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Education Essay An enabling school climate plays an important role in determining the outcome of learning experience for learners, care givers, parents or guardians as well as staff. On the other hand, a school environment that fails to foster proper relationships amongst all stakeholders in a school community can be blamed for poor performance and indiscipline that characterizes schools where there is a negative or unfavorable environment. In deed the school climate goes further than defining the academic performance since the climate in school affects not only the learners’ but also the immediate community, the staff as well as the neighboring community. This paper expounds on the various aspects of the school environment which in turn leads to deterioration of home/school relations or the improvement of the same (Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, 35). Although different scholars have advanced different meanings to the term ‘ school climate, many scholars favor the definition which views school environment as the sum total of all factors that, affect the learning process in the school as well as the interrelations amongst different players in the education process. School climate is influenced by a number of factors which include but are not limited to; the physical components of the school such as the type of classrooms and other physical structures in the school compound. For the physical components to constitute part of the school climate, such must have a direct influence on how teachers, staff, learners and parents perceive the school and therefore influences the relations between school and home. Physical facilities are also important in that, they can hinder or enhance the relationships amongst participants in the education process. Physical facilities have been known to influence how learning takes place as less unfavorable physical facilities are less likely to foster a positive learning environment (Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, 76). Indeed, where the physical facilities are not conducive to learning, this can negatively affect student ability to concentrate or even deal a blow to student’s self esteem all of which would in such a case influence the relations between the school and the home. Equally important is the social cultural factors especially those which concern diversity, most schools enroll learners from various socio-cultural background something which results into conflicts if not managed well. Where there are conflicts, it becomes very difficult for positive relations to prosper and again, this has a bearing on the school/home environment. Intolerance based on factors such as race, religion, or ideological beliefs could trigger tensions. Therefore there is a need for proper management of diversity if the school climate is going to positively contribute to positive school/home environment. The staff and even the parents all have a responsibility in creating an organizational culture that exemplifies trust and understanding amongst different stake holders with an aim of ensuring that, all members of the school community are treated equally and with the same dignity. Issues such as the use of Native American mascots during sports and which have spurred mixed reactions must be properly analyzed for their effects on the school/home relations to be understood. Where such are found to contribute in any way to negative school/home relations, there is a need for corrective measures to be taken both at he bottom line and at the decision making level so as to prevent undesirable consequences (McNeely, Nonnemaker, Blum, 67). Where students are treated favorably or discriminately because of socio-cultural background, the end result is a tension filed school/home relations and with such an environment, academic performance becomes very difficult and unrealizable. Social background largely determines the ability of the parents or guardians (home) of the learner to afford education-related services and therefore in cases whereby a school acts unreasonably in charging for education related services, this may be perceived by the parents to mean that, the school does not welcome the affected children to study or seek educational services in the school. Ensuring that, learners are satisfied and feel loved, cared for, appreciated and welcome in school also contributes to enhanced home/school relations (Loukas , Robinson, 194). How learners are treated is likely also to determine the behavior of the parents and guardians back at home as more parents and guardians are more likely to depend on feedback from their children to gauge the school climate. This in turn may influence how the parents and guardians view and relate with the school. Whereby the ‘home-side’ is not pleased with the school conduct in regard to how the latter treats learners, a standoff may result and in such circumstance, the school environment is bound to be unfriendly and un-responsive to the needs of the home. This is more likely to lead to negative school/home relations. Without efforts from both the home and school to make learners satisfied with the system, learners will most likely develop some resentment as they may conclude that, the school climate is not as supportive as they would expect. The teachers have a responsibility to show support to learners and try to align the learning goals to the expectations of the learners especially in regard to mainly the learners achieve and accomplish not only academic goals but also career goals. A positive school climate is important in the creation of working teams in the school. Team spirit is important because a school as a social institution has some common and shared goals and objectives which it must share as a community. Without collaboration and cooperation amongst members of the school community, different members are likely to function as units as opposed to collectively and therefore the chances of failure to attain desired outcomes in terms of improved school climate becomes a reality. What often is forgotten by school administrators is the fact that, learners too have expectations and in any case, needs which they aim to achieve for all their efforts in schools. A common cause of differences and problems is whereby teachers tend to treat learners as though they do not have personal needs and objectives, that is, a motivation to be in school. For a positive school environment to be realized, learners must be treated as an important party and should be accorded the necessary support in order to emerge successful and victorious. Since the main connection between the school and the home is the learner, ignoring the needs and concerns of the learner is tantamount to breaking the link between the home and the school. The school climate can also be attained through the staff and learners encouraging openness and trust building amongst learners and especially in connection with the latter’s behavior and attitudes towards the school. In the case whereby the students are in secondary level, there is usually the factor of their emotional status occasioned by growth and development which influences how the learners view the staff and other members of the school community. As the Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Childrens Learning, (21) observes, school climate is important in connecting learners activities to school mission, (Felner, Favazza, Shim, Brand, Gu, Shim, 124), adds that, school climate is not easily noticeable as it is usually invisible and only the effects can be recognized. Whenever learners and the rest of the school’s staff demonstrate positive behavior in terms of values, the school climate is said to be enabling and every school community member is able to function normally. Tableman (98) mentions safety as very important in determining the kind of school climate present in any given school. So as to achieve an enabling school climate, there is a need for measures to be put in place in order to ensure that, all precautionary measures are taken in terms of adhering to guidelines stipulated in safety guidelines for schools. Therefore through enhancement of school safety precautions, the school climate is enhanced and this is important in maintaining of good school/home relations. Enhancing the school climate also calls for improved interpersonal relations and as stipulated earlier, there is a need for the school administrators to be well trained in terms of dealing with conflicts and conflict resolution strategies (Comer, Haynes, 87). The administration of schools must rise to a level whereby conflicts are viewed as opportunities to embrace diversity of ideas and opinions and an opportunity to involve everyone in the decision making process. A school which involves both learners and parents in the decision making process is more likely to prosper than a school which leaves the rest of the school community in the dark when making decisions which impact on every stakeholder (Tarter, Sabo, Hoy, 109). Although every member of the school community has a responsibility to ensure success and of a positive school climate, no one is more central to this process than the school administration because they are the policy makers and also play a decisive role in the implementation of policies (Tarter, Sabo, Hoy, 78). Continuous improvement through inititiation of change is very crucial in the realization of a positive school climate. No system is perfect and even for schools with the best structures in place, there are usually challenges and problems which have to be dealt with continually as it is not usually possible to achieve perfect systems over night. Therefore how the organization receives change usually determines the success or failure of the change process. The stakeholders must be able and willing to adapt to various situations so as to allow every one to fit into the system and function in unity. Equally important to the realization of success is the commitment of all in all efforts geared towards an improved school environment. Without dedication and the pooling of resources, the change effort still remains elusive and not easy to achieve. Therefore, schools must nurture all its members so that, the synergetic effect may be realized and an enabling school environment attained. Equally important is the carrying out of a needs assessment which serves to identify barriers to positive school environment as well as the pointing out of areas of concern needing urgent attention. Without proper guidance and leadership from the administration a school climate worthy emulating may be unrealistic, indeed, the leadership offered in any given organization determines the success of the change initiatives and in some cases serves as the selling point of an organization by providing an empowering internal environment. Therefore, the quality and type of leadership may cause either a positive or negative school environment. It is therefore fundamental for the school to offer the best possible leadership as a means of enhancing the school environment (Cohen, 123). Many schools have failed to incorporate scientific methods in resolving some of the challenges they face. In deed, research studies can be used to establish causes of negative school climate for schools facing such challenges but most schools have not gone as far as carrying out research studies pointing out lack of sufficient funds. Therefore there is a need for sensitization of schools on the importance using scientific methods to better understand the school climate. Communication plays an important role in determining the school environment and therefore for any school to realize a desirable school climate, it must demonstrate ability to establish proper communication structures. Most schools have in the past failed by failing to embrace both downward ad upward communications. This amount to failing to appreciate the contribution students can make to creating of an empowering school climate (Freiberg,36). In conclusion, the fact that the students have an important role to play in promoting a positive school culture should trigger the administration to fully involve them in initiation of change by streamlining communication function in the organization. Until then, the school is likely to face problems when it comes to fostering a positive school climate.