School Attachment Among Taiwanese Adolescents: The Roles of Individual Characteristics,Peer Relationships,and Teacher Well-Being

This study examines the effects of individual characteristics (school grade and gender), peer relationships (peer support and peer victimization), and the subjective well-being of teachers (depression and job satisfaction) on students’ attachment to school. Twenty-four classes in grades 7 through 9 at two middle schools in Taipei were selected as the sample, and survey data were obtained from students and homeroom teachers. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to conduct a two-level analysis on 720 students and 24 teachers with valid data on all research variables. A series of models were constructed and tested stepwise. The results indicated that students’ average school attachment scores varied significantly among classes. A higher school grade was associated with reduced attachment while no gender difference was found. Peer support had a positive influence and peer victimization had a negative effect on school attachment. Finally, job satisfaction of the homeroom teachers positively contributed to students’ attachment to school, but teachers’ depression had no significant effect. Implications for creating a positive classroom environment were discussed.     

The Quality of School Life: Teacher-Student Trust Relationships and the Organizational School Context

In exploring the quality of schools’ social system, this study provides insight into in which types of schools students may encounter barriers in developing supportive teacher-student relationships because of teachers exposing low levels of trust in students. Student culture and teachability perceptions are assessed as incentives for teachers’ perceptions of students’ trustworthiness. Information was gathered from 2,104 teachers across a representative sample of 84 secondary schools in Flanders (Belgium). A measure for trust in students was derived from the trust scales developed by Hoy and Tschannen-Moran. Multilevel analyses reveal that teacher perceptions of students’ teachability strongly predict teacher trust. This underscores the importance of teacher perceptions of students’ ability to meet the expectations imposed on them with regard to the formation of trust. Additionally, we show that teacher trust is affected by the organizational school context, although the academic orientation of the student culture plays no role.     

School Satisfaction of Elementary School Children: The Role of Performance,Peer Relations,Ethnicity and Gender

The present study examines school satisfactionamong 1,090 Dutch and ethnic minority childrenaged between ten and twelve in relation totheir school context. Data were gathered in 51classes from 26 schools. Individual andclassroom variables were examinedsimultaneously, using multilevel analysis.Controlling statistically for general lifesatisfaction and teacher likeability, theresults show that the effects of educationalperformance and peer victimization on schoolsatisfaction were mediated by perceivedscholastic competence and social self-esteem,respectively. In addition, ethnic minoritygroups were more satisfied with school than theDutch pupils, and girls were more satisfiedthan boys. Multilevel analysis showed thatschool satisfaction was dependent on theclassroom context. The academic and socialclimate in the class had positive effects onthe level of satisfaction with school. Thepercentage of Dutch pupils, the percentage ofgirls and the number of pupils had nosignificant independent effects on schoolsatisfaction.     

Perceived Social Support and School Well-Being Among Chinese Early and Middle Adolescents: The Mediational Role of Self-Esteem

This study examined the mediational role of self-esteem in accounting for the empirical link between perceived social support (parents, friends, and teachers) and school well-being (school satisfaction, positive affect in school, and negative affect in school). Participants were from China and were 221 early adolescents (Mage = 13.6) and 140 middle adolescents (Mage = 16.4). Among early adolescents, parent and teacher support, but not friend support, related significantly to positive school well-being. Among middle adolescents, friend and teacher support, but not parent support, significantly related to school well-being. For both early and middle adolescents, global self-esteem mediated relations between teacher support and school well-being. For early adolescents, global self-esteem mediated relations between parent support and school well-being; whereas for middle adolescents, global self-esteem mediated relations between friend support and school well-being. The findings supported socialcognitive models of well-being in Chinese context. Implications are discussed in the context of developmental and cultural considerations.     

The influence of student characteristics and interpersonal teacher behaviour in the classroom on student’s wellbeing

Student wellbeing can be considered a major output indicator of quality of education. A positive classroom climate can contribute to a higher sense of wellbeing. Interpersonal relationships between teachers and students are an important aspect of the classroom climate. This study investigated how student wellbeing was predicted by student characteristics, interpersonal teacher behaviour and achievement. 594 students from 55 classes in 13 technical and vocational secondary schools were involved in this study. The results indicated that those students who attended school because they were highly motivated learners reported a higher sense of wellbeing than those who attended out of a sense of duty. It also appeared that student perception of interpersonal teacher behaviour predicted student wellbeing. As a case in point, when students viewed their language teacher as tolerant yet exacting discipline, a positive relationship was found with student wellbeing. Students also felt better when their mathematics teachers were less authoritarian, but the cooperative component was still important.     

Electronic Bullying and Victimization and Life Satisfaction in Middle School Students

This study examined the nature and prevalence of electronic bullying and victimization in a sample of middle school students in a southeastern USA school. Relationships among measures of electronic bullying and victimization and global and domain-specific life satisfaction were also investigated. A total of 855 7th and 8th grade US students responded to questions regarding global and domain-based life satisfaction, electronic bullying and victimization behaviors. Although a majority of students reported not engaging in or being the victim of electronic bullying, the small percentage of students who did report these behaviors as being problematic indicated that the behaviors occurred several times a week. Statistically significant correlates of electronic bullying were self-reported grades in school, gender, and parent marital status. Significant correlates of victimization were self-reported grades in school, parent marital status, and ethnicity. The results suggested modest, but pervasive relationships between experiences of electronic bullying and victimization and adolescents?? life satisfaction reports across a variety of important life domains. When the effects of demographic variables were controlled, the relationship between electronic victimization and global life satisfaction became non-significant, suggesting that global life satisfaction reports may mask the effects of specific life satisfaction domains.     

Psychosocial Risk and Protective Factors for Depression Among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Queer Youth: A Systematic Review

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) youth suffer from depression. Identifying modifiable risk and protective factors for depression can inform the development of psychosocial interventions. The aim of this review is to evaluate the methodological characteristics and summarize the substantive findings of studies examining psychosocial risk and protective factors for depression among LGBQ youth. Eight bibliographic databases were searched, and 35 studies that met all inclusion criteria were included for review. Results show that prominent risk factors for depression include internalized LGBQ-related oppression, stress from hiding and managing a socially stigmatized identity, maladaptive coping, parental rejection, abuse and other traumatic events, negative interpersonal interactions, negative religious experiences, school bullying victimization, and violence victimization in community settings. Prominent protective factors include a positive LGBQ identity, self-esteem, social support from friends, and family support. LGBQ youth may face an array of threats to their mental health originating from multiple socioecological levels.     

Learning,Interaction and Relationships as Components of Student Well-being: Differences Between Classes from Student and Teacher Perspective

The attitudes of students to their school, teachers and peers were investigated with 1,540 students in grade six from 30 schools and 78 classes. Using structural equation modelling, the students’ perceptions of well-being were investigated at class level using seven items with high reliability. Their well-being was dependent on at least three factors: students’ learning (seven items), student-to-student interaction (six items) and teacher–student relationships as described by students (ten items). Together, these factors explained 72 % of the variability of well-being between classes. The students’ well-being appeared to be significantly different between schools and between classes in the same school. The teachers’ opinions of their classes with the highest class score for well-being were compared with the lowest. The differences in the evaluation of the teachers’ own classes explain a number of critical issues which impact on educational outcomes. Students need to be aware of the combined effects of learning and socialisation.     

Differential Peer Effects,Student Achievement,and Student Absenteeism: Evidence From a Large-Scale Randomized Experiment

Using data from a well-executed randomized experiment, I examine the effects of gender composition and peer achievement on high school students’ outcomes in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Results show that having a higher proportion of female peers in the classroom improves girls’ math test scores only in less-advanced courses. For male students, the estimated gender peer effects are positive but less precisely estimated. I also find no effect of average classroom achievement on female math test scores. Males, on the other hand, seem to benefit from a higher-achieving classroom. I propose mechanisms relating to lower gender stereotype influences and gender-specific attitudes toward competition as potential explanations for peer effects findings. Finally, having a higher proportion of female students in the classroom decreases student absenteeism among male students but has no impact on female attendance.     

The Interactive Impacts of High School Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) on College Student Attitudes Toward LGBT Individuals: An Investigation of High School Characteristics

Although gay-straight alliances (GSAs) are becoming more popular in high schools across the U.S., empirical studies investigating GSAs and their impact are sparse. Utilizing a sample of college students drawn from a large Southern university (N = 805; 78% White; 61% female; average age 22), the current study investigates the ways that the presence of high school GSAs affect college student attitudes toward LGBT individuals and how these relationships may vary by high school GSA location (South vs. non-South), town type (rural/small town, suburban, large city), and high school student population size. Overall, results from the current study show that the presence of a GSA in high school is a robust positive predictor of supportive attitudes toward LGBT individuals, even when considering many control variables. Such results suggest that the presence of GSAs in high schools may have significant positive and potentially long-lasting effects on college students’ attitudes toward LGBT individuals.     

A Measure of the Cultural Distance Between Countries

The current study was an investigation of age and gender differences in the relation between students’ school-related social support (i.e., teacher support and classmate support) and subjective well-being (SWB) in school (i.e., school satisfaction and affect in school), as well as the developmental differences in SWB in school. Data were collected from a sample of 2,158 students in Grades 4 through 11 in China on two separate occasions, 6-weeks apart. The findings indicated older age students reported lower levels of SWB in school than younger students. Furthermore, girls reported higher levels of school satisfaction than boys. In addition, both teacher support and classmate support significantly related to school satisfaction at Time 2 (controlling for Time 1) for all students. Classmate support significantly related to affect in school at Time 2 for all students, whereas teacher support only significantly related to affect in school at Time 2 for elementary school students. Specifically, teacher support accounted for the larger amount of variance in school satisfaction at Time 2 for elementary and high school students. Gender moderated the relation between teacher support and school satisfaction at Time 2 for elementary school students, as well as the relation between classmate support and school satisfaction at Time 2 for middle school students. Implications based on developmental considerations were discussed.     

The Relationships Between Sense of Belonging to a Community GLB Youth Group; School,Teacher, and Peer Connectedness; and Depressive Symptoms: Testing of a Path Model

Research indicates belonging to a gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) support group is indirectly associated with fewer depressive symptoms, via higher levels of sense of belonging to the general community. The current study extended this research by testing a path model to determine whether school, teacher, and peer connectedness are influenced by sense of belonging to a community GLB youth group. A sample of 82 Australian GLB adolescents aged 14 to 18 years who currently attend high school completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Psychological Subscale of the Sense of Belonging Instrument, and the Social Questionnaire for Secondary Students. Results indicated very good model fit. Higher levels of belonging to a community GLB youth group were associated with higher levels of school, teacher, and peer connectedness, but only peer connectedness was directly associated with depressive symptoms. Higher levels of school and teacher connectedness were associated with higher levels of peer connectedness. Interventions aimed at increasing belonging to a community GLB youth group may have indirect benefits for the mental health of GLB adolescents, via higher levels of school, teacher, and peer connectedness.     

Social Relations and School Life Satisfaction in South Korea

This study pays special attention to adolescents who are at the critical stage of social, cognitive and emotional development and their satisfaction with school life which is important for their educational experience and adult life. The purpose of this study is to examine how students’ relationships with friends, teachers and parents are associated with their school life satisfaction. We conducted hierarchical linear modeling with nationally representative data on 3,790 high school seniors in the consideration of different school types (general and vocational high schools) reflecting the contextual characteristics of South Korean education system. Our findings show that all those relations are associated with school life satisfaction and that some distinctive dimensions of each relation matter for students’ school life satisfaction. In particular, teacher-student relationship was found to shape students’ satisfaction with school life both at individual and school level. In spite of several limitations, the broad investigation of students’ social relations provided a policy implication for improving adolescents’ satisfaction with their school lives.     

A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of Differential Sources of School-Related Social Support and Adolescents’ School Satisfaction

School is an important context for early adolescents’ development. An overall positive sense of well-being in school, measured by school satisfaction in this study, should be one of the indicators of a good schooling experience. To address the importance of social support in the school context, this study examined the relationship between three sources of school-related social support (family support for learning, peer support for learning, and teacher-student relationships) and early adolescents’ school satisfaction across time. Participants were 547 middle school students from a middle school in the Southeastern United States who completed surveys of school social climate and school satisfaction on two separate occasions, five months apart. Results showed that overall school-related social support explained a substantial amount of the variance associated with students’ school satisfaction reports at both time points. However, there were differential effects among three sources of social support. Specifically, teacher-student relationships accounted for the largest amount of variance in school satisfaction at Time 1 and Time 2 (controlling for Time 1); peer support contributed a statistically significant amount of unique variance to school satisfaction at Time 1; and family support significantly contributed to students’ school satisfaction at Time 2 (controlling for Time 1). Recommendations for educators, childcare workers, administrators, and policymakers are discussed in light of the findings and developmental considerations.     

Heterosexism,Depression, and Campus Engagement Among LGBTQ College Students: Intersectional Differences and Opportunities for Healing

LGBTQ people experience health disparities related to multilevel processes of sexual and gender marginalization, and intersections with racism can compound these challenges for LGBTQ people of color. Although community engagement may be protective for mental health broadly and for LGBTQ communities in buffering against heterosexism, little research has been conducted on the racialized dynamics of these processes among LGBTQ communities. This study analyzes cross-sectional survey data collected among a diverse sample of LGBTQ college students (n = 460), which was split by racial status. Linear regression models were used to test main effects of interpersonal heterosexism and engagement with campus organizations on depression, as well as moderating effects of campus engagement. For White LGBTQ students, engaging in student leadership appears to weaken the heterosexism–depression link—specifically, the experience of interpersonal microaggressions. For LGBTQ students of color, engaging in LGBTQ-specific spaces can strengthen the association between sexual orientation victimization and depression.     

Violence as Mediating Variable in Mental Health Disparities Associated to Sexual Orientation Among Mexican Youths

ABSTRACT

In this study, we explored the role of sex as an effect-modifying variable in the association between sexual orientation and mental health in Mexican youth. In addition, we tested if violent experiences in the family and the school and attitudes toward homosexuality could act as mediating variables in such association. Data from three representative surveys performed in 2007, 2009, and 2013 among Mexican high school students were analyzed. Two dimensions of sexual orientation were evaluated: romantic partnership and sexual behavior. The outcomes were negative and positive mood, suicidal ideation and intent, self-concept, and self-esteem. There were differences by gender because in males, there were more disparities in mental health associated with sexual orientation (suicidal ideation and attempt, negative and positive mood, negative self-concept, and family-related self-esteem) than in females (suicidal ideation and negative mood). Experiences of school violence were mediators in the relationship between sexual orientation and most health outcomes in males.     

Visibility and denial: accounts of sexual violence in race- and gender-specific magazines

Prior research on media representations of race, gender, and sexual violence has established that media emphasize women’s role in preventing their own victimization and omit Black women as victims. This study uses feminist intersectionality to build on prior research by investigating not only how social groups are portrayed, but whether and how the intended audience matters for media representations. Specifically, who are the portrayed victims of sexual violence, and how is fear of sexual violence communicated to different audiences? Content analysis of articles in race- and gender-specific magazines shows two key mechanisms of representation through which racism and sexism work together: visibility and denial. Results show that White women are hypervisible as victims while Black women as victims are relatively invisible compared to Black men’s persecution and Black children’s victimization; men’s magazines deny the importance of sexual violence as a problem, focusing on false accusations and convictions. These narratives go largely unchallenged regardless of the source’s intended audience, demonstrating that portrayals of sexual violence are both gendered and racialized across multiple media sources.     

Causal Effects of Single-Sex Schools on College Entrance Exams and College Attendance: Random Assignment in Seoul High Schools

Despite the voluminous literature on the potentials of single-sex schools, there is no consensus on the effects of single-sex schools because of student selection of school types. We exploit a unique feature of schooling in Seoul—the random assignment of students into single-sex versus coeducational high schools—to assess causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exam scores and college attendance. Our validation of the random assignment shows comparable socioeconomic backgrounds and prior academic achievement of students attending single-sex schools and coeducational schools, which increases the credibility of our causal estimates of single-sex school effects. The three-level hierarchical model shows that attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools, rather than coeducational schools, is significantly associated with higher average scores on Korean and English test scores. Applying the school district fixed-effects models, we find that single-sex schools produce a higher percentage of graduates who attended four-year colleges and a lower percentage of graduates who attended two-year junior colleges than do coeducational schools. The positive effects of single-sex schools remain substantial, even after we take into account various school-level variables, such as teacher quality, the student-teacher ratio, the proportion of students receiving lunch support, and whether the schools are public or private.     

农村中小学教师对留守儿童的认知

留守儿童能否得到优质的学校教育,与教师的认知与态度是分不开的。本次调查发现,绝大多数农村中小学教师认为留守儿童与非留守儿童之间存在较大的差异,父母外出后,给孩子成长带了较大的负面影响。因绝大多数农村中小学教师主要是根据他们日常生活中与留守儿童的接触,从而形成对其的总体印象,因此,我们可以认为,农村中小学教师对留守儿童的总体评价与判断是比较可靠的。同时,调查也发现农村基层教育系统尤其是处在农村教育第一线的教师对留守儿童教育问题比较重视,但要警惕将留守儿童＂标签化＂的危险。     

Student Perception As Moderator For Student Wellbeing

Student motivation as well as student perception of interpersonal teacher behaviour are linked to the sense of wellbeing at student level. However, while most of the variance in the measurement of student wellbeing was situated at student level, eleven percent of variance was found at classroom level. In this article we focus on this variance at classroom level and the moderating role that student perception of interpersonal teacher behaviour has. From an interpersonal perspective on teaching, the relationship between teacher wellbeing, perceptions of interpersonal teacher behaviour, and student wellbeing is examined. Grade 9 students of technical and vocational training schools are participating in this study. In the analyses a distinction is made between teaching academic subjects and teaching vocational subjects. There appears to be a direct link between the wellbeing of the teachers of academic subjects and the wellbeing of their students. Students who perceive their academic teacher as leading, helpful and friendly score higher on wellbeing, while wellbeing decreases when an academic teacher is perceived as strict and admonishing.The relationship between the teacher of vocational subjects who typifies himself as strict and admonishing, and the wellbeing of his students, is moderated by student perceptions of teacher interpersonal behaviour. A direct relationship between the wellbeing of the vocational teacher and the wellbeing of students is not found. Only when the vocational teacher's wellbeing is high and student perceptions of uncertain or dissatisfied interpersonal teacher behaviour is low, does student wellbeing increase. We conclude that for vocational subjects, student perceptions of interpersonal teacher behaviour are crucial moderators. Finally, students who are highly motivated to learn practical subjects, have a higher score on student wellbeing. By contrast, the fact that education is inherently obligatory has a negative influence on student wellbeing.