Breaking the pattern: sustained school climate improvement in two Chilean public high schools

Sustaining improvements in school climate and reductions in violence remains insufficiently explained, particularly when these improvements run counter to broader system-level trends. This study examined two Chilean public schools identified as outliers in longitudinal analyses of school climate and discrimination. Using a qualitative multiple-case design grounded in a socioecological framework, we analyzed interviews, observations, and workshops to reconstruct how participants understood changes. Findings identified a multilevel configuration rather than isolated interventions. Leadership aligned normative direction with relational support; teachers and school climate teams coordinated preventive, formative, and disciplinary responses while retaining shared responsibility; and material care and reciprocal community engagement expanded opportunities for participation, belonging, and contribution. These processes took different forms across cases and should not be interpreted as producing identical quantitative outcomes. The study suggests that sustained improvement may depend on the coherent enactment of normative and relational orientations across pedagogy, specialized support, material environments, and community relationships.