Reducing student problem behavior remains a leading concern for school officials, as disruptive and aggressive behavior interferes with student achievement, as well as the overall climate of the school. However, the systemic and often complicated nature of schools makes it difficult for researchers and practitioners to identify contributing factors to students' behavior. The current study builds upon school effectiveness literature and examines student problem behavior through a transactional-ecological lens by taking into account individual (e.g., gender, ethnicity, prosocial behavior), classroom (e.g., teacher characteristics, class size, behavioral norms), and school-level factors (e.g., location, SES, school climate).

Using data from 37 Maryland schools, 467 classrooms, and 8,750 elementary school-aged students, a series of seven hierarchical linear models (HLM) were tested. HLM analyses revealed that while individual student characteristics had the largest influence on problem behavior, teacher perceptions of the school climate and the behavioral norms of the classroom significantly related to how students behaved. These findings support the use of climate-enhancing intervention programs implemented both school-wide and in the classroom as a means of reducing student problem behavior.