Cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the online learning climate scale for Chilean university students.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed university teaching and learning formats, leading to a significant increase in online learning. Consequently, the crisis has facilitated the potential development of this educational modality. However, researchers need adapted and validated instruments to assess the online learning climate in universities. Aim: This study aimed to adapt and psychometrically validate the Online Learning Climate Scale (OLCS) for Chilean university students. Method: Quantitative research was conducted with a non-experimental and cross-sectional, design executed in two phases: the first was oriented to the cultural adaptation of the instrument, and the second was focused on analyzing its psychometric properties in a sample of 491 university students. Results: A translated and culturally adapted version was obtained, composed of 15 items distributed in a factorial structure composed of four dimensions that showed excellent adjustment to the data [χ2 (84) = 189.628; p < 0.001; CFI = 0.979; TLI = 0.973; RMSEA = 0.051 (IC90% 0.044-0.059); SRMR = 0.028]; internal consistency was estimated through Cronbach's alpha and ranged between 0.892 and 0.955, and strict invariance between men and women was achieved. Discussion: The Online Learning Climate Scale (OLCS) is a valid and reliable measure for measuring the online learning climate within the Chilean higher education context so that it can be used both in research and in monitoring management programs in educational environments.

Measuring school social climate in Latin America: the need for multidimensional and multi-informant tests - A systematic review.

Introduction: School social climate is central to understanding learning experiences in education environments. Previous studies describe various conceptual and operational definitions around the construct; however, there are no records of reviews focused on Latin America. Aim: This study sought to analyze the available evidence and the quality of school social climate measures in Latin America through a systematic review of the literature based on the PRISMA methodology and the COSMIN checklist to assess the psychometric properties of the instruments. Methodology: The Web of Science, Scopus, Psycinfo, and SciELO databases were consulted. A total of 582 records was identified, of which 27 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and methodological quality to be included in the systematization. Results: The results show that the country with the greatest scientific production on the topic is Chile, the measures are centered mainly on the students' perspective and the most used instrument is the CECSCE. In addition, a common aspect to all the records is that they were not sufficient to capture the complexity of school social climate. Conclusion: Multidimensional and multi-informant measures are needed to adequately assess the construct.

Adolescent Victimization during COVID-19 Lockdowns and Its Influence on Mental Health Problems in Seven Countries: The Mediation Effect of Resilience.

The objective of this study was to test the differences between the mean scores of victimization, an indicator of depression, stress, and anxiety (DASS), across seven countries (Australia, Chile, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, and the Russian Federation) during the COVID-19 lockdowns. In addition, this study sought to analyze the mediator role of resilience in these relationships in the different countries. To this end, a structural equation model (SEM) was tested and differences across countries were considered through a multigroup analysis. Data for adolescent students from seven countries (n = 7241) collected by the Global Research Alliance showed that levels of anxiety, depression, and stress among adolescents were different in the countries assessed; all of them presented values above the mean of the indicator, with Chile and Russia having the highest values. Regarding the prevalence of exposure to violence, the mean across all countries studied was 34%, with the highest prevalence in Russia and India. At the global level, an adequate adjustment was observed in the SEM mediation model considering all countries. However, a mediator effect of resilience was only observed in the relationship between victimization and the indicator of DASS in Chile, Indonesia, and Russia. The results are discussed, analyzing the relevance of resilience as a protective factor for mental health during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Characterization of Wellbeing and its Relationship with Exposure to Violence in Mexican and Chilean Early and Late Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The current COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has generated negative psychological effects on the global population. In this context, one of the most vulnerable groups is adolescents, who have faced a range of challenging scenarios. The consequences of this pandemic for the wellbeing of adolescents need to be researched across countries. From this perspective, this study aims to characterize the wellbeing of adolescents from Mexico and Chile during the pandemic and delve into the relationship between victimization and the hedonic and eudaimonic types of wellbeing. Data from adolescent students (n = 3,275) were used, with the support of the Global Research Alliance. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted and their results indicated that: 1) Late adolescents scored lower on flourishing, and males scored higher than females. There was also a higher prevalence of languishing in late adolescents from both countries, as well as high levels of languishing in non-binary adolescents, especially in Chile; 2) There was a high prevalence of poly-victimization, with the highest percentage reported by females and the late adolescent group in both countries; 3) Non-victims had a higher probability of being in the flourishing group than victims in both countries; 4) Poly-victimization especially had an effect on the eudaimonic wellbeing of early adolescents and on the hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing of late adolescents in both countries. Implications related to the mental health policies for adolescence are discussed in terms of how to increase adolescent wellbeing.

School violence negative effect on student academic performance: a multilevel analysis.

The relative roles of school context and individual student factors are of special interest to educators in measuring academic performance. Little is known about the effect of school violence on a student's academic performance and well-being. The aims of this study were to examine the effects of three types of school violence (direct violence, discrimination, and cyberbullying) on students' academic performance in standardized tests of mathematics, reading and history, and to identify individual student factors that contribute to reducing the negative effect of exposure to violence at school. We used 10th grade Chilean student data from the representative cross-sectional test of the Education Quality Measurement System (SIMCE in Spanish) from 2015. Multilevel linear models, adjusted for gender, incorporated other school and environmental contextual factors, as well as individual student factors. The results show that school violence in its three forms had a negative effect on academic performance. Student self-efficacy, educational expectations and satisfaction with interpersonal relations with their teachers, were important in reducing the negative effect of exposure to violence. The implications for the school are discussed.

Psychometric Analysis of a School Social Climate Scale: Input Elements for the Investigation and Promotion of Well-Being.

School social climate from a multidimensional perspective is a focus of great interest in international research and educational and well-being public policies due to the high prevalence of interpersonal violence in adolescents, currently considered a global public health problem. The object of the present study was to assess the psychometric measurement capacity of a set of items to evaluate school social climate in the Student Context Questionnaire of the Chilean Education Quality Measurement System. The sample analyzed consisted of second-year high school students who replied to a Student Context Questionnaire in 2015 (n~158,572). Exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses were carried out in a measurement model to identify the presence of constructs and items of high homogeneity. The results showed an acceptable to a good fit in the final model, which consisted of 15 latent constructs, and also showed invariance for school administrative dependencies and invariance for sex. All the above implies a contribution to the public organisms that create standardized tests along with the investigation in compulsory secondary education measurement to prevent future violent behaviors, contribute to reducing interpersonal violence, and improve the well-being of the educational community.