Where does climate collide?

The long-run statistical description of weather in a region: the average values, the variability, and the extremes of temperature, precipitation, wind, and other variables measured over decades, together with the interacting parts of the system, atmosphere, ocean, land, ice, and living things, that produce them. Hartmann's 2016 textbook Global Physical Climatology treats climate as this statistical summary of the atmospheric state over a long period, set apart from weather, which is the state at a single moment. The referent is a physical property of the Earth system, described over years, and it has nothing to do with the shared perceptions employees hold about a workplace or the felt character of life inside a school.[1]

Unit

A region's weather distribution over a long period, typically summarised over thirty years

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Computed from long records of temperature, precipitation, and other variables as means, variances, and extremes, and simulated with physical climate models

The shared perceptions employees hold about the policies, practices, and procedures of their workplace, and about which behaviours get rewarded, supported, and expected there. Schneider, Ehrhart, and Macey's 2013 review Organizational Climate and Culture defines climate as the meanings people attach to their work experiences, and carefully separates it from culture, the deeper, often unspoken assumptions and values from which those perceptions grow. The referent is a measured pattern of employee perception in one organisation, read from survey responses, and it is not a physical property of the atmosphere and not the character of a school.[2]

Unit

A workforce's shared perception of its work setting, aggregated across employees

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Assessed by employee surveys of perceived practices, often for a specific focus such as safety or service, then aggregated to the group or unit

The quality and character of life in a school: the shared norms, relationships, feeling of safety, and engagement that students, staff, and families experience day to day. Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, and Higgins-D'Alessandro's 2013 A Review of School Climate Research synthesises the field around dimensions such as safety, relationships, teaching and learning, and the school environment, and links a positive climate to better student outcomes. The referent is the experienced atmosphere of a particular school, measured through the perceptions of the people in it, and it is neither a workplace-wide perception of an employer nor a statistical summary of the weather.[3]

Unit

A school community's shared experience of its environment, aggregated across students and staff

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Assessed by validated climate surveys of students, staff, and families across dimensions of safety, relationships, teaching, and environment