ABSTRACT
In this book, we examine the relationship between student reading achievement and school climate from a cross-country comparative perspective. From previous studies (e.g., Anderson, 1982; Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2013) we could see that school climate does affect student academic achievement. As for which aspect of school climate, in which direction, and to what extent, this conclusion might vary widely across countries. In each empirical study of this book, one or several school climate variables were selected as predictor(s), depending on specific research purposes and research designs. The reason for focusing on reading and mathematics achievement is that success in reading and mathematics provides the foundation for achievement in other subject areas and for full participation in adult life (OECD, 2010a). Since a complex range of input and process factors color and shape individual and collective experience of school life, we should pay attention to student background characteristics, school context characteristics, and specifically for Chapters 4–6 some system characteristics, in considering the influence of school climate on reading achievement.
In this chapter, we first give an overview of the development of school climate research and the definition of school climate. Then, we provide the literature review on the relationship between school climate and student academic achievement, and the instrument and analysis in school climate assessment. Finally, we give some information on the research objectives, data, methodologies and reflection of the empirical studies in this book.
