Over the last two decades, there has been a growing appreciation that school climate...

Over the last two decades, there has been a growing appreciation that school climate, the quality and character of school life, fosters – or undermines – learning and achievement. Research confirms what teachers and parents have claimed for decades: a safe school environment, in which students have positive social relationships and are respected, engaged with their work, and feel competent, matters.

A growing number of reports, studies and legislation emphasize the importance of school climate in reducing achievement inequities, enhancing positive youth development, and promoting the skills, knowledge and dispositions that provide the foundation for school – and life – success.

“School climate refers to the quality and character of school life...”

Although there is not one universally agreed upon definition of school climate, virtually all researchers and leading practitioners agree that school climate is based on patterns of students', parents' and school personnel's experience of school life and reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures. School climate is more than individual experience: it is a group phenomenon that is larger than any one person's experience.