Presentation Schedule
Structure, Support, and Achievement: A Multilevel Study of School Climate (108909)
Session Chair: Josafa da Cunha
Thursday, 18 June 2026 15:20
Session: Session 3
Room: Room 112 (1F)
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
The authoritative school climate framework, combining higher levels of support and structure, has been consistently linked to positive academic outcomes. Yet research has largely assumed that these dimensions operate similarly whether examining individual students or schools as institutional units. Drawing on emergence theory, we challenge this assumption and ask: Does school-level structure influence achievement through the same pathways as individual-level structure, or do mechanisms differ between personal perceptions and collective environments? This study draws from a comprehensive sample of Brazilian students (5th-12th grades; n = 17,801) across 119 schools in Brazil. Using cross-sectional survey data linked to national achievement records, we tested competing mediation models at within-school and between-school levels. Results reveal that at the individual level, disciplinary structure directly enhanced student engagement; students who perceived fair rules reported higher engagement in parallel to the effects of support. At the school level, however, structure had no direct path to achievement. Instead, the relationship between structure and achievement was fully accounted for by an indirect pathway: structure was associated with supportive relationships, which related to collective engagement, and engagement predicted academic performance. These findings suggest that while individual students benefit directly from the perceived organizational structure; schools require relational infrastructure to translate structural conditions into academic outcomes. This study provides empirical data for the relational prerequisites of effective school discipline and expands the discussion on why structure and support must be considered jointly, not as parallel dimensions, in school-level interventions.
Authors:
Josafá da Cunha, Federal University of Parana, Brazil
Vitor Yano, Concordia University, Canada
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Josafá da Cunha is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at Federal University of Parana in Brazil
See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule
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