Program
K-12 Administration Ed.D.
Number of Pages
128
Year Approved
2026
First Advisor
Dr. Chris Bellmont
Second Reader
Dr. Julie Winn
Third Reader
Dr. Peter Jankowski
Abstract
School climate is a necessary aspect of school improvement. There are many different areas of school climate, making it challenging for schools to focus improvement efforts. Previous research identifies safety and relationships as being two of the main components of school climate. These two components relate to student grades, behavior, and attendance. Framed by Bronfenbrenner and Cole’s (1979) social-ecological perspective, Plutchik and Kellerman’s (1980) emotion theory, Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory, and Maslow’s (1943) needs theory, this research study examined school climate and student success in a middle school setting. For this quantitative study, data from the 2025 Minnesota Student Survey were analyzed to determine if there is a correlation between school climate and student success factors, including grades, behavior, and attendance. Data were collected from a rural central Minnesota County, referred to as County A. A sample size of 393 eighth grade students provided data for this study. Through an examination of student achievement data, it was found that there is a noticeable difference in rural school data, making this location the focus for this study. Results from this study found that there is a statistically significant correlation between school climate factors and the student success variables of discipline, attendance, and grades. This correlation also showed that school climate factors may also predict the student success variables. From these results, school leaders may develop their own unique school climate improvement plans that focus on strengthening relationships and safety. Keywords: School climate, behavior, academic achievement, relationships, safety, attendance, middle school
Degree Name
Education Doctorate
Document Type
Doctoral dissertation
Recommended Citation
Pagel, H. (2026). The Relationship between School Climate and Academics, Discipline, and Attendance at Rural Midwest Middle Schools [Doctoral dissertation, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/1257
Terms of Use and License Information
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