The Impact of School Climate on Students’ Academic Achievement of Government Secondary Schools of West Wollega Zone

Abstract

This study examined the impact of school climate on student academic achievement based on teachers‟ perceptions of school climate in seven secondary school. A correlational research design was employed to examine the impact of school climate on student academic achievement in West Wollega secondary schools and to investigate whether the various elements of school climate had impact on student achievement. school climate was measured using the School Climate Index (SCI) developed by Tschannen-Moran, Parish and Dipaola and student achievement was measured by students’ exam scores at the grade 12 national Certificate Examination in the year 2009-2011. A total of 7 schools, 148 teachers and 21 school leaders totally 169 respondents were involved in the study. Descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean and standard deviation, Pearson r correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were applied for the data analysis. The results indicate that school climate has a significant and positive relationship with student achievement in West Wollega secondary schools. The four factors used both for the SCI as predictor variables in the regression model were shown to have a significant impact on student academic achievement when viewed as a whole and examined individually. This study, all school climate index (community engagement, teacher professionalism, academic press and collegial leadership) had significant impact on student achievement as measured by grade 12 national exam score. It was recommended that School leaders need to find ways of including the community in the life of the school and foster positive relationships with the community; Teachers involve in decision making and exercise leadership; school leaders and teachers should set high standards for academic performance, set an orderly and serious learning environment and maintain definite standards of performance and Principals in particular need to be mindful that the climate of a school affect achievement and the former can be enhanced to improve results.