Ryan, Wendy2013-11-082013-11-0820092009Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 71-05, Section: A, page: 1510.http://hdl.handle.net/10393/29846http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-19941Bullying is a problem for schools around the world, and is an important topic for research because it has been associated with negative outcomes on several social, psychological, and academic measures. Antibullying programs have varied greatly in their outcomes, with some studies reporting positive results while others have reported little or no positive impacts. This could be due, in part, to insufficient attention paid to school climate as a possible mediating variable. My dissertation aims to explore the links between school climate and bullying/victimization. Because Tribes (Gibbs, 2001) is a well-developed program intended to improve school climate and is becoming increasingly popular in schools, it was used to explore the links between school climate and bullying/victimization. Tribes is a program that uses a learning-community, whole-school model and aims to create a positive school climate through improved teaching and classroom management, positive interpersonal relations, and opportunities for student participation. A case study methodology was used and data was collected from 2 Tribes elementary schools. One school was in its first year of implementation, and the other school was in its fourth year of implementation. Data sources included: surveys of grade 4-6 students, teacher surveys, student focus groups, teacher semi-structured interviews, classroom and general school observations, teacher focus groups, and interviews with non-teaching staff members. Data from this study indicate which aspects of the school climate may be most important for creating a bully-free environment, and a model is proposed describing possible mechanisms through which school climate can be changed to produce an environment less conducive to bullying. The results of this study also provide local knowledge to the two schools involved regarding the perceived impacts of the Tribes program on school climate and bullying in their schools, and what can be done to further improve school climate and reduce bullying in their schools.238 p.enEducation, Administration.Education, Educational Psychology.Thesis