In the past decade, teachers and researchers have recognized the vital role school climate plays in the public school setting in the United States (Thapa, Cohen, Guffey & Higgins-D'Alessandro, 2013). One of the greatest indicators of achievement is the relationship between school and student socioeconomic status (Sirin, 2005). According to…

The association between prosocial behavior and adolescents' social class--defined as one's parents' position in society assessed in terms of education, income, and occupation status--is far from conclusive and the moderators of the link have not been fully researched. Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development…

In response to media reports of increased teasing and bullying in schools following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we investigated its prevalence with a Virginia school climate survey completed by approximately 155,000 seventh- and eighth-grade students in 2013, 2015, and 2017. Survey results were mapped onto presidential election results…

Zero tolerance as an approach to school safety has been around for almost 3 decades. Despite widespread criticisms of zero tolerance policies, few empirical studies have investigated the relationship of zero tolerance with school safety. More generally, the Government Accountability Office report on school shootings noted the need for research on…

Often students have a difficult time when asked to use critical thinking skills to solve a problem. Perhaps students have a difficult time adjusting because teachers frequently tell them exactly what to do and how to do it. When asked to use critical thinking skills, students may suddenly become confused and discouraged because the teacher no…

In 2014, Virginia's Montgomery County school division adopted a place-based social studies curriculum titled "My Place in Time and Space" for fifth grade students. The curriculum promotes an awareness of the impact of place on local knowledge and disciplinary understandings in southwest Virginia, while also connecting local history to…