Authoritative School Climate and High School Dropout Rates

• NCJ Number: 250861
• Journal: School Psychology Quarterly Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2016 Pages: 289-303
• Author(s): Y. N. Jia; T. R. Konold; D. Cornell
• Date Published: June 2016
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-JF-FX-0062
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article; Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study tested the association between school-wide measures of an authoritative school climate and high school dropout rates in a statewide sample of 315 high schools.

Abstract

Regression models at the school level of analysis used teacher and student measures of disciplinary structure, student support, and academic expectations to predict overall high school dropout rates. Analyses controlled for school demographics of school enrollment size, percentage of low-income students, percentage of minority students, and urbanicity. Consistent with authoritative school climate theory, moderation analyses found that when students perceived their teachers as supportive, high academic expectations were associated with lower dropout rates. (Publisher abstract modified)