Perceptions of justice among Brazilian adolescents : the relationships with school climate, perceptions of legal authorities and student conduct

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Authors
Thomas, Kendra Joy Edwards
Advisor
Mucherah, Wilfridah
Issue Date
2015-12-19
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (Ph. D.)
Department
Department of Educational Psychology
Other Identifiers
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand how Brazilian adolescents develop their perceptions of justice. The guiding research questions sought (a) to model the relationships between Personal BJW, General BJW, school climate, student conduct, and legal authorities, (b) to understand the developmental trajectory of BJW across different educational contexts, and (c) to examine the differences of justice perceptions across educational, economic, and ethnic demographics. Through a cross-sectional quantitative design, this study analyzed 475 Brazilian adolescents from eighth through twelfth grade across public, private, and military schools in a city of Southern Brazil. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that Personal BJW predicted students’ perceptions of the school climate, which influenced student conduct. Adolescents’ General BJW and school climate predicted their perceptions of legal authorities. Across all demographics, there were no significant differences between students’ General BJW, but Personal BJW was dependent upon context. Adolescents from higher income levels and prestigious schools had significantly higher perceptions of Personal BJW, school climate, and legal authorities compared to those from less privileged backgrounds. These findings indicate that there are important relationships between social privilege and perceptions of fairness. Implications for secondary school educators and administrators are discussed.