Links between school climate and pupils' well-being in French-speaking Belgium

This research study examines the relationship between school climate and student well-being in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The study is part of a FNRS-funded research project analyzing data from a representative sample of over 4,000 students (1,712 fifth-grade primary students and 2,372 secondary school students).
The research aims to:
1. Evaluate between-school variations (school effect) in student well-being and their perception of school climate
2. Identify specific dimensions of school climate directly associated with these variations
3. Analyze how students' perceived climate affects their well-being
The study measures multiple variables including:
- Student subjective well-being indicators (positive/negative affects, somatization, satisfaction)
- Perceived school climate factors (rule clarity/enforcement, perceived violence, treatment fairness, teacher-student relationships, student relationships, pedagogical practices, physical environment)
The methodology combines multilevel approaches and confirmatory factor analyses with latent variables (structural equation modeling) using R's lavaan package. The analysis strategy includes two-level null models to decompose variance and identify school effects, aggregated student responses by institution for each climate dimension, and multilevel analyses combining student and teacher indicators.
This research aims to establish reliable relationships between school climate and student well-being, potentially informing future intervention strategies in the Belgian educational system.