access to education. This is reflected in the Millennium Development Goals progress indicators showing that, as of 2013, almost all learners between the ages of 7 and 15 were enrolled in schools. While great strides have also been made with regard to equity, evidence shows that many schools in South Africa are still largely inequitable. Education quality, however, is an area that is still of grave concern and the matter requires much attention from educational stakeholders. International studies, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), use learner performance to measure the quality of the system. Such studies consistently report that South Africa is performing poorly and that large inequalities still exist between schools in the country. Improved quality is associated with effective schools and, in South Africa, only 20% of schools have been found to be functional or effective. Much of research focussed on school effectiveness, both nationally and internationally, however has been explained by factors in the school, including the appropriateness of curriculum content, infrastructure, resources in the school and teacher content knowledge. These factors have been found to be strongly correlated with effective schools.

Educators have a responsibility to foster a positive school climate while also ensuring that all students meet established educational benchmarks and make adequate growth. The relationship between school climate and student achievement is well-documented, but there is a gap in the literature examining the relationships among school climate, academic growth, and benchmark achievement. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate relationships among school climate, academic growth, and benchmark achievement at the elementary school level in Virginia. A nonexperimental, correlational design was used to address this research question: What are the relationships, if any, among school climate, academic growth, and benchmark achievement among fourth grade students in three school divisions in Virginia for the 2022-2023 school year? Existing data sets from 73 schools within 3 school divisions in Virginia were used: (a) the 2023 Virginia Survey of School Climate and Working Conditions, (b) fourth graders' Fall 2022 to Spring 2023 growth in reading and mathematics on the Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress assessment, and (c) fourth graders' mean performance on the 2023 Virginia Standards of Learning assessments in reading and mathematics. A correlational analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among these variables. Results were analyzed, and there were 12 findings. The most significant finding was a stronger positive relationship between school climate and benchmark achievement in reading and mathematics than between school climate and academic growth in either subject. This study contributes to the body of research on school climate and benchmark achievement by addressing relationships among school climate, academic growth, and benchmark achievement. / Doctor of Education / Educators have a responsibility to foster a positive school climate while also ensuring that all students meet established educational benchmarks and make adequate growth. The relationship between school climate and student achievement is well-documented, but there is a gap in the literature examining the relationships among school climate, academic growth, and benchmark achievement. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate relationships among school climate, academic growth, and benchmark achievement at the elementary school level in Virginia. A nonexperimental, correlational design was used to address this research question: What are the relationships, if any, among school climate, academic growth, and benchmark achievement among fourth grade students in three school divisions in Virginia for the 2022-2023 school year? Existing data sets from 73 schools within 3 school divisions in Virginia were used: (a) the 2023 Virginia Survey of School Climate and Working Conditions, (b) fourth graders' Fall 2022 to Spring 2023 growth in reading and mathematics on the Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress assessment, and (c) fourth graders' mean performance on the 2023 Virginia Standards of Learning assessments in reading and mathematics. A correlational analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among these variables. Results were analyzed, and there were 12 findings. The most significant finding was a stronger positive relationship between school climate and benchmark achievement in reading and mathematics than between school climate and academic growth in either subject.

This research paper forms the first half of this thesis exploring how the introduction of Secondary SEAL (SSEAL) has impacted on pupils’ emotional literacy and resiliency levels (as measured by the NfER Emotional Literacy Questionnaire and the Resiliency Scales For Children and Adolescents – A profile of personal strengths (RSCA) Questionnaire). The aim of Paper 1 is to explore whether the SSEAL programme is associated with relevant pupil skills, to show resilience with a difficult situation; be more in tune with their emotions and the emotions of those around them. The research questions for paper 1 were: Question 1: What are the associations between the introduction of SSEAL into a secondary school and Year 8 pupils' emotional literacy levels? Question 2: What are the associations between the introduction of SSEAL into a secondary school and Year 8 pupils' resilience levels? Question 3: How has the introduction of SEAL had an impact on pupils’ emotional literacy and resiliency levels since the introduction of SEAL into the school? Question 4: To what extent are there any gender differences from students’ responses on the emotional literacy and resiliency questionnaires? This paper adopted a pragmatic epistemological stance and used a mixed methods design, where quantitative data was gathered from teachers and Year 8 pupils using both the NfER Emotional Literacy Questionnaire and the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents: A Profile of Personal Strengths Questionnaire. The quantitative data was triangulated with the semi-­‐structured interviews from Paper 2 to inform the results of research question 3. The sample was derived from three secondary schools in the East Midlands. There were 64 pupils (31 males and 33 females) and three form tutors who completed the questionnaires. The qualitative data was gained from 6 teachers from the three secondary schools in the East Midlands using a semi-­‐structured interview. The results gained from paper 1 found that there was not a significant result for pupils’ emotional literacy scores between 2009 and 2010 for schools X, Y and Z. There was a significant ANOVA result for the teacher’s version of the emotional literacy questionnaire. The results gained from the resiliency scores showed that School Y had a significant result for pupils’ resourcefulness scores and School Z had a significant result for pupils’ vulnerability scores. The ANOVA results showed that there was a significant result for both resourcefulness and vulnerability from the results gained in 2011. The correlational data for school X, Y and Z found an association between pupils’ emotional literacy and resilience scores. The data indicated that males scored lower on the emotional literacy and resiliency questionnaires to females. A significant result was found for male scores on the Vulnerability questionnaire between 2010-­‐2011 and there was a significant difference between males and females on the vulnerability questionnaire. In conclusion, it can be suggested that SEAL had not significantly had an impact on pupils’ emotional literacy, but had impacted on pupils’ resilience scores. Moreover, the qualitative data indicated that SEAL has made pupils more aware of their social and emotional needs and the emotional needs of others. Moreover, the results indicate that staff had become more aware of the social and emotional needs of their pupils. However, it can be concluded that the introduction of SEAL has not necessarily increased pupils’ emotional literacy or resilience and other factors including, the Key Stage Three curriculum and the pastoral system has had an impact on these. From these results, the role of the EP could be to support schools in applying appropriate social and emotional assessment tools and interventions and support staff to recognise a pupil with high/low emotional literacy and resilience and the most appropriate way to support these. The aim of Paper 2 was to focus on the processes involved within a secondary school when introducing SEAL and whether SEAL had an impact on school climate as perceived by school staff. The research questions for this study were: Question 1: How has SEAL been implemented into the school’s curriculum and pastoral system? Question 2: What are staff perceptions of school climate since the introduction of SEAL? Question 3: What are the most effective sources of analysis to explore how effectively SEAL has been introduced into a secondary school (including OFSTED reports, Questionnaires and semi-­‐structured interviews) and its impact on school climate? A pragmatic epistemological approach was adopted for this research study where a mixed design was implemented. Semi-­‐structured interviews were carried out with six teachers, (two members of staff from the three secondary schools). A school climate questionnaire (OCDQ-­‐RM) was administered to 42 teaching staff. The results from both the semi-­‐structured interviews and the OCDQ-­‐RM questionnaire were triangulated. A thematic analysis was completed on the semi-­‐structured interviews adopting Braun & Clarke’s (2003) model. The results indicate that the three schools implemented SEAL into their curriculum quite differently. School X implemented SEAL into all subjects using their curriculum competencies; School Y introduced SEAL into their creative arts curriculum and School Z introduced it into their Humanities and English curriculum. Each school introduced SEAL into their pastoral system in different ways – School X had an activity week, which involved the local community and completed CASE during tutor times and had SEAL-­‐type themes in assemblies. School Y explicitly taught two of the SEAL units per term through the PSHE curriculum, and during tutor time and as part of the assemblies the students engaged in ‘Thought of the week’. Students were involved in an activity day about ‘Being Healthy’. The school had training staff to use Circle of Friends with students. School Z used SEAL type themes as part of their Global-­‐Eye and Thinking Through Schools Programme, which were delivered during assemblies and in tutor time. The school had also trained Teaching Assistants to use the Circle of Friends programme with pupils. The results gained from the OCDQ-­‐RM indicate that school Z had a closed climate, school X had an engaged climate and school Y had an open climate. The conclusions from this study suggest that SEAL had not improved school climate (as perceived by school staff) although it had made staff more aware of what school climate is and had improved relationships between students and staff. Finally, the role of the educational psychologist is important when supporting a school when implementing a whole school social and emotional learning programme and when staff perceive the school climate as being Closed or Disengaged.

Diploma thesis follows stress factors impact on a child at primary school, on his health and mental conditions and then the implication of the learning process and integrating the child into a children's collective. The theoretical part contains information dealing with forms of stress in general, potential stressors for the child, the consequences of stress on the human organism. The practical part investigates the experiences with stress factors of pupils that are somehow connected with their school life. As a result of the diploma thesis is to share basic advices for teachers on how to prevent stress at school and their pupils and how to work with the stressed child. key words: stress of children, education, school climate

Several Christian schools are becoming insolvent due to competition from larger private and charter schools. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to determine teacher and administrators’ perception of school climate in the dimension of “Professional Relationships” in two accredited secondary Christian schools in South Florida, identify factors that contribute to healthy interpersonal relationships between the two groups, and determine how each group’s Christian faith influenced their actions. This study was unique because it included the administrators. The Organizational Climate Descriptive Questionnaire Revised for Secondary Schools (OCDQ-RS) survey was administered and results indicated that the participants’ perception of school climate was strongly influenced by their interpersonal relationships with their leaders, and positive interactions with one leader balanced out negative interactions with another leader. The survey results determined that School B’s participants scored above average in all five behaviors, and in “Teacher Engaged Behavior” their high score was an outlier, but the qualitative strand proved the score was appropriate. A t-test proved there was a significant statistical difference between the two research sites. Both schools scored above average in their openness scores, supporting the literature that Christian schools tend to have healthier school climates than public schools. An intrinsic case study was used for the qualitative strand, and the results indicated that teachers appreciate “Intentional Compassionate Leaders” who demonstrate healthy communication skills and compassion, and administrators appreciate “Professional Teachers” who demonstrate healthy communication skills and reciprocal compliance. Teachers appreciate administrators who demonstrate humility, Christian leadership, collaboration, accessibility, and visibility. These findings are significant for all educators because they identify concrete actions that teachers and administrators can take to improve their professional relationships. Christian school leaders could consider conducting a school climate study with a qualitative strand and following the Christian Transformational Leadership style, which encourages leaders to develop professional relationships with teachers, provide teachers with growth opportunities, develop a shared vision with their staff, and incorporates the three R’s, which stand for Christian school leaders who are “responsible” to secure “resources” and implement “reform” to keep their school in business. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

While there was a wealth of research and documentation on meeting student learning needs in mainstream national schools, the world of international schooling appeared to have remained relatively untouched by the march towards inclusion. The motivation for this inquiry was to examine efforts to develop inclusive educational provision in the elementary department of an international school. This small-scale study gave the researcher access to an international elementary school that was considered successful in responding flexibly to the needs of all learners. As there had been little research in the area of inclusion and international schooling the theory for this study was generated from the data and from a comparison with the findings of research on inclusion in national education systems. The research aimed to identify the climate and conditions present in the primary school at the time of the research by considering how it had removed barriers to learning for three students in different levels of learning support. A qualitative approach sought to use the data to understand the context and an ‘emergent’ design combining grounded theory and a case study approach was used. A central principle of constructivist grounded theory is that of giving voice to research participants and this study incorporated the voices, views and experiences of the students alongside their parents, educators and the specialists who worked with them. Data was collected from interviews and multidisciplinary child study meetings. Interviews were carried out with the senior leadership team, the students, their parents and educators. Classroom observations were carried out to supplement interview data for the student in intensive levels of support and further data was collected from school documentation written for parents. The findings indicated that the school climate was characterised by a strong focus on learning, access and solution seeking and the conditions found to support this climate were space and resources. Space was considered in terms of the use of space and the time required to facilitate both collaboration within the wider school community and collaborative teaching practices. Resources considered at the level of school organisation included personnel, therapies, policies and procedures, and the school curriculum. The overall findings from this study indicate that inclusion in this context was a process bound up in a proactive, dynamic, continuous cycle where a focus on solution seeking, learning and access drove the cycle. Based on the findings from this small-scale study it is recommended that international schools locate inclusion in the arena of whole school development where learning, access and solution seeking drives the school development cycle. It is recognised that the emerging theory could not be divorced from the interpretations of the researcher and additional research by a diverse range of researchers, in diverse international school contexts is needed. To better inform international school leaders it is hoped that these results will become part of a larger body of research that better reflects the range of international school contexts.