Trust in Teachers as a Mediator Between School Climate and School Belonging
Keywords:
School climate, trust in teachers, school belongingAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the mediating role of trust in teachers in the relationship between school climate and school belonging among South African high school students.
Methods and Materials: A descriptive correlational research design was employed using a sample of 461 high school students from South Africa, selected based on the Morgan and Krejcie sample size table. Data were collected through three standardized questionnaires: the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) Scale to measure school belonging, the Delaware School Climate Survey–Student (DSCS-S) for school climate, and the Trust in Schools Scale to assess trust in teachers. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used for data analysis. The statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS-27 for initial correlations and AMOS-21 for model testing and mediation analysis.
Findings: Descriptive statistics indicated moderately high levels of school climate (M = 3.62, SD = 0.47), trust in teachers (M = 3.81, SD = 0.52), and school belonging (M = 3.74, SD = 0.49). Pearson correlation results showed that school climate was significantly correlated with trust in teachers (r = .59, p < .001) and school belonging (r = .52, p < .001), while trust in teachers was strongly correlated with school belonging (r = .66, p < .001). SEM results confirmed a good model fit (χ² = 124.37, df = 71, RMSEA = 0.041, CFI = 0.97), with trust in teachers significantly mediating the relationship between school climate and school belonging. The indirect effect of school climate on school belonging through trust in teachers was significant (β = .32, p < .001), supporting the proposed mediation model.
Conclusion: The findings highlight the critical role of trust in teachers in fostering students’ sense of belonging in school, emphasizing the importance of nurturing a positive school climate to strengthen relational trust and emotional connectedness among students.
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