Eastern versus Western gaps in whole child education: how school climate works for academic achievement and well-being across China, Korea, Finland, and the United States

Under current test-driven educational accountability policies, there has been a debate about school effectiveness. As conventionally measured by test scores in academic subjects, school effectiveness is often limited and potentially biased. With increasing emphasis on preparing students with both cognitive and noncognitive competencies, educational leaders demand "whole child" approaches for schooling. This study examines whether and how different types of school climate in Eastern versus Western school systems affect whole child development. It applies multivariate multilevel models of school effects using the PISA 2015 datasets from B-S-J-G (China), Korea, Finland, and the U.S., which vary in science achievement and life satisfaction. The study results show cross-national differences in these relationships between Eastern and Western school systems. It sheds new light on the need to balance academic and emotional learning goals and develop a whole school climate with culturally appropriate mixes of both "high expectations/discipline" and "high caring/support" toward whole child development.