Critical consciousness (CC) has been linked to academic and civic engagement for students from marginalized backgrounds, but little work has examined CC for students from more privileged groups. In addition, research indicates that school characteristics may promote the development of CC, but this literature has yet to be fully developed. Specifically, research on school climate has focused primarily on structural and instructional aspects (e.g., democratic school culture, classroom discussions of current events) but has not examined more emotional and relational aspects, such as feelings of connection to teachers and school community. Thus, the current study expands the literature by examining relations between the agency and action components of critical consciousness and two indicators of school climate (school connection and positive relationships with teachers), using a predominantly White sample of middle and high school students (ages 13–18) from a rural school district. Results indicated that both school connection and positive relationships with teachers were positively related to critical agency. School climate variables were generally unrelated to critical action, with the exception of a negative relation between positive relationships with teachers and critical action for middle school students.

批判意识（CC）与来自边缘化背景的学生的学术和公民参与度相关联，但是很少有工作为来自较特权群体的学生研究CC。此外，研究表明，学校特色可能会促进CC的发展，但该文献尚未得到充分发展。具体而言，关于学校氛围的研究主要集中在结构和教学方面（例如民主学校文化，时事课堂讨论），但没有研究更多的情感和关系方面，例如与教师和学校社区的联系感。从而，当前的研究使用主要是白人的初中和高中生（13-18岁），通过研究批判意识的代理与行动成分与学校气氛的两个指标（学校联系和与教师的积极关系）之间的关系来扩展文献。 ）来自乡村学区。结果表明，学校联系和与教师的积极关系均与批判性代理成正相关。除了与教师的积极关系与对中学生的关键行动之间的负相关关系外，学校的气候变量通常与关键行动无关。结果表明，学校联系和与教师的积极关系均与批判性代理成正相关。除了与教师的积极关系与对中学生的关键行动之间的负相关关系外，学校的气候变量通常与关键行动无关。结果表明，学校联系和与教师的积极关系均与批判性代理成正相关。除了与教师的积极关系与对中学生的关键行动之间的负相关关系外，学校的气候变量通常与关键行动无关。