Positive school climate boosts children’s reading achievement, mental health and cortical thinning

Growing evidence underscores school climate as an important protective factor for children’s academic achievement and mental health. However, whether and how school climate impacts child development from behavioral to brain has remained largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the protective roles of school climate in children’s reading achievement, mental health, and cortical thickness. Behavioral and neuroimaging data were obtained from 400 children aged 6–12 years (mean age = 9.65 years). First, results showed that a positive school climate was significantly associated with better reading performance and reduced internalizing/externalizing problems. Notably, school climate compensated for disadvantaged family environments, particularly among children with less educated parents. Second, externalizing problems significantly mediated the link between school climate and reading achievement. Third, compared with their peers, children from schools with more positive climate showed accelerated cortical thinning in the lingual/ pericalcarine/ cuneus and postcentral regions, the hubs for visual processing and sensorimotor integration. Fourth, the cortical thickness of the lingual/ pericalcarine/cuneus and postcentral gyri significantly mediated the role of school climate in reading achievement. These results highlight school climate as a multi-level protective factor that fosters academic resilience via behavioral regulation and cortical thinning.