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Relationships between school climate and adolescent students’ self-reports of ethnic and moral identity

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Abstract

This article reports research into associations between students’ perceptions of the school climate and self-reports of ethnic and moral identity in high schools in Western Australia. An instrument was developed to assess students’ perceptions of their school climate (as a means of monitoring and guiding schools as they are challenged to become more inclusive and grapple with increasingly diverse populations) and administered to 4067 students, 63 % of whom were aged between 12 and 17 years, in eight schools. The same students also responded to a survey developed to assess ethnic and moral identity. Analysis of the data indicated strong, positive associations between the school climate and students’ ethnic and moral identity. The results suggest that, for schools wishing to promote students’ ethnic and moral identity, it would be beneficial to consider important elements of the school climate identified in the new survey.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Australian Research Council and the Public Education Endowment Trust (Western Australia).

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  1. Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Jill M. Aldridge, Kate G. Ala’i & Barry J. Fraser

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  1. Jill M. Aldridge
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Correspondence to Jill M. Aldridge.

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Aldridge, J.M., Ala’i, K.G. & Fraser, B.J. Relationships between school climate and adolescent students’ self-reports of ethnic and moral identity. Learning Environ Res 19, 1–15 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-015-9199-9

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