Do Perceptions of School Climate Improve in High School for Students With Disabilities?

Positive perceptions of school climate correlate with many dimensions of academic well-being and student health. Unfortunately, some existing research finds more favorable perceptions in middle school for general education students (GENs) than for students with disabilities (SWDs). Given the importa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American educational research journal 2023-08, Vol.60 (4), p.667-695
Main Authors: Gwozdzik, Spenser, Stiefel, Leanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Educational Environment
Grade 10
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
High School Students
Institutional Characteristics
Interpersonal Relationship
Learner Engagement
Middle School Students
School environment
School Safety
Secondary school students
Student Adjustment
Student Attitudes
Student School Relationship
Students with Disabilities
Urban Schools
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Summary:Positive perceptions of school climate correlate with many dimensions of academic well-being and student health. Unfortunately, some existing research finds more favorable perceptions in middle school for general education students (GENs) than for students with disabilities (SWDs). Given the importance of ninth grade to student success, it is important to know if perceptions improve when students go to high school, if they improve more for GENs than SWDs, and if they are mediated by school characteristics. Our analysis of rich student-level longitudinal data suggests that students perceive improvements in school climate when they transition to high school, school characteristics do mediate perceptions, and perceptions of GENs improve more (or decline less) than those of SWDs, resulting in gaps favoring GENs.
ISSN:0002-8312
1935-1011
DOI:10.3102/00028312231169243