School achievement gaps and school failure are problematic issues in Latin America, and are mainly explained by the socio-economic status (SES) of the students. What schools can do to improve school achievement and reduce school failure is a critical issue, both for school management and teacher training. In this study, we present the association of individual and school-related socio-emotional variables with school achievement and performance, controlling for the effects of SES. A probabilistic sample of 4,964 students, drawn from 191 schools enrolled in year 10 in urban areas of Chile, answered questionnaires assessing subjective wellbeing, social wellbeing in school, school climate, school social wellbeing and students’ perceptions of teachers’ wellbeing. Using structural equation modeling, and controlling for SES, we modeled subjective wellbeing as a mediator of the relationship between school-related variables, such as school climate and perception of teacher’s wellbeing, and (a) school achievement, and (b) school performance. School achievement was computed as a product of (a) the probability of passing the school year, and (b) the percentage of yearly attendance at school. Data on school achievement was drawn from administrative registries from the Chilean Ministry of Education. School performance was computed as the estimated grade point average (GPA) at the end of the school year, based on the students’ previous 5-year GPAs, and was also obtained through administrative data of the last 5 years. Findings reveal the mediating role of subjective wellbeing in the relationship between school-related evaluations (students’ social wellbeing at school, their perception of teachers’ wellbeing and school climate) and school achievement. For school achievement, two variables were mediated (students’ social wellbeing at school and school climate). However, for school performance, no significant mediations were found. We conclude that, on the one hand, after controlling for SES, students’ individual subjective wellbeing is associated with their achievement and performance in school. We discuss the importance of improving school experiences that may protect and promote students’ subjective experience and school achievement and performance, and reduce the probability of school failure and dropout.

r e s u M e n El clima escolar resulta de creciente interés para investigadores e instituciones educativas. Las estrategias de mejoramiento escolar basadas en evidencias han incluido el clima escolar para apoyar a los integrantes de comunidades educativas en la creación de escuelas seguras y comprometidas con el aprendizaje. Es necesario contar con instrumentos validados para la población latinoamericana, que permitan la investigación comparada. Presentamos los resultados de la validación de la Escala de Clima Escolar. El instrumento mide la percepción de estudiantes sobre la aplicación de normas, el apoyo de adultos y la participación. Se tradujo al español y se realizó un análisis psicométrico. La muestra fue de 4688 estudiantes chilenos, de 4º, 6º y 8º básico. Los resultados evidencian un alto nivel de consisten interna (α = 0.89) y de varianza explicada (54%). El modelo de tres factores mostró un buen ajuste, así como uno de cuatro factores, que separa las normas generales de las normas contra la violencia sexual.Palabras clave clima escolar; escala; validación; fiabilidad; validez a B s t r a c t School climate has received increased attention use by researchers and educational institutions. Evidence-based school improvement processes have included school climate as a means of helping create schools that are safe and committed with learning. It is necessary to count with valid measures of school climate for Latin American countries, which may allow for comparative research. We present the results of the validation of the School Climate Scale. The instrument measures students´ perceptions of norms, support from adults in the school, and participation. The scale was translated into Spanish and its psychometric properties were studied on a sample of 4,688 Chilean students from grades fourth, sixth, and eight. Findings show a high level on internal consistency (α = 0.89) and explained variance (54%). Structural equation models fit the data well, both for the three-factor solution as well a four-factor structure that separates general school norms from norms against sexual violence. The scale can facilitate data-driven decisions and may be incorporated into evidenced-based school improvement processes.

Este estudio indagó las prácticas discursivas que sustentan la alta percepción de violencia escolar en escuelas municipalizadas de Chile. Se realizó un estudio de caso en una escuela básica municipal de nivel socioeconómico medio-bajo de la Región de Valparaíso. Participaron estudiantes de 7º básico, sus profesores, apoderados, directivos, asistentes de la educación, auxiliares y otros informantes clave. Las técnicas de recolección de información fueron entrevistas en profundidad, observaciones no participantes y análisis de documentos. El análisis del discurso mostró formas de acción social orientadas a individualizar la violencia escolar, invisibilizar el rol de la escuela y externalizar las atribuciones de responsabilidad, desde el rol docente al equipo multidisciplinario, a través de la derivación interna de "niños-problema". Estas prácticas se retroalimentan para formar un ciclo de exclusión escolar que resta a los estudiantes oportunidades de participación en los espacios de aprendizaje al interior de la escuela. Palabras clave: violencia escolar, bullying, discurso, exclusión escolarThis study investigated the discursive practices that sustain the high perception of school violence in Chilean public schools. A case study was performed in an elementary municipal school of mediumlow socioeconomic status of the Region of Valparaíso. Participants were 7 th grade students, their teachers, parents, school leaders, and support staff. Interviews, non participatory observations, and document analysis were used. Discourse analyses showed forms of social action orientated towards individualizing school violence, making the role of the school invisible, and externalizing the attributions of responsibility, from teachers to the multidisciplinary team, through internal referral of "difficult children". These practices are mutually complementary and form a cycle of school exclusion that reduces students' opportunities to participate in learning spaces within the school.Keywords: school violence, bullying, discourse, school exclusion La escuela debiese ser un espacio donde los niños construyan aprendizajes académicos y socioemocionales y aprendan a convivir de manera democrática, convirtiéndose en los protagonistas de sociedades más justas y participativas (Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura [UNESCO], 2002). Vivir en espacios libres de violencia es importante, no solo para la convivencia democrática, sino también para el bienestar psicológico y social (Páez & Martin-Beristain, 2011).Chile lleva más de una década recogiendo la percepción de altos niveles de violencia escolar. El estudio realizado por Arancibia (1994) detectó que en niveles socioeconómicos (NSE) bajos un 75% de la población percibía violencia entre los alumnos y un 43%, abusos de parte de los profesores. Diez años después el estudio nacional sobre convivencia escolar solicitado por el Verónica López, Claudia Carrasco, Macarena Morales, Álvaro Ayala, Joedith López y Michelle Karmy, Escuela de Psicología, Facultad ...

Over the past 15 years, Chile has implemented three different educational laws and policies to enhance, promote and develop school climate (SC). However, different logics of understanding and intervening in SC underlie these legal bodies. In order to account for the contradictions and critical nodes of instruments that conform Chile´s SC public policy, we performed a documentary analysis of laws and other key documents. Using content analyses, we identified four critical nodes: contradiction between declaration and measurement of quality of education; explicit arrangements for institutional sanctions, which contrasts with ambiguity about institutional supports; contradictory understandings about SC; and differential treatment for public and private schools. We discuss the possibilities of promoting a democratic SC in a policy environment that is highly oriented by accountability.

La violencia entre pares afecta negativamente la salud mental de los estudiantes. La literatura señala que la satisfacción con la vida es uno de los factores que puede verse mayormente afectado. No obstante, pueden existir factores que atenúen estos efectos negativos. La presente investigación indagó en la influencia que tiene el apoyo de profesores y pares en la escuela sobre la satisfacción con la vida en estudiantes que reportan agresiones de sus pares. El estudio censal incluyó a 5.527 estudiantes de 4° a 8° grado de educación básica de 44 establecimientos municipales de una comuna de la Región de Valparaíso, Chile. Usando cuestionarios autoaplicados de la encuesta "La Convivencia en mi Escuela", cuyos datos se analizaron usando modelos de ecuaciones estructurales, se encontró que el apoyo social de los profesores tiene un efecto más importante que el de los pares como mediador en la relación inversa entre victimización entre pares y satisfacción con la vida de los estudiantes. Estos hallazgos son discutidos respecto del papel mediador de los profesores en la victimización entre pares.Palabras clave: victimización, satisfacción vital, apoyo social, bienestar, bullying Violence among peers has a negative effect on students' mental health. The literature indicates that life satisfaction is one of the factors on which peer violence could have a major effect. Nevertheless, some factors may attenuate this negative impact. This study analyzed the influence of teacher and peer support on the relation between students' peer victimization and life satisfaction. The sample included 5,527 students from grades 4 through 8 attending municipal schools in one district of the Region of Valparaíso, Chile. Using self-report questionnaires taken from the survey "Coexistence in my School", whose data was analyzed with structural equation modeling, it was observed that teacher social support has a greater effect than peer social support as a mediator in the inverse relationship between students' peer victimization and life satisfaction. These findings are discussed in terms of the mediating role of teachers in reducing the effects of peer victimization. La correspondencia relativa a este artículo debe ser dirigida a Boris Villalobos-Parada, PACES, Keywords