School climate and physical activity in primary school students: influence of sociodemographic and school-related factors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v80.118173Keywords:
Physical activity, primary education, school climate, teacher–student relation-shipsAbstract
Introduction: School climate was identified as a key factor in students’ well-being and educational development, particularly during primary education, where relational processes and participation contexts play a central role.
Objective: this study aimed to characterize primary school students’ perceptions of school climate and to examine their associations with socio-school characteristics and indicators of participation, particularly extracurricular sports practice.
Methodology: a quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional design was used. the sample consisted of 283 primary school students from urban schools in the Biobío region, Chile. data were collected using the school climate and coexistence scale and a questionnaire on sociodemographic and physical activity-related variables. descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (anova) were performed.
Results: the findings showed generally positive perceptions of school climate, with higher scores in the teacher–student relationship dimension. extracurricular sports participation was significantly associated with more favorable perceptions of teacher relationships, while other physical activity indicators showed limited or non-significant associations.
Discussion: the results support a relational perspective of school climate, highlighting the relevance of structured participation contexts in strengthening teacher–student relationships. however, associations were more limited than expected.
Conclusions: school climate perceptions in primary education are primarily shaped by relational dimensions, particularly teacher–student interactions. extracurricular sports participation emerges as a relevant, though selective, factor.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Jaqueline Valdebenito Villalobos, Igor Cigarroa, Jorge Rojas-Bravo; Carolina Muñoz-Perez; María Aurora Gutiérrez Echavarría, Andrea Tapia Figueroa, Alejandra Robles Campos, Lorena Segura Inostroza, Rubén Abello Riquelme, Ana María Arias, Rafael Zapata Lamana
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