School Climate, Self-concept and Quality of Life in students who attend culturally diverse classrooms

Abstract

The study explores the social dimension of the School Climate, and the association between School Climate and the Quality of Life and Academic Self-Concept perceived by students from 7^th grade to high school, who attend culturally diverse classrooms, public schools, in the city of Santiago. The sample was of 905 students (51.1% men; 48.9% women) of Chilean, Venezuelan, Peruvian and Haitian nationality. The results identify differences by sex, and nationality in the perception of School Climate. The relationship between School Climate, Academic Self-concept and perceived Quality of Life, and the explanatory value of School Climate and Perception of Quality of Life in Academic Self-concept show important differences according to the nationality of the students. The Quality of Life dimension associated to the School Environment, along with the Support for Cultural Pluralism and the Support from the teachers affect the School Self-Concept, explaining 29% of its variance. The results represent an input for the development of interventions in multicultural classrooms focused on promoting the Academic Self-concept of students of different nationalities. The importance of including the Support for Cultural Pluralism in the evaluation of School Climate is highlighted.