School engagement, school climate and youth externalizing behaviors: direct and indirect effects of parenting practices

Abstract

This research aimed to explore the direct and indirect effects of students’ school engagement, school climate and parenting practices on youth’s externalizing behaviors. A quantitative methodology with a sample of 183 Portuguese students, aged between 11 and 16 years old, was used. The main results suggested negative associations between externalizing behaviors and higher levels of school engagement and positive school climate. Poor parental supervision, inconsistent discipline and corporal punishment were positively related with externalizing behaviors, contrary to parental involvement and positive parenting that were associated with lower levels of externalizing behaviors. However, negative parenting practices were associated with lower levels of school engagement. Additionally, the results indicated that parenting practices might influence youth’s externalizing behaviors through school engagement.

Explanatory Factors of School Climate and School Identification: An Analysis of Multilevel Latent Profiles

“…The findings of this study indicate that a positive school climate promotes secure relationships among students, which favors their identification with the school and, consequently, increases their active commitment to learning, as well as to academic and extracurricular activities. These results coincide with the conclusions of Barbosa et al [10], who also establish a positive association between school climate and school engagement.…”

“…Along the same lines, school climate is associated with school satisfaction and life satisfaction [9], and with greater emotional commitment and fewer burnout symptoms among students [5]. Furthermore, Barbosa et al [10] pose that the greater the school commitment and positive school climate, the lesser the externalization behaviors. On the contrary, educational establishments that present deteriorated school climates show an increased probability of bullying [11][12][13][14][15], as well as of developing risky behavior, such as substance use [16][17][18].…”

“…Coincidentally, Musitu et al [36] report that the quality of interactions with parents and the teacher's expectations of the student are linked to attitudes toward authority and violent behavior at school. Therefore, the family plays a relevant role in the development of their adolescent children in their adaptation to school [10,37,38]. Specifically, a family climate where interparental conflict is present influences the violent behavior of schoolchildren [39][40][41].…”

“…In consequence, school climate continues to be of interest because it is related to different constructs at individual, family, community and cultural levels that influence the experience and development of students, as well as other human groups that make up the educational community, which becomes even more relevant considering that children and adolescents are in the process of the full cognitive, socio-affective and moral development that will allow them to adapt and contribute to society [5][6][7]19,48]. In this way, the relationships they establish with the members of their school can provide them with the necessary support in different areas, feeding back into other areas such as family [10]. In this sense, the ecological systems theory of Bronfenbrenner [67] is often used in research [1,3,61,66], allowing analysis of the interrelationships between elements from different contexts in which a student matures and their influence on individual development.…”

Psychometric Evaluation of the School Climate and School Identification Measure—Student on Chilean Students: A Bifactor Model Approach

“…School climate has implications at the academic, personal and relational levels that favor greater student adjustment [1][2][3]; thus, school climate is considered a relevant factor in achieving better academic performance [4][5][6] and greater school satisfaction [7]. The above is fundamental considering that adolescents are in a process of constant development and learning from their daily interactions; therefore, the way in which they relate among students and with teachers, as well as problem solving, influences their beliefs and their present and future behaviors [8,9].…”