Academic Performance according to School Coexistence Indices in Students from Public Schools in the South of Chile

Abstract

School coexistence is a fundamental aspect for good academic performance. The objective of the study was to identify school coexistence indices, and to analyze differences in academic performance according to these indices in students from public schools in the province of Biobío, Chile. This cross-sectional study involved 730 children (53.8% boys; 12 ± 1.2 years). School coexistence indices as a quality of interpersonal relationships between school bodies, the perception of violence and aggressiveness from a gender perspective, and the perception of levels of safety and unsafety in different school areas as well as academic performance through accumulated final grades (AFG) and grade point averages (GPA) were measured. A total of 40.9% and 41.3% of schoolchildren agreed or strongly agreed that stronger students are violent toward weaker students and boys are violent toward one another, respectively. The school areas most classified as unsafe or very unsafe were the restrooms (20.4%), followed by the playgrounds (10%), and the gym and fields (9.5%). Schoolchildren who classified the relationships within the school bodies as bad, or very bad, presented significantly lower AFG in subjects such as math, language (Spanish), and physical education and health as well as GPA. In the same line, those who perceived greater violence and aggressiveness among peers and higher insecurity in different school areas presented significantly poorer academic performance. In conclusion, students perceived violence and aggressiveness among themselves, and the school areas perceived as unsafe were identified. Furthermore, students who perceived poorer school coexistence indices presented a weaker academic performance.