School climate is increasingly intertwined with efforts to create safe schools and improve social-emotional learning and academic outcomes. While current definitions of school climate implicate the decisions and actions of school staff members, the majority of school climate research focuses on the perspectives of students. This study presents an…

This exploratory research surveyed faculty who instruct in community colleges from 18 states about their attitudes toward the concealed carry gun policies that allow appropriately licensed citizens to carry a handgun in public places such as college campuses. Building upon previous research involving 4-year institutions, we surveyed 1,889…

This paper examines how public school teachers take up, modify, or resist the dominant ideology of color-blind racism. This examination is based on in-depth interviews with 60 teachers at three segregated schools: one was race/class privileged and two were disadvantaged. Inductive coding revealed that teachers at each school articulated a shared…

Few studies have investigated school connectedness from the perspectives of the adults working in the school. Using qualitative methods, the present study examined three dimensions of school connectedness in one urban, low-income middle school. Analyses revealed that school personnel cared for students' needs, sometimes at the expense of holding…

For children to be successful, schools must provide a safe and secure environment in which teachers can teach and students can learn (Skiba & Sprague, 2008). In California, state regulations require that schools maintain an appropriate school climate on campus, in classrooms, and at school sponsored events (California Education Code 35294).…

Schools contribute heavily to the feelings of isolation and stigmatization that many gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth experience. Research demonstrates that the climate of US middle and high schools are generally unsupportive and unsafe for many of these youth who are often susceptible to harassment, discrimination, and other negative events,…

In 2015, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collected responses from more than 315,000 first-year and senior students attending 585 bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. This report presents selected NSSE results from students at 541 U.S. institutions or subsets of that group where…

Decades of research support the role of a positive school climate on teaching and learning. This newsletter takes a look at the topic of school climate and sets out to determine: (1) What is school climate? (2) How can schools assess their school climate? (3) What are some practical examples of how schools are assessing school climate? and (4)…

California is the only state to require school-violence training as a condition for state certification of teachers, school administrators, and pupil service personnel. This report presents findings of a study conducted by the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing's advisory panel on school violence. The study identifies the…

Government officials, researchers, and especially educators must consider the "big picture" as they develop strategies to address violence in schools. This report presents findings of a study conducted by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing's advisory panel on school violence. The study identifies the effects of school violence on…

This report examines recent qualitative and quantitative research to determine how school-related violence was both measured and perceived among various social groups. It reviews sources that addresses such questions as: What is school-related violence? What do statistics reveal about school-related violence? How diverse is public opinion…

The attrition of both new and experienced teachers is a great challenge for schools and school administrators throughout the United States, particularly in large urban districts. Because of the importance of this issue, there is a large empirical literature that investigates why teachers quit and how they might be better induced to stay. Here we…