The Effects of a School Terrorist Attack on School Climate

The aim of this study was to examine and compare the school climate in vocational high schools in the City of Zagreb and vocational high schools in the rest of Croatia during the implementation of security measures. The study involved students from six high schools across Croatia, located in the cities of Zagreb, Rijeka, Zadar, Varaždin, and Opatija. A total of 642 students participated in the study, of which 171 were female and 471 were male students. The Croatian School Climate Questionnaire for Students (1) was used as a measure of school climate. An independent samples t-test was used in order to analyze the data. The results indicated that, on average, the students observed a moderately positive school climate (M=51.4, SD=12.23). A statistically significant difference in school climate was found between the schools in Zagreb and those outside of Zagreb (t=3.013, df=137.974, p=.003). A more negative school climate was present in the schools in Zagreb (M=47.93, SD=12.88) compared to the other schools (M=52.06, SD=12). Although the results indicate a more negative school climate in vocational schools in Zagreb, a larger number of schools should be involved and the possible causes for these findings should be further investigated.