Abstract: Perceived School Climate and Social Emotional Learning As Levers for Addressing Racial Equity in Student Achievement: Evidence of Mediating and Moderating Effects (Society for Social Work and Research 23rd Annual Conference - Ending Gender Based, Family and Community Violence)

Schedule:

Friday, January 18, 2019: 8:30 AM

Golden Gate 8, Lobby Level (Hilton San Francisco)

* noted as presenting author

Tiffany Jones, MSW, Doctoral Candidate, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Charles Fleming, MA, Research Scientist, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Todd Herrenkohl, PhD, Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Child and Family, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI

Seattle Public Schools, Research and Evaluation Team, Seattle Public Schools, Seattle, WA

Amelia Gavin, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Washington, WA

Charles Lea, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Background: There are many research-based strategies to improve school climate (Thapa, et al,, 2013) and social emotional competence (SEC; CASEL, 2015; 2013), yet little is known about whether school climate and SEC are related to racial disparities in academic indicators (e.g., self-reported grades). To advance work on these issues, members of a research consortium in Washington state collaborated on a project with the Seattle Public Schools (SPS) to examine connections between survey measures of SEC and school climate and student demographics. We were particularly interested in whether SEC and school climate account for the effect of race on grades and also whether race moderates the effects of SEC and climate on grades. These tests of mediation and moderation are derived from larger questions about the extent to which known racial disparities in grades are related to non-cognitive and social environmental factors.

Methods: All students (N=29,593) from the 97 SPS schools in grades 3-12 take the annual student survey (44.4% male, 45.8% female, 6.5% prefer not to state; 59.2% English at home). Students self-reported their race: 15.1% Asian, 10.7% African American, 6.7% Latino or Hispanic, 14.9% Multiracial, 1.5% Native American, 1.7% Pacific Islander, and 44.9% White. Analyses used structural equation modeling to assesses SEC and climate as mediating variables in the associations between race and student self-report of grades. To address the second research question, differences in strength of associations between grades and both SEC and climate were assessed with multiple group modeling. Both models used complex analysis in Mplus v7.4 to account for student clustering in schools. Self-report of grades (1= mostly D’s or E’s thru 4 = mostly A’s) was treated as an ordered categorical variable.

Results: We found significant but small indirect standardized effects of race on grades through social emotional competence but not school climate (Asian β=-.03, p<.001; Black β=-.06, p<.001; Latinx β=-.08, p<.001; Multiracial β= -.04, p<.001; Native β=-.12, p<.001; Pacific Islander β=-.08, p<.001, White=referent). Indirect effects through school climate were not significant. For our second question, we found significant differences in the effect of SEC on grades by race. The association of SEL on grades was significantly stronger for White students (β=.42) compared to other racial groups, especially Black (β=.24) and Native (β=.22) students.

Conclusion and Implications: No evidence was found for perceived school climate as an explanatory mechanism. However, SEC accounted for a small, but significant proportion of the variation by race in grades. The difference in the strength of association between SEC and grades indicate a need for further investigation of the factors that may be at play. To the extent that findings reflect a true difference in the nature of this relationship for White students and students of color, there is reason to believe that interventions targeting SEC may not lessen the achievement gap.