School Diagnostic: Perceptions of Educational Professionals

Abstract

Aim:The school is a privileged context to prevent certain problems that may begin during the development of young students. The main objective is to assess the perceptions of educational professionals about the school structure, functioning, and organization, as well as students' behaviors. Method:We developed an exploratory study using a questionnaire, applied to a sample of 81 educational agents, teachers and non-teachers, aged between 25 and 62 years (M = 45.8, SD = 10.6). Results: Despite the positive perception of the participants about the physical school environment, it is necessary to create spaces for leisure and sport, logistic conditions and multidisciplinary teams in order to maximize the overall good functioning of schools. Adding to this, participants described the participation of parents in the school life as negative; they also identified several disruptive behaviours among students and referred to a general lack of active participation in life school. Conclusion: It is important to create action plans in schools, which should be multimodal and multi-agent in order to have intervention perspectives with connected actions developed by different educational agents.

The Mediating Effect of Parental Involvement on School Climate and Behavior Problems: School Personnel Perceptions

“…Based on the perception of school personnel, the results of this study allow to conclude by an moderate level of PI and SC, as well as the existence of different BP in the school context (i.e., absenteeism, disruptive behaviors and incivilities), also found in other Portuguese studies [15,16], which could impact in students' academic achievement [12], as well their social and emotional health [21]. It has been shown that a greater PI in the education of children promotes communication with school personnel [41], allowing for mediation of students' difficulties and behavioral problems detected in schools, such as situations of violence and indiscipline [41].…”

“…In addition, the literature proved the existence of a relationship between the institutional environment, interpersonal relationships, and BP, which has not been observed in other SC dimensions, that is, safety, teaching, and learning, since they were not equally considered in the analysis of the various studies [ 10 ]. The multidimensionality of the SC is very important, as it will allow one to better assess the changes to be made in the school context [ 11 ], as well as to identify the main BP disturbing the good school functioning, able to interfere with the students’ performance [ 12 ], all decisive factors to prevent the development of a delinquent trajectory [ 13 ].…”

“…For the purpose of this study, the BP concept has a broader meaning, which includes a combination of disruptive, antisocial, delinquent, deviant, and risk or externalizing behaviors [ 10 , 14 ], that could have serious negative consequences for adolescents or general society. Absenteeism and incivilities practiced in the school context are also considered [ 12 ]. School-centered research has recognized the existence of several BP, such as violence and indiscipline, which can be easily identified in the school context, capable of contributing to the breakdown of social attachment through the use of force and aggression [ 12 , 15 ], drug abuse [ 16 , 17 ], delinquent, antisocial behaviors, and incivilities occurring in the school or in the space surrounding schools [ 18 , 19 ] or even absenteeism [ 15 ].…”

“…Absenteeism and incivilities practiced in the school context are also considered [ 12 ]. School-centered research has recognized the existence of several BP, such as violence and indiscipline, which can be easily identified in the school context, capable of contributing to the breakdown of social attachment through the use of force and aggression [ 12 , 15 ], drug abuse [ 16 , 17 ], delinquent, antisocial behaviors, and incivilities occurring in the school or in the space surrounding schools [ 18 , 19 ] or even absenteeism [ 15 ].…”

“…Overall, the existing international literature indicates that there are important associations between SC, PI, and BP. However, the majority of the international (e.g., [ 31 , 32 , 45 ]) and Portuguese [ 46 ] research relating these variables under study is focused on students, and the number of studies focusing on parents and teachers [ 47 ] or school staff (e.g., [ 12 , 15 ]) is scarce. Furthermore, Portuguese studies that have analyzed the mediating effect of PI on the relationship between SC and BP are unknown.…”