The role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study

The well-documented increase in student mental health issues in Australia and growing recognition of the need for education to play a part in students' identity formation prompted this study. The research reported in this article sought to identify specific elements of the school climate that w...

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Main Authors: Riekie, H., Aldridge, Jill, Afari, E.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Carafax Publishing, Taylor & Francis Group 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31266
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author Riekie, H.
Aldridge, Jill
Afari, E.
author_facet Riekie, H.
Aldridge, Jill
Afari, E.
author_sort Riekie, H.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The well-documented increase in student mental health issues in Australia and growing recognition of the need for education to play a part in students' identity formation prompted this study. The research reported in this article sought to identify specific elements of the school climate that were likely to influence the interplay of adolescent health and development and students' identity formation. The aim was two-fold. First, the study examined the relationships between students' perceptions of the school climate and self-reports of wellbeing, resilience and moral identity; and, second, the interrelationships between the three outcome variables were explored. Two surveys, one to assess students' perceptions of features of the school climate, and another to assess students' wellbeing, resilience and moral identity, were administered to 618 Year 11 students from 15 independent schools in South Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate hypothesised relationships between students' perceptions of their school climate and self-reports of wellbeing, resilience and moral identity. Our results indicated statistically significant and positive relationships between school-climate factors and each of the three outcome variables. Further, indirect relationships (mediated largely by resilience) were found between school-climate factors and students' wellbeing. Our findings could be used to guide schools in building tangible, purposeful environments that engender well-balanced, positive, resilient citizens with strong moral identities.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-312662017-09-13T15:35:34Z The role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study Riekie, H. Aldridge, Jill Afari, E. The well-documented increase in student mental health issues in Australia and growing recognition of the need for education to play a part in students' identity formation prompted this study. The research reported in this article sought to identify specific elements of the school climate that were likely to influence the interplay of adolescent health and development and students' identity formation. The aim was two-fold. First, the study examined the relationships between students' perceptions of the school climate and self-reports of wellbeing, resilience and moral identity; and, second, the interrelationships between the three outcome variables were explored. Two surveys, one to assess students' perceptions of features of the school climate, and another to assess students' wellbeing, resilience and moral identity, were administered to 618 Year 11 students from 15 independent schools in South Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate hypothesised relationships between students' perceptions of their school climate and self-reports of wellbeing, resilience and moral identity. Our results indicated statistically significant and positive relationships between school-climate factors and each of the three outcome variables. Further, indirect relationships (mediated largely by resilience) were found between school-climate factors and students' wellbeing. Our findings could be used to guide schools in building tangible, purposeful environments that engender well-balanced, positive, resilient citizens with strong moral identities. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31266 10.1002/berj.3254 Carafax Publishing, Taylor & Francis Group unknown
spellingShingle Riekie, H.
Aldridge, Jill
Afari, E.
The role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study
title The role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study
title_full The role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study
title_fullStr The role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study
title_full_unstemmed The role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study
title_short The role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: A South Australian study
title_sort role of the school climate in high school students' mental health and identity formation: a south australian study
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/31266