The purpose of this study is to examine the independent direct effects of student and principal perceptions of academic climate on student achievement in high school. To date, few studies have considered the influence of principal perceptions of academic climate on student achievement. In the present study, we test a set of two-level hierarchical linear models using the large, nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine the independent effects of principal and student perceptions of academic climate on student achievement in mathematics, controlling for leadership and student and school background and context variables. Results suggest that principal perception of academic climate may have a direct effect on student achievement. Combining these results with the recent literature, we propose a mediated effects model of principal perceptions of leadership on student achievement.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonC. (1982). The search for school climate: A review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 52(3), 368–420.
2.
BattistichV., SolomonD., KimD., WatsonM., & SchapsE. (1995). Schools as communities, poverty levels of student populations, and students’ attitudes, motives, and performance: A multilevel analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 627–658.
3.
BowersA. J. (2008). Promoting excellence: Good to great, NYC's District 2, and the case of a high performing school district. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 7(2), 154–177.
4.
BowersA. J., & UrickA. (2011). Does high school facility quality affect student achievement? A 2-level hierarchical linear model. Journal of Education Finance, 37(1), 72–94.
5.
BrandS., FelnerR., SeitsingerA., BurnsA., & BoltonN. (2008). A large scale study of the assessment of the social environment of middle and secondary schools: The validity and utility of teachers’ ratings of school climate, cultural pluralism, and safety problems for understanding school effects and school improvement. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 507–535.
6.
BrandS., FelnerR., ShimM., SeitsingerA., & DumasT. (2003). Middle school improvement and reform: Development and validation of a school-level assessment of climate, cultural pluralism, and school safety. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(3), 570–588.
7.
BrykA., SebringP., AllensworthE., LuppescuS., & EastonJ. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
8.
DanielsenA., WiiumN., WilhelmsenB., & WoldB. (2010). Perceived support provided by teachers and classmates and students’ self-reported academic initiative. Journal of School Psychology, 48, 247–267.
9.
EdmondsR. (1979). Effective schools for the urban poor. Educational Leadership, 31(1), 15–24.
10.
FirestoneW., & WilsonB. (1985). Using bureaucratic and cultural linkages to improve instruction: The principal's contribution. Educational Administration Quarterly, 21(2), 7–30.
11.
GoddardR., SweetlandS., & HoyW. (2000). Academic emphasis of urban elementary schools and student achievement in reading and mathematics: A multilevel analysis. Educational Administration Quarterly, 36(5), 683–702.
12.
GohS., YoungD., & FraserB. (1995). Psychosocial climate and student outcomes in elementary mathematics classrooms: A multilevel analysis. Journal of Experimental Education, 64(1), 29–40.
13.
GoldringE., HuffJ., MayH., & CamburnE. (2008). School context and individual characteristics: What influences principal practice?Journal of Educational Administration, 46(3), 332–350.
14.
GottfredsonG., GottfredsonD., PayneA., & GottfredsonN. (2005). School climate predictors of school disorder: Results from a national study of delinquency prevention. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 42, 412–444.
15.
GrahamJ. W., CumsilleP. E., & ElviraE.-F. (2003). Methods for handling missing data. In WeinerI. B., SchinkaJ. A., & VelicerW. F. (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Vol. 2. Research methods in psychology (pp. 87–114). New York: Wiley.
16.
GriffithJ. (1995). An empirical examination of a model of social climate in elementary school. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 17(1-2), 97–117.
17.
GriffithJ. (1999a). School climate as social order and social action: A multi-level analysis of public elementary school student perceptions. Social Psychology of Education, 2, 339–369.
18.
GriffithJ. (1999b). The school leadership/school climate relation: Identification of school configurations associated with change in principals. Educational Administration Quarterly, 35(2), 267–291.
19.
HallingerP., BickmanL., & DavisK. (1996). School context, principal leadership, and student reading achievement. Elementary School Journal, 96(5), 527–549.
20.
HallingerP., & HeckR. (1996). Reassessing the principal's role in school effectiveness: A review of empirical research, 1980–1995. Educational Administration Quarterly, 32(1), 5–44.
21.
HallingerP., & HeckR. (2010). Collaborative leadership and school improvement: Understanding the impact on school capacity and student learning. School Leadership & Management, 30(2), 95–110.
22.
HallingerP., & MurphyJ. (1985). Assessing the instructional management behavior of principals. Elementary School Journal, 86(2), 217–247.
23.
HeckR. (2000). Examining the impact of school quality on school outcomes and improvement: A value-added approach. Educational Administration Quarterly, 36(4), 513–552.
24.
HeckR. (2006). Assessing school achievement progress: Comparing alternative approaches. Educational Administration Quarterly, 42(5), 667–699.
25.
HeckR., & HallingerP. (2009). Assessing the contribution of distributed leadership to school improvement and growth in math achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 46, 659–689.
26.
HeckR., LarsenT., & MarcoulidesG. (1990). Instructional leadership and school achievement: Validation of a causal model. Educational Administration Quarterly, 26(2), 94–125.
27.
HeckR., & MarcoulidesG. (1996). School culture and performance: Testing the invariance of an organizational model. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 7(1), 76–95.
HoyW., & HannumJ. (1997). Middle school climate: An empirical assessment of organizational health and student achievement. Educational Administration Quarterly, 33(3), 290–311.
30.
HoyW., SweetlandS., & SmithP. (2002). Toward an organizational model of achievement in high schools: The significance of collective efficacy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 38(1), 77–93.
31.
HoyW., TarterC. J., & BlissJ. (1990). Organizational climate, school health, and effectiveness: A comparative analysis. Educational Administration Quarterly, 26, 260–279.
32.
HoyW., TarterC. J., & Woolfolk HoyA. (2006). Academic optimism of schools: A force for student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 43(3), 425–446.
33.
InglesS. J., PrattD., RogersJ., SiegelP., StuttsE., & OwingsJ. (2004). Education longitudinal study of 2002: Base year data file user's manual.Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
34.
InglesS. J., PrattD., WilsonD., BurnsL., CurrivanD., RogersJ. (2007). Education Longitudinal Study of 2002: Base-year to second follow-up data file documentation.Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
35.
KrugerA. G. (2003). Instructional leadership: The impact on the culture of teaching and learning in two effective secondary schools. South African Journal of Education, 23, 206–211.
36.
LeithwoodK. (2010). Characteristics of school districts that are exceptionally effective in closing the achievement gap. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 9, 245–291.
37.
LeithwoodK., & JantziD. (2008). Linking leadership to student learning: The contributions of leader efficacy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44, 496–528.
LinM. (2012). Cultivating an environment that contributes to teaching and learning in schools: High school principals’ actions. Peabody Journal of Education, 87(2), 200–215.
40.
MacNeilA., PraterD. L., & BuschS. (2009). The effects of school culture and climate on student achievement. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 12(1), 73–84.
41.
ManginM. (2007). Facilitating elementary principals’ support for instructional teacher leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 43, 319–357.
42.
MarksH., & PrintyS. (2003). Principal leadership and school performance: An integration of transformational and instructional leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 39(3), 370–397.
43.
McEvoyA., & WelkerR. (2000). Antisocial behavior, academic failure and school climate: A critical review. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 8(3), 130–140.
44.
McKownC., & WeinsteinR. (2008). Teacher expectations, classroom context, and the achievement gap. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 235–261.
45.
MeeceJ., AndermanE., & AndermanL. (2006). Classroom goal structure, student motivation, and academic achievement. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 487–503.
46.
MortimoreP. (1993). School effectiveness and the management of effective learning and teaching. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 4(4), 290–310.
47.
MuthénB. O. (2008). Latent variable hybrids: Overview of old and new models. In HancockG., & SamuelsenK. (Eds.), Advances in latent variable mixture models (pp. 1–24). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
48.
National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.). Schools and Staffing Survey. Retrieved from hrrp://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/
49.
OakesJ. (1989). What educational indicators? The case for assessing the school context. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11(2), 181–199.
50.
PhillipsM. (1997). What makes schools effective? A comparison of the relationship of communitarian climate and academic climate to mathematics achievement and attendance during middle school. American Educational Research Journal, 34(4), 633–662.
51.
PowellA. G., FarrarE., & CohenD. K. (1985). The shopping mall high school: Winners and losers in the educational marketplace.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
52.
PrintyS. (2008). Leadership for teacher learning: A community of practice perspective. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(2), 187–226.
53.
RaudenbushS., & BrykA. (1986). A hierarchical model for studying school effects. Sociology of Education, 59(1), 1–17.
54.
RaudenbushS., & BrykA. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
55.
RaudenbushS. W., BrykA. S., CheongY. F., CongdonR., & duToitM. (2011). HLM 7: Hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling.Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.
56.
RiceJ. (2001). Explaining the negative impact of the transition from middle to high school on student performance in mathematics and science. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(3), 372–400.
57.
RizzutoT., LeDouxJ., & HatalaJ. (2009). It's not just what you know, it's who you know: Testing a model of the relative importance of social networks to academic performance. Social Psychology Education, 12, 175–189.
58.
RobinsonV., LloydC., & RoweK. (2008). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44, 635–674.
59.
RumbergerR. W., & PalardyG. J. (2005). Test scores, dropout rates, and transfer rates as alternative indicators of high school performance. American Educational Research Journal, 42(1), 3–42.
60.
Seashore LouisK., LeithwoodK., WahlstromK., AndersonS., MichlinM., MascallB. (2010). Learning from leadership: Investigating the links to improved student learning.New York: Wallace Foundation.
61.
ShouseR. (1996). Academic press and sense of community: Conflict, congruence, and implications for student achievement. Social Psychology of Education, 1, 46–68.
62.
SmithP., HoyW., & SweetlandS. (2001). Organizational health of high schools and dimensions of faculty trust. Journal of School Leadership, 11(2), 135–151.
63.
StrayhornT. L. (2009). Accessing and analyzing national databases. In KowalskiT. J., & LasleyT. J. (Eds.), Handbook of data-based decision making in education (pp. 105–122). New York: Routledge.
64.
SupovitzJ., SirinidesP., & MayH. (2010). How principals and peers influence teaching and learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46, 31–56.
65.
TarterC. J., SaboD., & HoyW. (1995). Middle school climate, faculty trust, and effectiveness: A path analysis. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 29(1), 41–49.
66.
Tschannen-MoranM. (2009). Fostering teacher professionalism in schools: The role of leadership orientation and trust. Educational Administration Quarterly, 45, 217–247.
67.
Tschannen-MoranM., & Tschannen-MoranB. (2011). Taking a strengths-based focus improves school climate. Journal of School Leadership, 21, 422–448.
68.
UrickA., & BowersA. (2011). What influences principal perceptions of academic climate? A nationally representative study of the direct effects of perception on climate. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 10, 1–27.
69.
WelshW. (2000). The effects of school climate on school disorder. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 567(1), 88–107.
70.
WilkinsN., & KupermincG. (2010). Why try? Achievement motivation and perceived academic climate among Latino youth. Journal of Early Adolescence, 30(2), 246–276.
71.
WilsonD. (2004). The interface of school climate and school connectedness and relationships with aggression and victimization. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 293–299.
