The relationship between teachers’ disciplinary practices and school bullying and students’ satisfaction with school: The moderated mediation effects of sex and school belonging

An authoritative school climate, along with greater teacher support and warm relations among peers are frequently connected with less school bullying. The main aim of this paper is to examine the direct link as perceived by students between teachers’ disciplinary practices and bullying in school and students’ satisfaction with school. The indirect relationships are explored via the mediation of school belonging and the moderation of sex. High school students (N = 860, 40.4% male students) completed the Delaware School Climate Survey, the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale, and the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale at a single time point. In general, teachers’ disciplinary practices have significant direct effects on perceptions of bullying and satisfaction with school. Positive disciplinary (direct effect = .28, SE = .04) and SEL techniques (direct effect = .22, SE = .04) are related to bullying only among males, while punitive techniques are directly linked to school bullying unrelated to sex (b = .03, SE = .05). Similarly, the effect of positive disciplinary (direct effect = .27, SE = .08) and SEL (direct effect = .21, SE = .08) techniques on satisfaction with school was significant only among males. A direct relationship between punitive disciplinary techniques and satisfaction with school was not recognized. The mediation analysis revealed the indirect effects of teachers’ disciplinary practices on the dependent variables via school belonging to be stronger among females. Teachers’ negative modeling through punitive disciplinary practices leads to more bullying. School belonging may serve as a protective factor related to the negative impact of teachers’ disciplinary practices on school bullying as well as satisfaction with school, especially among females. Interventions should be focused on fostering school belonging along with the development of positive sex-specific disciplinary practices.