Relationship Between School Culture and Academic Achievement Among High School Students
Date of Conferral
10-31-2023
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
John Billings
Abstract
Concerns regarding low academic achievement among American secondary school students has increased over the years. While various studies have addressed the issue, not all factors contributing to student success have been sufficiently examined. The problem that was addressed through this study was the persistently low student academic achievement as determined by annually mandated criterion-referenced tests. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the correlation between self-reported school culture and archival academic achievement scores. Ainsworth’s attachment theory grounded this study. The research questions focused on determining the degree of which school culture, as measured by the North Carolina Teacher Working Condition Survey (NCTWCS), correlates with student achievement, as measured by the end-of-course assessments. From 981 North Caroline public high schools that met the inclusion criteria of diversity of economic status, ethnic diversity, and a minimum of 40% participation in the NCTWCS, archival data from 2018-2019 were retrieved for 47 randomly selected schools as well as archival data from 2021-2022 for 50 randomly selected schools. The Pearson r correlations for the nine subscores on the NCTWCS ranged from 0.01 to 0.57 with “instructional time”, “community support and involvement”, “managing student conduct”, and “teacher leadership” being significant in both years. The results will contribute to positive social change by allowing North Carolina school administrators to focus on variables that have shown to relate to student achievement and, accordingly, provide action plans including allowing teachers more instructional time without interruptions as well as time for leadership roles rather than routine work, communication with the community, and a safe school environment.
Recommended Citation
Naglee, Erik, "Relationship Between School Culture and Academic Achievement Among High School Students" (2023). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 15053.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15053
