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This article presents an exploratory study that examined the effects of school climate; students' perceptions of supports; and behavioral norms in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods on student behavior and grades. The authors conducted a multilevel analysis of secondary data collected from 13,068 predominantly low-income middle school students across 43 school sites. The analysis was informed by ecological theory and a risk and resilience perspective. The findings of the study indicated that students tend to have better grades and to behave better in the context of more supportive relationships and norms promoting safe, prosocial behavior. However, even the students attending the safest schools have disparities in grades that correlate with their perceptions of neighborhood support. In these schools, students who report more support from neighbors have significantly better grades than those who report less support. The findings suggest that research needs to more closely examine the potentially unique relationships between key school climate conditions, behavioral norms, and social supports for higher-risk youths, such as those from low-income families.
Hopson et al. (Thu,) studied this question.