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Personal belief in a just world, experience of teacher justice, and school distress in different class contexts

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Abstract

The study examined the meaning of personal belief in a just world and students’ experience of their teachers’ behavior toward them personally for school distress in different class contexts. The study involved 827 secondary school students from 61 classes (grades 9 to 11). Analyses revealed that the more the students believed in a personal just world, the more they felt their teachers’ behavior toward them personally to be just, and the less school distress they experienced; the association between belief in a just world (BJW) and school distress was partly mediated by students’ personal experience of teacher justice. These associations were stable across school tracks, schools, and classes. According to these results and the just world theory, a strong BJW seems to function as a rather context-independent personal resource for students, explaining their individual experience of teacher justice and school distress. Moreover, teacher justice seems to be a key feature of schools explaining students’ well-being at school.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Franckesche Stiftungen, Franckeplatz 1, Haus 5, 06099, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Felix Peter, Claudia Dalbert & Matthias Radant

  2. Department of Methodology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Brandbergweg 23c, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Nils Kloeckner

Authors
  1. Felix Peter
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  2. Claudia Dalbert
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  3. Nils Kloeckner
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  4. Matthias Radant
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claudia Dalbert.

Additional information

Felix Peter. Department of Educational Psychology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Franckesche Stiftungen, Franckeplatz 1, Haus 5, 06099 Halle (Saale), Germany. E-mail: felix.peter@paedagogik.uni-halle.de

Current themes of research:

Justice concerns and experience of class climate.

Most relevant publications:

Peter, F., & Dalbert, C. (2010). Do my teachers treat me justly? Implications of students’ justice experience for class climate experience. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35, 297–305.

Peter, F., Kloeckner, N. Dalbert, C. & Radant, M. (2012). Belief in a just world, teacher justice, and student achievement: a multilevel study. Learning and Individual Differences, 22, 55–63.

Claudia Dalbert. Department of Educational Psychology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Franckesche Stiftungen, Franckeplatz 1, Haus 5, 06099 Halle (Saale), Germany. E-mail: claudia.dalbert@paedagogik.uni-halle.de

Current themes of research:

Justice concerns and justice motive. Dealing with uncertainty. Subjective well-being.

Most relevant publications:

Correia, I., & Dalbert, C. (2008). School bullying: belief in a personal just world of bullies, victims, and defenders. European Psychologist, 13, 249–254.

Dalbert, C. (1999). The world is more just for me than generally: about the Personal Belief in a Just World Scale’s validity. Social Justice Research, 12, 79–98.

Dalbert, C. (2001). The justice motive as a personal resource: dealing with challenges and critical life events. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Dalbert, C., & Sallay, H. (Eds.) (2004). The justice motive in adolescence and young adulthood: origins and consequences. London, UK: Routledge.

Dalbert, C., & Stoeber, J. (2006). The personal belief in a just world and domain-specific beliefs about justice at school and in the family: a longitudinal study with adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 200–207.

Matthias Radant. Department of Educational Psychology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Franckesche Stiftungen, Franckeplatz 1, Haus 5, 06099 Halle (Saale), Germany. E-mail: matthias.radant@paedagogik.uni-halle.de

Current themes of research:

Complexity Tolerance.

Most relevant publications:

Radant, M., & Dalbert, C. (2008). The dimensions of the complexity tolerance: a synopsis of personality constructs. Paper for the Invited Symposium: Tolerance for ambiguity, creativity, and personality, XXIX International Congress of Psychology in Berlin, Germany. International Journal of Psychology, 43 (3/4), 6.

Dalbert, C., & Radant, M. (2004). Parenting and young adolescents' belief in a just world. In C. Dalbert & H. Sallay (Eds.), The justice motive in adolescence and young adulthood: origins and consequences (pp. 11–25). London, UK: Routledge.

Nils Kloeckner. Department of Methodology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Brandbergweg 23c, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany

Current themes of research:

Research methods.

Most relevant publications:

Peter, F., Kloeckner, N., Dalbert, C., & Radant, M. (2012). Belief in a just world, teacher justice, and student achievement: a multilevel study. Learning and Individual Differences, 22, 55–63.

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Peter, F., Dalbert, C., Kloeckner, N. et al. Personal belief in a just world, experience of teacher justice, and school distress in different class contexts. Eur J Psychol Educ 28, 1221–1235 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-012-0163-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-012-0163-0

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