The Racial School Climate Gap: Within-School Disparities in Students' Experiences of Safety, Support, and Connectedness

• In Event: Roundtable Session 40
  In Roundtable Session: An Interdisciplinary, Cross-Cultural Exploration of School Culture and Climate Factors

Abstract

This study used student and teacher survey data from over 700 middle schools in California to examine within-school racial disparities in students’ experiences of school climate. Multilevel regression results problematized the concept of a “school climate” by showing that, in an average middle school, Black and Hispanic students have less favorable experiences of safety, connectedness, relationships with adults, and opportunities for participation compared to White students. The results also show that certain racial school climate gaps vary in magnitude across middle schools, and in middle schools where these gaps are larger, the racial achievement gap is also larger. Finally, the socioeconomic status of students, student-teacher ratio, and geographic location help explain some cross-school variation in racial climate gaps.

Authors

• Adam Voight, Cleveland State University

• Thomas Hanson, WestEd

• Meagan O'Malley, WestEd