Perceived class climate and school-aged children’s life satisfaction: The role of the learning environment in classrooms

Katharina Rathmann, Max G. Herke, Klaus Hurrelmann, Matthias Richter

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27 Scopus citations

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of class-level class climate on school-aged children’s life satisfaction. Data was derived from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) using sixth grade school-aged children (n = 4,764, 483 classes). Class climate includes indicators of teachers’ care and monitoring, demands, interaction, autonomy, as well as school-aged children’s attitudes towards schoolwork at the class- and individual-level. Results showed that individual perceived class climate in terms of teachers’ care and monitoring and autonomy was positively related to life satisfaction, whereas school-related demands were related to lower life satisfaction. Besides teachers’ care and monitoring at class-level, indicators of class climate were not associated with school-aged children’s life satisfaction, while the individual perceived class climate is more important for life satisfaction.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0189335
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2018
Externally publishedYes

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