Prior research demonstrates the importance of school climate in shaping student behavior but tells us less about which aspects of school climate matter. In this paper we consider how distinct elements of school climate relate to skipping school and cheating on tests. Using survey and administrative data from several statewide Delaware sources, we…

Environmental health literacy (EHL) is a relatively new discipline and is gaining importance as the environmental justice movement is embraced in the United States through state and federal government programs. With the expansion of EHL programs throughout the country, and with more states incorporating EHL education into the K-12 curriculum,…

Although the psychological impacts of cyberbullying victimization (CBV) have been documented, research is inconclusive about the role of contextual factors in the association between CBV and student engagement. Sampling 16,237 adolescents from 43 schools in Delaware, we used multilevel modeling to test how CBV was associated with emotional and…

Student mathematics motivation and engagement in the first year of high school is critical because of its volatility (Mangu, Middleton, & Lee, 2016) and importance for future academic advancement and career opportunities (Trusty, & Niles, 2003). Following the quantitative longitudinal non-experimental design (O'Dwyer & Bernauer, 2013),…

My dissertation studies the relationship between counseling and violence within U.S. schools. Much of the research on school security and school safety tends to lean heavily on routine activities theory and other opportunity theories, which limits the study of other factors critically relevant to this topic such as school climate. This…

Education is a $600 billion-a-year enterprise, but the investments states make in education will not benefit students unless they are physically and mentally present in the classroom. Too many students are not. In this report, the National Association of State Boards of Education asks policymakers to promote student engagement through a suite of…

Higher education institutions across the nation enroll a uniquely, diverse student body that possesses different perceptions of the campus environment. It can be expected that African Americans, Asian, Latino/a, and White students have differing perspectives regarding campus climate and culture based on their distinctive background, cultural…

The Delaware School Climate Survey-Student (DSCS-S) was developed to provide schools with a brief and psychometrically sound student survey for assessing school climate, particularly the dimensions of social support and structure. Confirmatory factor analyses, conducted on a sample of 11,780 students in 85 schools, showed that a bifactor model…

In Spring 2010, the Delaware Education Research and Development Center conducted an evaluation of Delaware's PBS project, an initiative focused on developing a school-wide system of strategies to reduce behavior problems and foster a positive school climate. The study focused on facilitators and barriers to PBS implementation, and also included…

In Spring 2010, the Delaware Education Research and Development Center conducted an evaluation of Delaware's PBS project, an initiative focused on developing a school-wide system of strategies to reduce behavior problems and foster a positive school climate. The study focused on facilitators and barriers to PBS implementation, and also included…

The investigation identified Delaware public and charter middle schools across the state which outperformed other Delaware middle schools with similar student demographic profiles. Teachers and administrators at six of these "Beating the Odds" schools and at six comparison middle schools were surveyed regarding their schools…

Research among students in New Castle County, Delaware indicated: (1) strong positive correlations between academic achievement and educational self-concept and future aspirations; (2) positive correlations between racial attitudes and achievement scores among Whites; and (3) greater influence of school academic climate at the elementary level…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in the NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments (37 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) were made. The sample was designed to represent the 8th grade public school population in a state…