Date of Award

2014

Degree Type

Dissertation

Department

Education and Human Services

First Advisor

Hampton, Frederick

Subject Headings

Behavior modification, Problem children -- Education, School psychology, Urban schools -- Ohio, Positive behavior support programming urban urbanity

Abstract

One of the major questions that both urban and non-urban public school districts are faced with is the relationship between the predictors of school climate, student behavior, staff perceptions and the influence these variables have on school climate. School districts are under public scrutiny to produce positive achievement results for all students. Much research suggests that schools that are considered urban are generally considered unsafe, unproductive and unable to produce students that are competitive in a 21st century global economy. In the major urban centers, student populations are decreasing, flooding the first-ring school districts. First-ring school districts are the individual school districts that immediately border major urban school centers. What are left in the major urban districts are families that are unable to improve their situation and move out of the school districts that are generally considered a failure. One area that has been generally targeted as a method to improve student achievement is the area of school climate. Various programs in the public school setting have been instituted to positively influence school climate. Inside the school setting, there are diverse variables that can affect the efficient running of a school building: school climate, student population, discipline occurrences in a school, specific positive behavior support programs (PBS), at risk behavior intervention programs for students, academic intervention programs, staff morale and standardized testing results for a specific school district. These predictors, along with individual human development and behavior, influence school climate. It is essential to understand how these characteristics can impact school climate in an urban and non-urban setting what policies or procedures can positively impact climate at the building level and how can these factors can influence staff perceptions towards student achievement. Educators have yet to determine the exact interplay of the factors that predict scho

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