School Climate and Bullying
Denise C. Gottfredson, Ph.D.
University of Maryland
Presented at the Workshop on Increasing Capacity for Reducing
Bullying and its Impact on the Lifecourse of Youth Involved
Institute of Medicine and National Research Council
April 9, 2014
What is “School Climate”
Personality is to the individual what
‘climate’ is to the organization
School Climate and Bullying-related
Attitudes and Behaviors


Students in schools with higher
student/teacher ratios reported greater
frequency of bully victimization and reduced
perceptions of safety.
95 elementary and middle schools
Source: Bradshaw, C.P., Sawyer, A.L., & O’Brennan, L.M. (2009).
School Climate and Willingness
to Seek Help


Students in schools with high levels of
perceived teacher and school staff support
are more willing to seek help for bullying and
aggressive behavior
Ninth grade students from 291 Virginia High
Schools
Source: Eliot, M., Cornell, D., Gregory, A., & Fan, X. (2010).
School Climate and Bullying


Students in schools with consistent
enforcement of school discipline and
availability of caring adults experienced lower
levels of bullying and victimization
Ninth grade students from 290 Virginia High
Schools
Source: Gregory, A., Cornell, D., Fan, X., Sheras, P., & Shih, T. (2010).
School Climate and Victimization/
Delinquency -- Important Dimensions

Student/teacher ratio, # different students
taught

Sense of community

Discipline management
Safe School Study

1976 national sample of 642 secondary
schools

Extensive data collection



Principal, teacher, and student surveys
Census data on the school communities
Extensive questioning

Victimization experiences, personal characteristics,
and characteristics of schools
Source: Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 1985
School Climate Predictors of Victimization:
Safe School Study
Large Schools
with larger # of
different
students taught
Ambiguous
sanctions
Low perception
of firm and
clear rule
enforcement
Higher
School
Victimization
Source: Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 1985
Low perception
of fairness and
clarity of rules
Punitive teacher
attitudes
National Study of Delinquency
Prevention in Schools

1998 national sample of 1,287 schools

Extensive data collection



Principal, teacher, and student surveys
Census data on the school communities
Extensive questioning

Victimization experiences, personal characteristics,
and characteristics of schools
Source: Gottfredson, G. D., Gottfredson, D. C., Payne, A. A., & Gottfredson, N. C. (2005)
School Climate Predictors of Victimization and
Delinquency: NSDPS
Structural Controls
- % male students
Social
Climate
- Concentrated poverty/AA
- Size & Urbanicity
- Residential Crowding
- Grade Level
Discipline
Management
Teacher
Victimization
Student
Delinquency
Student
Victimization
Source: Gottfredson, G. D., Gottfredson, D. C., Payne, A. A., & Gottfredson, N. C. (2005)
School Size and Student Victimization
Structural Controls
Student
Enrollment
_
Personal
Victimization
- Community Concentrated
Disadvantage
- Urbanicity/Mobility
- Racial/Ethnic Student
Composition
- Average Student Age
Student-Teacher +
Ratio
Number of
Different
+
Students Taught
Source: Gottfredson, D. C. and DiPietro, S. M. (2011)
Property
Victimization
School Culture Mediates Effect
Structural Controls
- Community Concentrated
Disadvantage
- Urbanicity/Mobility
- Racial/Ethnic Student
Composition
- Average Student Age
Student/Teacher
Ratio
Consensus about
Norms
Personal
Victimization
Communal Social Organization (CSO)
Schools in which “…members know, care
about, and support one another, have
common goals and sense of shared
purpose, and…actively contribute and feel
personally committed” (Solomon et al.,
1997)
Effects of CSO on Delinquent Behavior
Structural Controls
- Percent Students Male
- Concentrated Poverty/AA
- Size and Urbanicity
Communal Social
Organization
Student Bonding
- Residential Crowding
- Grade Level
Source: Payne, A.A., Gottfredson, D.C., and Gottfredson, G.D. (2003)
Student
Delinquency
Lessons from School Shootings



Ethnographic study of factors related to
school shootings experienced in the 1990s.
Teams of ethnographers worked in 6 different
communities that had experienced lethal
school shootings
Interviewed people; collected records
relevant to the incidents and what happened
in their aftermaths.
Source: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2003)
Characteristics of the Communities

Gulf between youth culture
and adults




Shooters intensely concerned
about status and protecting
themselves
Adults had poor
understanding of children’s
experiences
Shooters felt there was
“nowhere to turn”
Specific warnings given and
missed
School Climate and Victimization/
Delinquency -- Important Dimensions

Student/tchr ratio, # different students
taught

Sense of community

Discipline management
Can school climate be altered to
reduce bullying?
Of historical interest:
1980’s OJJDP “Alternative Education Initiative”
 Project STATUS
 Project PATHE
Project STATUS





Program Description: “school-within-a school;”
integrated social studies and English class, including
a law-related education curriculum and instructional
methods emphasizing student participation,
cooperative learning
Participants: high risk students in grades 7 an 9
Implementer: school teachers
Duration/Intensity: 1 school year, 2 hours per day
Effect of Program:



decreased crime (.36*)
decreased anti-social behavior (.23)
decreased substance use (.40*)
Source: Gottfredson (1990)
Project PATHE





Program Description: comprehensive program to alter school
organization and management structures; designed to reduce school
disorder and improve the school environment to enhance students’
experiences and attitudes about school
Participants: middle and high school students
Implementer: school staff
Duration/Intensity: 2 years (middle) or 1 year (high)
Effect of Program:

decreased crime (middle school=.31* / high school=.15*)

decreased anti-social behavior (middle school=.16* / high
school=.21*)

decreased substance use (middle school=.33* / high school=.15*)
Source: Gottfredson (1986, 1990)
Safe Dates





Program Description: School activities: theater production
performed by peers, a 10-session curriculum, and a poster
contest.
Participants: middle/high school students
Implementer: teachers
Duration/Intensity: 10 45-50 minute sessions
Effect of Program:
 25% less psychological perpetration
 60% less sexual violence perpetration
 60% less violence perpetrated against a current dating
partner
Source: Foshee, V.A., Bauman, K.E., Ennett, S.T., Suchindran, C.,
Benefield, T., & Linder, G.F. (2005)
Positive Behavior Interventions and
Supports (PBIS)





Program Description: School team approach; Team
establishes expectations for positive behaviors to encourage and
reinforce; Positive reinforcement system; Discipline system:
Clear rules, consistently enforced – emphasis on classroom
management
Participants: elementary schools
Implementer: teachers and administrators
Duration/Intensity: five years
Effect of Program:
 Improved organizational health
 Reduced aggressive behavior (teacher reports)
 Reduced peer rejection (teacher reports)
Source: Bradshaw CP, Koth CW, Bevans KB, Ialongo N, Leaf PJ (2008);
Waasdorp, T.E., Bradshaw, C. P., and Leaf, P. J. (2012).
School Climate and Delinquency -Important Dimensions

Student/tchr ratio, # different
students taught

Sense of community

Discipline management
Gaps in Research



Efforts to combine ideas from earlier and
contemporary school climate research to design more
potent school-wide bully prevention programs.
Rigorous tests of the effects of these promising ideas
on bullying (large RCTs at school level).
Research on how the school climate influences the
effectiveness of individually-targeted interventions
such as SEL-type programs.
Thank You!

Denise C. Gottfredson



Department of Criminology and Criminal
Justice
University of Maryland
gott@umd.edu
References
Bradshaw, C.P., Koth, C.W., Bevans, K.B., Ialongo, N., & Leaf, P.J. (2008).
The impact of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and
Supports (PBIS) on the organizational health of elementary schools.
Sch Psychol Q. 23(4):462-473. doi:10.1037/a0012883.
Bradshaw, C.P., Sawyer, A.L., & O’Brennan, L.M. (2009). A social
disorganization perspective on bullying-related attitudes and behaviors:
The influence of school context. American Journal of Community
Psychology, 43 (3-4), 204-220.
Cook, P. J., Gottfredson, D. C, & Na, C. (2010). School Crime Control and
Prevention. In Tonry, M. (ed). Crime and Justice: A Review of
Research. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Eliot, M., Cornell, D., Gregory, A., & Fan, X. (2010). Supportive school
climate and student willingness to seek help for bullying and threats of
violence. Journal of School Psychology, 48, 533–553.
References, Continued
Foshee, V.A., Bauman, K.E., Ennett, S.T., Suchindran, C., Benefield, T., &
Linder, G.F. (2005). Assessing the effects of dating violence prevention
program "Safe Dates" using random coefficient regression modeling.
Prevention Science, 6(3), 245-257.
Gottfredson, D.C. (1986). An empirical test of school-based environmental
and individual interventions to reduce the risk of delinquent behavior."
Criminology , 24, 705-731.
Gottfredson, D.C. (1990). “Changing school structures to benefit high risk
youths.” in Understanding Troubled and Troubling Youth:
Multidisciplinary Perspectives, edited by P. E. Leone. Newbury Park,
CA: Sage.
Gottfredson, D. C. and DiPietro, S. M. (2011). School Size, Social Capital,
and Student Victimization Sociology of Education 84, 69-89
Gottfredson, D. C. & Gottfredson, G. D. (2002). Quality of School-Based
Prevention Programs: Results from a National Survey. Journal of
Research in Crime and Delinquency, 39, 1, 3-35.
References, Continued
Gottfredson, G. D., & Gottfredson, D. C. (1985). Victimization in schools.
New York: Plenum.
Gottfredson, G. D., Gottfredson, D. C., Payne, A. A., and Gottfredson, N.
C. (2005). School Climate Predictors of School Disorder: Results from
the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools. Jnl of Rsch in
Crime and Delinquency, 42, (4), 412-444.
Gregory, A., Cornell, D., Fan, X., Sheras, P., & Shih, T. (2010).
Authoritative school discipline: High school practices associated with
lower student bullying and victimization. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 102, 483-496.
Klein, J., & Cornell, D. (2010). Is the link between large high schools and
student victimization an illusion? Journal of Educational Psychology,
102, 933-946. doi: 10.1037/a0019896
National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2003) Deadly
Lessons: Understanding Lethal School Violence. Case Studies of School
Violence Committee. Washington DC: The National Academies Press.
References, Continued
Payne, A.A., Gottfredson, D.C., & Gottfredson, G.D. (2003). Schools as
communities: The relationships among communal School organization,
student bonding, and school disorder. Criminology, 41, 749-777.
Solomon, D., Battistich, V., Kim, D., & Watson, M. (1997). Teacher
practices associated with students' sense of the classroom as a
community. Social Psychology of Education, 1, 235-267.
Waasdorp, T.E., Bradshaw, C. P., & Leaf, P. J. (2012). The impact of
schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports on bullying
and peer rejection: A randomized controlled effectiveness trial. Arch
Pediatr Adolesc Med. 166(2),149-156.
Project STEP





Program Description: Redefines role of homeroom teacher to be
more central in students’ lives; reorganizes classes so students stay
with one set of classmates and small team of teachers for four periods
Participants: middle school students transitioning to high school
Implementer: school staff
Duration/Intensity: 1 year
Effect of Program:

Increased GPA and attendance

Increased perceptions of positive school environment (teacher
support, affiliation, involvement)

Long term follow-up showed decreased drop out rate (43% vs
24%)
Source: Felner, Ginter and Primavera (1982); Felner and Adan (1988)