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An Exploration of the Authoritative School Climate Construct Using Multilevel Latent Class Analysis

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Abstract

The authoritative school climate construct, or the degree to which schools demonstrate student support and disciplinary structure, predicts several important student outcomes (e.g., racial suspension gap, student disengagement). To better understand this construct, we used multilevel latent class analysis to identify latent classes of student perceptions of school climate, model school-level variation in student experiences, and examine the relation between school climate and student and school demographics. Using a nationally representative sample of public high students in the USA, results show that student perceptions of school climate fall into four classes, Authoritative, Permissive, Authoritarian, and Uninvolved, which are consistent with authoritative school climate literature. Student gender, ethnicity/race, and SES all impact a student’s likelihood of membership in these classes. Schools tend to have a predominant school climate experience, although considerable variability in individual student experiences within a school exists. Findings address gaps in the authoritative school climate literature and have important implications for future research and policy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Ashley M. Mayworm

  2. Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-9490, USA

    Jill D. Sharkey

  3. Department of Education, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-9490, USA

    Karen Nylund-Gibson

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Correspondence to Ashley M. Mayworm.

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This study was granted an exemption from the Institutional Review Board at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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The current study uses secondary data that was collected as part of the national ELS:2002 study by the Institute of Education Sciences. Informed consent was obtained in the original study, and a description of informed consent procedures is available in the ELS:2002 User Guide (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 2004).

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Mayworm, A.M., Sharkey, J.D. & Nylund-Gibson, K. An Exploration of the Authoritative School Climate Construct Using Multilevel Latent Class Analysis. Contemp School Psychol 27, 283–302 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-021-00386-1

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