Leveraging Research-Practice Partnerships for Insights Into School Climate Experiences and Impacts in Racially Diverse Districts

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium brings together researchers and practitioners engaged in research-practice partnerships (RPP) to present research on school climate from districts that vary in size, racial composition, and geographic location but that all face challenges in addressing substantial racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps. RPPs with their unique data sharing agreements with districts represent a promising collaborative structure through which new insights about school climate experiences and impacts can be gained. Each of the four RPP in this symposium engage in the assessment of school climate using surveys of students; examine how this school climate data can be used to identify policies, programs, and practices to improve school climate; and investigate how school climate impacts student outcomes.

Sub Unit

• SIG-School/University Collaborative Research

Chair

• Matthew Allen Linick, American Institutes for Research

Papers

• Examining the Impact of School Climate on Student Achievement and Behavior - Sarah Bruch, University of Delaware; Rachel Maller, The University of Iowa; Kingsley Botchway, Waterloo Community School District

• Student-Level Associations of School Climate Perceptions and Achievement: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis - Adam Voight, Cleveland State University

• Can School Climate Measures Improve Predictions of Academic Outcomes? Evidence From a Large Urban District - Julian Betts, University of California - San Diego; Dina Polichar; Andrew Zau, University of California - San Diego; Karen Bachofer, University of California - San Diego; Jianan Yang

Discussant

• Jonathan Cohen, Teachers College, Columbia Univ