The Opportunity to Learn Mathematics in Contrasting School Climates

This study examines how school climate conditions are associated with Grade 5 learners’ opportunities to learn mathematics in Norway, South Africa, and Türkiye, drawing on data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2023. Guided by an ecological–opportunity-to-learn (OTL) comparative framework, the analysis focuses on bullying, safety, discipline, and classroom order as learning-relevant conditions. A comparative descriptive design with effect size estimation was applied to nationally representative samples (Norway: n = 5,301; South Africa: n = 10,424; Türkiye: n = 4,541). The results indicate that positive school climate conditions are associated with higher mathematics achievement and that the strength of these associations varies across contexts. Bullying shows the strongest negative association with mathematics achievement in South Africa (d = 0.51), while discipline and safety exhibit substantial positive associations in Norway and moderate associations in Türkiye. The results suggest that school climate indicators are patterned alongside variation in mathematics outcomes, with broader systemic conditions, including equity policies, structural inequality, and governance arrangements, providing important contextual framing. The study demonstrates how international large-scale assessments can be used diagnostically to illuminate context-sensitive learning conditions rather than as instruments for causal attribution, thereby supporting more nuanced interpretations of cross-national differences in mathematics achievement.