School Climate in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Concepts and Constructs

• In Event: School Culture and Climate in International Settings

Abstract

Most school climate studies to date have focused on high-income countries. As such, there is limited understanding of the concepts and constructs that encompass school climate in low- and middle-income countries. This is a systematic review of empirical studies that assessed school climate quantitatively, focusing on low- and middle-income countries. Out of an initial 4,372 articles, 173 met inclusion criteria. Drawing on the framework presented by Thapa et al. (2013), the study analyzed the domains of school climate in the literature base. Study findings suggest a greater need for research in the lowest resource settings and a need to connect school climate to other important policy issues such as school-based violence and gender inequality.

Authors

• Amrit Thapa, University of Pennsylvania

• Sharon Wolf, University of Pennsylvania