School climate and home-to-school route safety: effects on attendance and academic performance in high-vulnerability schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64747/dgk59h62Keywords:
school climate, attendance, safe routes to school, urban vulnerability, GuayaquilAbstract
This study outlines a multilevel analytical design, with a two‑wave panel, to estimate the joint effects of school climate and home‑to‑school travel safety on attendance and achievement in public Middle Basic Education schools located in Entrada de la 8 (Tarqui parish, Guayaquil). Administrative records (attendance and grades), brief surveys on climate and perceived safety, and geospatial layers (road network, hotspots) built from Ecuador’s Ministry of Education open data and Safe Routes to School guidelines for LAC are integrated. GLMM/LMM models—in a reproducible template—show positive associations between climate and outcomes and a mediating/moderating role of travel safety, with larger impacts among students walking >1 km and in afternoon shifts. Heatmaps help prioritize low‑cost micro‑interventions (signage, lighting, community accompaniment) alongside psychoeducational “calm arrival” protocols. Policy implications are discussed for school/district management and for future quasi‑experimental evaluations after environmental upgrades.
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