Poster #27 - Reported School Climate and Feelings of Belonging for Latinx Students: Moderation of Feelings of Belonging by Parent’s Academic Aspirations and Expectations

• In Event: Poster Session 15

Abstract

School belonging, the extent to which students feel accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in school (Goodnow, 1993), has been shown to impact children’s social-emotional well-being as early as elementary school (Castro-Kemp et al, 2019). Students with a higher sense of school belonging demonstrate more school engagement, and intrinsic motivation (Byrd & Chavous, 2011). A positive school climate, the emphasis placed on norms and values of race and interracial interaction in the school atmosphere (Green et al., 1988), has been shown to protect Latinx youth’s feelings of belonging by buffering the deleterious impacts associated with ethnic discrimination (Heikamp et al., 2020; Roche & Kuperminc, 2012). Additionally, parental aspirations and expectations can act as moderating factors on the student’s feelings of belonging (Vang et al., 2022).

The purpose of this study is to examine associations between teachers’ perceptions of school climate and 3rd-5th grade Latinx children’s school belonging. Previous research investigating Latinx students’ feelings of belonging and associations with school climate has focused on adolescent populations, therefore, this study will extend the literature by investigating these associations with children in middle childhood. We hypothesize that Latinx students will report more school belonging when teachers report a positive school climate compared to a negative school climate. Additionally, considering previous research has shown students’ parental involvement can protect minoritized students’ feelings of belonging, we predict that parental involvement will moderate the association between teachers’ perceptions of school climate and Latinx children’s school belonging.
 
Methods: Participants will be approximately 300 3rd-5th grade students, their parents and teachers (N=20) from 3 elementary schools in the West. Students will report their school belonging (The Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale; Goodenow, 1993) over three time periods and teachers will report school climate (School Climate for Diversity Scale ;)Byrd, 2016). Additionally, parents will report their academic expectations for their child (e.g., how far do you expect your child to go in school). Analyses will be conducted using multi-level modeling.
 
 Implications: Considering Latinx children’s school belonging is associated with numerous academic and emotional benefits, it is urgent that schools consider implementing interventions aimed at improving school climate, especially for middle childhood. Interventions should be focused on school climate development and awareness training for teachers and staff (Thapa et al., 2013). Additionally, our suggested hypotheses underscore the cultural and individual premises under which students can feel belonging in school despite a negative school climate.

Authors

• Emma finch, University of Denver
  Presenting Author

• Colleen Cassidy, University of Denver

• Olivia Goldstein

• Kamilah Legette, University of Denver