BACKGROUNDSchool discipline has potential life-long consequences for students. Disabled youth can be misunderstood and experience harsh discipline and are at increased risk for negative outcomes, yet little research includes their voices. The aim of this study was to explore past school discipline experiences among disabled adults.METHODSDisabled adult perspectives (N = 9) regarding past school discipline experiences were explored employing qualitative descriptive methodology framed by the Peace and Power Conceptual Model. Peace-Power versus Power-Over-Powers involve actions/behaviors reflecting critical emancipation or oppression of those in power.RESULTSEight peace-power versus power-over themes emerged: "humiliating," "threatening," "escaping," "observing," "avoiding," "diverging," "isolating," and "failing."IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY, PRACTICE, AND EQUITYDisabled students can experience oppressive power-over dynamics separating them from others because they are unable to meet rigid classroom expectations. Educators may lack awareness of structural biases shaping reactions warranting need for school policies and practices promoting restorative justice, social-emotional learning, and inclusion.CONCLUSIONSClassroom discipline can represent emancipatory peace-power or oppressive power-over powers. Not all teacher interactions represent 1 power or the other. Future research should focus on including disabled student voices informing school discipline practices. Educators' perspectives of their role fostering inclusive classrooms should also be considered.

In this study, we examined how school policies and strategies (i.e., positive discipline, hardening strategies, and positive behavioral strategies) affect teacher relational factors and teacher reports of victimization and safety. Specifically, we examined the mediational roles of teacher support of student learning, maltreatment of students by teachers, and teachers' differential treatment of students in schools. Using a sample of 6643 pre-K-12th-grade teachers, path analysis results revealed that positive behavior strategies, hardening strategies, and positive discipline were indirectly associated with teacher victimization and sense of safety. Additionally, teachers' perceptions of other teachers maltreating students had the greatest contributions to their sense of safety and victimization by students. Positive discipline was directly and indirectly associated with teacher victimization and safety. Implications and directions for future studies are discussed.

Abstract This chapter reviews and examines definitions of school climate along with important additions to traditional models of school climate, including a focus on academic achievement and organizational factors. It highlights the Welcoming, Empowering, and Monitoring Approach as a way to understand the nuances of climate that exist in various schools, and the importance of combining ground-up data and solutions with large-scale data and top-down interventions. In addition, this chapter encourages practitioners to consider the school, rather than individuals, as the client so that interventions to understand and improve climate benefit all stakeholders: students, staff, parents, and community members. It presents strategies for school social workers, school psychologists, and other nonteaching school staff, who may be charged with changing and improving school climate.

This study explored trauma-informed schools from the perspective of social workers, documenting the reported practices and policies associated with trauma-informed approaches in U.S. schools. Survey data from 538 school social workers were analyzed to investigate the differences in policies and practices between schools identified as trauma informed and not. Logistic regression analyses examined whether the presence of specific school practices and policies was associated with the identification of a school as trauma informed. Of a wide array of programs and policies that may be present in trauma-informed schools, only the presence of trauma training and resources for secondary traumatic stress were key predictors of social workers’ identification of a school as trauma informed. The implementation of trauma training has long been the primary focus of trauma-informed approaches in schools. Should commitment to trauma-informed approaches endure, we recommend moving beyond training and secondary traumatic stress resources to deepen the field’s focus on implementing trauma-informed practices and policies at all organizational levels. We also recommend that future research looks carefully at how some school safety and trauma-informed approaches may be incompatible and the extent to which trauma-informed approaches improve or detract from children’s educational experiences and outcomes.

Even though homeless students are nested in schools and districts with different socioeconomic status (SES) contexts, little is known about the role of schools and districts for homeless students in these differing contexts. This comparative case study explored the identification, service provision, and school experience of homeless students in high- and low-SES districts. Mixed-methods case study methodology was used to compare two school districts and their four elementary and middle schools in California. The districts differed based on their SES: low to medium versus high. Findings show that despite differences in the SES context, both districts were underidentifying homeless students. Hence, both districts were underserving and lacking awareness of homeless students that were not identified. However, the low-SES district had far greater poverty awareness and, subsequently, an existing organizational structure than the high-SES district to support identified homeless students. Poverty awareness and districts' organizational structure are important contextual factors to consider in designing local and tailored interventions and services for homeless students.

Military-connected youths are a vulnerable population exposed to a unique set of stressors, which may put them at increased risk for adverse mental and behavioral health outcomes, compared to their civilian counterparts. Among military-connected adolescents, emotional and instrumental parentification are mechanisms hypothesized to account for negative outcomes, including substance use. However, parentification may be protective in some cultures and has not been examined in the military population. Data were drawn from 1,441 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-graders who had a parent in the military and completed the 2013 California Healthy Kids Survey. Latent class analysis was used to examine patterns of instrumental parentification indicators among military-connected youths and associated patterns of substance use. Military-connected students in the high parentification class were significantly less likely to be in the frequent polysubstance using class (odds ratio = 0.376, 95% confidence interval [0.180, 0.782]). Findings suggest that experiences of instrumental parentification, including having more responsibilities at home, being more independent, and being able to solve problems better than peers, may be protective. For military-connected youths, these skills, developed in the context of their families, may translate to better coping with other stressful situations. Professionals may be able to build on these strengths and develop adaptive coping strategies to support military-connected youths in managing the stressors of wartime military life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Despite continued calls for positive school climate, school staff members are rarely included in school climate research or theories. This qualitative case study explored how socioeconomic status (SES), school districts, leadership, and school contexts combine to create school climate. Four schools were selected from a sample of positive and negative climate schools in one high and one low-SES district. Data collection involved key informant interviews and observation. District and school SES did not directly dictate the quality of climate. Organizational variables such as the principal's decisions and vision were key influences on the quality of climate for staff members. Staff members often prioritize student experiences of climate above their own experiences. School organization and the influence of the principal are critical for the quality of school climate staff members experience; these along with staff voice are critical ongoing contributions to school climate research, theory, and practice.

Few studies holistically examine how students experience the multiple dimensions of school climate and resilience promoting characteristics, or how these two constructs may be interrelated. This study utilised a sample of 78,550 7(th), 9(th), and 11(th) grade students in California. Roughly half of the participants were female (52%), and roughly half (49%) were Latino. Latent Class Analysis was used to identify a 6-profile model for school climate and a 2-profile model for resilience promoting characteristics. Students experiencing overall positive climate, those experiencing supportive adult relationships, and those who engage meaningfully in their work at schools were more likely to report higher resilience promoting characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of fostering positive and protective school climate. In addition, findings support a social-ecological theory of resilience, indicating that schools are contexts that may play an important role in developing resilience promoting characteristics for secondary students.

Abstract Despite extensive reports during the COVID-19 pandemic of the academic challenges facing students, and the effects of online learning on academic achievements, we have little information regarding the needs and difficulties of K–12 students and their families from a social work perspective. The present article shares findings from a nationwide survey of 1,275 school social workers (SSWs) reporting on their clients—schools, children, and families—during the spring 2020 COVID-19 school closures. SSWs indicated that the children and families they served had significant unmet basic needs, including for food, healthcare, and housing. Poverty and mental health compounded pandemic difficulties, which were associated with the sociodemographic makeup of schools. Student engagement in social work services during the closures was significantly lower than prepandemic levels, generally due to unmet material needs. Several policy and practice implications arise from these findings, including a need for additional services for students and families, a plan to address structural inequities in our schools and communities, coordinated outreach to reengage missing students, and recognition of the strong work being done by school staff coupled with a need for additional supports and resources to combat persistent inequality.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school disruptions shined a spotlight on the mental health needs of young people, and the importance of schools and school social workers (SSWs) in attending to those needs. This study sought to understand SSWs' views about mental health and trauma in relation to the pandemic and schools reopening. Data came from written responses to open-ended questions on a national survey of SSWs during June-July 2020 (Kelly et al., 2021; Watson et al., 2022). In the national survey, 450 SSWs responded to open-ended questions, providing 115 single-spaced pages of detailed qualitative comments. A unified conceptual model for a trauma-informed school was created by integrating components suggested within the literature. This conceptual model was then used to generate a theory-based coding schema. Responses mapped well onto the conceptual model. Major themes included recognition of COVID-19 and 2020 social unrest as a unique period and potentially traumatic experience; the need for a trauma-informed school response; the challenges of addressing all facets of safety during the pandemic; and the essentiality and difficulty of maintaining school-based relationships during school closures and remote learning. Results demonstrated that SSWs used and discussed key components of a trauma-informed approach. Respondents offered several recommendations for implementing trauma-informed approaches during and after the pandemic, many of which required collaboration from other school staff. Findings provide empirical support for a unified school model that integrates components of a trauma-informed approach found in the literature. We make recommendations for interpersonal, organizational, and policy adaptations schools can take to become more trauma informed.

Improving school climate remains a priority for improving academic achievement and social emotional learning, and for reducing violence and promoting safe schools. This study examined staff member experiences of school climate with the goal of identifying the quality of climate (negative or positive) that staff experience and how certain characteristics influence their experiences. Using a statewide sample from the California Department of Education, this study employed Latent Profile Analysis to identify common perceptions of climate. Results indicate four profiles of climate, and that there are individual and contextual influences on the quality of climate likely experienced by staff members. Understanding this variation is critical for stakeholders seeking to implement changes in school climate, or the implementation of interventions targeting SEL or school safety.

In March 2020, as American PreK-12 schools shut down and moved into online learning in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there was little information about how school social workers (SSWs) were responding to the crisis. This study used a national online survey to understand how SSWs ( N = 1,275) adapted their school practice during the initial 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Findings from this study indicate that SSWs made swift and (relatively) smooth adaptations of their traditional practice role to the new context, though not without reporting considerable professional stress and personal challenges doing so. SSWs reported significant concerns about their ability to deliver effective virtual school social work services given their students’ low motivation and lack of engagement with online learning, as well as significant worries about how their students were faring during the first months of the pandemic. Implications for school social work practice, policy, and research are discussed.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created unprecedented impacts on our schools and society, requiring school social workers (SSWs) to attend to layered and cascading effects for students and their families. This study presents rich qualitative data from a national survey of SSWs about their personal and professional roles supporting students, families, and staff members as schools shifted to remote instruction. Findings indicate that SSWs are highly concerned about a lack of basic needs resources, including food, housing, and mental health support for students and families. SSWs highlighted the unequal effects of school closures for families without technology and Internet access as well as the difficulties providing services during the pandemic. Recovery policies should target resources to schools with the highest needs while prioritizing food, housing, mental health, and access to tools for online learning. SSWs also need additional and refined professional support to overcome their isolated roles in schools and bolster their ability to deliver online services effectively.

Objective: Positive school climate is a protective factor for students, yet current conceptualizations of climate largely overlook the perspectives of school staff members (e.g., teachers, administrators, social workers), who are expected to take action to create a positive climate. This study explores the construction of staff-focused dimensions of school climate and associations between school climate and student outcomes. Method: Data are from the 2013 California School Climate Survey; approximately 54,000 school staff members completed the survey. Teachers comprised the majority of the sample (n = 38,205), which also included administrators, counselors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and other staff members. We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability tests for data reduction and to evaluate subscales and then used regression models to examine associations between school climate and student outcomes. Results: The EFA supported multiple subscales to measure school climate. Controlling for staff characteristics, negative perceptions of school climate predicted higher levels of student risk, and positive perceptions predicted greater student well-being. How the school responded to discipline was the strongest influence in the models. Conclusions: Results support a staff-focused model of school climate. School staff members who experienced more positive climate reported experiencing less disruptive behavior from students, less student violence, and increased student well-being. School discipline and supportive relationships may be particularly important to staff member perceptions of climate. School stakeholders should assess staff perceptions and experiences before implementing interventions to improve school climate and social–emotional learning or target student risk behaviors.

Youth with disabilities disproportionately experience harsh discipline. Exploring perspectives of behavior and discipline could increase inclusivity, yet school nurses' perspectives are unexplored. Using the Peace and Power Conceptual Model, school nurses' perspectives were explored employing secondary qualitative analysis using Thorne's typology of analytic expansion. Parent study included interviews with school nurses, 24 data files comprised the sample for secondary analysis. Three peace-power versus power-over themes emerged: "having discordant perspectives," "being mislabeled," and "placing at higher risks." School nurses are equipped to build healthy school communities through changes in discipline practices, policies, and understanding of how youth with disabilities are impacted.

Journal Article Does High School Mobility Negatively Influence Perceptions of School Climate? Get access Gordon Capp, Gordon Capp Department of Social Work, College of Health and Human Development, California State University, Fullerton, 800 N State College, Fullerton, CA 92832 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Kathrine Sullivan Kathrine Sullivan Silver School of Social Work, New York University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Social Work Research, Volume 44, Issue 1, March 2020, Pages 73–78, https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svz027 Published: 21 February 2020 Article history Received: 04 February 2019 Revision received: 17 June 2019 Revision requested: 26 June 2019 Accepted: 26 June 2019 Published: 21 February 2020

A large body of school climate research has linked positive school climate with numerous positive outcomes for students (e.g.