Student Misbehaviour and School Climate: A Multilevel Study

Abstract

This study examines how teacher perceptions of student misbehaviour correlate with their perceptions of school climate and student self-reports, using multi-informant two-level multilevel modelling. School climate questionnaires completed by 4,055 teachers and 16,017 students (1rd to 4th year of compulsory secondary education from 187 schools) showed that teachers’ characteristics are marginally related to perceived disruption. Fair rules and support of students’ families acted as protective factors, while a lack of educational leadership was a risk factor. Furthermore, the student variable of pro-violence messages from parents acted as a moderator for leadership and rules, while perceived coercive treatment from teachers acted as a moderator for family support of teachers.

Keywords

• misbehaviour
• adolescents
• school rules fairness
• teacher-student relationship
• family-school relationship
• multilevel study