Considering climate contexts: Examining promotive and punitive school characteristics among diverse high school students

Schools are a critical developmental context for adolescents that can, depending on certain characteristics, do a better or worse job at promoting student resilience and well-being. In working to meet student needs and respond to student behaviors, schools can exhibit more punitive characteristics, like exclusionary discipline practices, or more promotive characteristics, including restorative practices and marshaling of mental health resources. While punitive factors have been associated with more negative outcomes, especially for marginalized students, and promotive factors have been associated with more positive outcomes for students, these factors have rarely been considered together. We conducted an online survey of students from high schools in the Midwest. Students rated their experiences of various promotive and punitive characteristics at their schools, as well as their sense of the school climate-perceived safety, fairness, and belonging. Promotive factors uniquely and positively predicted climate outcomes, eclipsing any effect of punitive factors. Further, while main effects indicated differences across racial groups in perceptions of school climate, there were no racial group differences in the impact of promotive factors on these climate perceptions. When exploring different promotive elements, support from teachers and staff, as well as available resources and mental health resources had the largest predictive effects on climate outcomes for students. We discuss implications for how educators and policy makers can leverage such promotive characteristics to create equitable contexts for all students to flourish.