A new study measuring changes in campus climate at Israeli elementary schools over a 12-year period found a steady decline in students’ feelings of victimization — including marked improvements for Arab students and those from a lower socioeconomic status, a welcome surprise to researchers. The study set out to assess the prevalence of physical, emotional, social and cyber-based violence among students from different backgrounds, said UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professor Ron Avi Astor, a co-author of the paper just published in the Journal of School Violence. Fifth- and sixth-graders at both Jewish and Arab school campuses across the country were surveyed between 2008 and 2019, a time when the Israeli education system was making significant investments in violence prevention, including retraining school staff to prioritize the creation of a caring environment. While the study did not establish a direct causal relationship between the investments and the findings, international researchers have linked improvements in school climate to policies and interventions centered on students’ social and emotional well-being. A 2023 study co-authored by Astor found this to be true at California middle and high schools, which saw a steep decline in day-to-day violence from 2001 to 2019. The study in Israel was based on data collected before the outbreak of war in Gaza in 2023, but during a time of ongoing geopolitical conflict and cultural strife. “This study shows what a positive climate in schools, cultural recognition, resources and intentional violence prevention can do to improve the lives of millions of students on a day-to-day level, even in a war-torn place like the Middle East,” Astor said.