Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to explore the relationship between school climate and school effectiveness in six rural elementary schools. School effectiveness was defined by state reading, math, and index achievement scores. The districts’ Studer Education Survey and the KSA’s Quality of School Climate and Safety survey assessment data were combined to determine each school’s climate score. The Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework guided the study. The study examined a rural school district’s focus on providing a system of support for reading, math, social emotional learning (SEL), and behavior (SEB) that influenced school climate and ultimately student achievement. The Integrated Multi-tiered Fidelity Rubric (IMFR) examined the integration of academics, social-emotional learning (SEL), and behavior (SEB), as well as the MTSS implementation process. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's r correlation analyses were conducted to examine the relationships among the variables. Results were not statistically significant but indicated that school climate demonstrated a positive relationship with academic performance in reading (r = .71, p = .12), mathematics (r = .39, p = .44), and index scores (r = .44, p = .38), which may suggest that a stronger school climate may be associated with higher academic achievement. Statistically significant positive correlations were observed among the academic measures (reading, math, and index scores). Reading and math (r = .92, p = .01), reading and index (r = .85, p = .03), and math and index (r = .86, p = .03). The significant positive relationships suggest that schools performing well in one academic area tend to perform well across all others. No correlation was found between IMFR, school climate, and academic achievement, but this may have been due to the small sample size and the newness of MTSS implementation.

Year manuscript completed

2025

Year degree awarded

2025

Author's Keywords

Keywords: rural elementary schools, school climate, school effectiveness, academic achievement, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)

Degree Awarded

Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Studies, Leadership and Counseling

College/School

College of Education & Human Services

Dissertation Committee Chair

Dr. Stephanie D. Sullivan

Committee Chair

Dr. Stephanie D. Sullivan

Committee Member

Dr. Abbigail Morris

Committee Member

Dr. Melissa Chapman

Document Type

Dissertation

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