Abstract
Based on theory and research on learning environments, the Delaware School Climate Survey–Teacher/Staff (DSCS–T/S) was developed to provide schools with a brief, psychometrically sound measure of teachers’ perceptions of school climate. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses, conducted on a sample of 5,781 teachers, support staff, administrators and other staff in 132 schools, showed that a bifactor model consisting of seven specific factors best represented the data. Those factors were Teacher–Student Relations, Student–Student Relations, Teacher–Home Communication, Respect for Diversity, School Safety, Fairness of Rules, and Clarity of Expectations. Measurement invariance was found across grade levels (i.e., elementary, middle, and high schools) and subgroups of respondents (i.e., teachers, instructional support staff and noninstructional staff). As evidence of concurrent validity across grade levels, nearly all scores, aggregated at the school level and correlated significantly and negatively with suspensions/expulsion rates and positively with academic achievement. The DSCS–T/S is likely to be useful to schools interested in assessing school climate and the effects of various programs, such bullying prevention programs, that target the seven dimensions of school climate measured.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, C. S. (1982). The search for school climate: A review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 52, 368–420. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.9.852.
Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2010). Computing the strictly positive Satorra–Bentler Chi square test in Mplus. Retrieved July 1, 2011, from http://www.statmodel.com/examples/webnotes/webnote12.pdf.
Bandyopadhyay, S., Cornell, D. G., & Konold, T. R. (2009). Validity of three school climate scales to assess bullying, aggressive attitudes, and help seeking. School Psychology Review, 38, 338–355.
Baumrind, D. (1996). The discipline controversy revisited. Family Relations, 45, 405–414. doi:10.2307/585170.
Baumrind, D., Larzelere, R. E., & Owens, E.B. (2010). Effects of preschool parents’ power assertive patterns and practices on adolescent development. Parenting: Science and Practice, 10, 157–201. doi:10.1080/15295190903290790.
Bear, G. G. (with A. Cavalier & M. Manning). (2005). Developing self-discipline and preventing and correcting misbehavior. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Bear, G. G., Gaskins, C., Blank, J., & Chen, F. F. (2011). Delaware School Climate Survey–student: Its factor structure, concurrent validity, and reliability. Journal of School Psychology, 49, 157–174. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2011.01.001.
Bear, G. G., Yang, C., Mantz, L., Pasipanodya, E., & Boyer, D. (2014). Technical manual for the Delaware School Climate Surveys. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from wordpress.oet.udel.edu/pbs/technical-manual-for-school-climate-surveys/
Bear, G. G., Yang, C., & Pasipanodya, E. Assessing school climate: Validation of a brief measure of the perceptions of parents. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment (in press).
Beets, M. W., Flay, B. R., Vuckinich, S., Acock, A. C., Li, K. K., & Allred, C. (2008). School climate and teachers’ beliefs and attitudes associated with implementation of the Positive Action Program: A diffusion of innovations model. Prevention Science, 9, 264–275. doi:10.1007/s11121-008-0100-2.
Brand, S., Felner, R. D., Seitsingera, A., Burnsa, A., & Bolton, N. (2008). A large scale study of the assessment of the social environment of middle and secondary schools: The validity and utility of teachers’ ratings of school climate, cultural pluralism, and safety problems for understanding school effects and school improvement. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 507–535. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2007.12.001.
Brand, S., Felner, R. D., Shim, M. S., Seitsinger, A., & Dumas, T. (2003). Middle school improvement and reform: Development and validation of a school-level assessment of climate, cultural pluralism, and school safety. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 570–588. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.95.3.570.
Brookmeyer, K. A., Fanti, K. A., & Henrich, C. C. (2006). Schools, parents, and youth violence: A multilevel, ecological analysis. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 35, 504–514. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3504_2.
Brophy, J. E. (1996). Teaching problem students. New York: Guilford Press.
Burrow, J. D., & Apel, R. (2008). Youth behavior, school structure, and student risk of victimization. Justice Quarter, 25, 349–380. doi:10.1080/07418820802025181.
Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling—A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14, 464–504. doi:10.1080/10705510701301834.
Cohen, J., & Geier, V. K. (2010). School climate brief: School climate research summary. Center for Social and Emotional Education, 1(1). Retrieved from http://www.schoolclimate.org/climate/papers-briefs.php.
Cohen, J., McCabe, L., Michelli, N. M., & Pickeral, T. (2009). School climate: Research, policy, practice, and teacher education. Teachers College Record, 111, 180–213.
Corville-Smith, J., Ryan, B. A., Adams, G. R., & Dalicandro, T. (1998). Distinguishing absentee students from regular attenders: The combined influence of personal, family, and school factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 27, 629–640. doi:10.1023/A:1022887124634.
Emmons, C., Haynes, N. M., & Comer, J. P. (2002). School climate survey: Elementary and middle school version (Revised edition). New Haven, CT: Yale University Child Study Center.
Fan, W., Williams, C. M., & Corkin, D. M. (2011). A multilevel analysis of student perceptions of school climate: The effect of social and academic risk factors. Psychology in the Schools, 48, 632–647. doi:10.1002/pits.20579.
Fisher, D. L., & Fraser, B. J. (1983). A comparison of actual and preferred classroom environments as perceived by science teachers and students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20, 55–61.
Fraser, B. J. (1991). Two decades of classroom environment research. In B. J. Fraser & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Educational environments: Evaluation, antecedents and consequences (pp. 3–27). London: Pergamon.
Fraser, B. J. (1998). Classroom environment instruments: Development, validity and applications. Learning Environments Research, 1, 7–33. doi:10.1002/tea.3660230503.
Fraser, B. J. (2012). Classroom learning environments: Retrospect, context and prospect. In B. J. Fraser, K. G. Tobin, & C. J. McRobbie (Eds.), Second international handbook of science education (pp. 1191–1239). New York: Springer.
Furlong, M. J. (2005). Development of the California School Climate and Safety Survey-Short Form. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 137–149. doi:10.1002/pits.20053.
Gottfredson, G. D., Gottfredson, D. C., Payne, A. A., & Gottfredson, N. C. (2005). School climate predictors of school disorder: Results from a national study of delinquency prevention in schools. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 42, 412–444. doi:10.1177/0022427804271931.
Grayson, J. L., & Alvarez, H. K. (2008). School climate factors relating to teacher burnout: A mediator model. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 1349–1363. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.06.005.
Gregory, A., & Cornell, D. (2009). “Tolerating” adolescent needs: Moving beyond zero tolerance policies in high school. Theory into Practice, 48, 106–113. doi:10.1080/00405840902776327.
Gregory, A., Cornell, D., Fan, X., Sheras, P., Shih, T., & Huang, F. (2010). High school practices associated with lower student bullying and victimization. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 483–496. doi:10.1037/a0018562.
Griffith, J. (1999). The school leadership/school climate relation: Identification of school configurations associated with change in principals. Educational Administration Quarterly, 35, 267–291. doi:10.1177/00131619921968545.
Harel-Fisch, Y., Walsh, S. D., Fogel-Grinvald, H., Amitai, G., Pickett, W., Molcho, M., et al. (2010). Negative school perceptions and involvement in school bullying: A universal relationship across 40 countries. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.09.008.
Haynes, N. M., Emmons, C. L., & Ben-Avie, M. (1997). School climate as a factor in student adjustment and achievement. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 8, 321–329. doi:10.1207/s1532768xjepc0803_4.
Haynes, N. M., Emmons, C., & Comer, J. P. (1994). School climate survey: Elementary and middle school version. New Haven, CT: Yale University Child Study Center.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: Sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychological Methods, 3, 424–453. doi:10.1037//1082-989X.3.4.424.
Ingersoll, R. M. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38, 499–534. doi:10.3102/00028312038003499.
Jimerson, S. R., Swearer, S. M., & Espelage, D. L. (2010). Handbook of bullying in schools: An international perspective. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Kallestad, J. H., & Olweus, D. (2003). Predicting teachers’ and schools’ implementation of the Olweus bullying prevention program: A multilevel study. Prevention and Treatment, 6, 3–21. doi:10.1037/15223736.6.1.621a.
Liu, X. S., & Meyer, J. P. (2005). Teachers’ perceptions of their jobs: A multilevel analysis of the teacher follow-up survey for 1994–1995. Teachers College Record, 107, 985–1003. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9620.2005.00501.x.
Loeb, S., Darling-Hammond, L., & Luczak, J. (2005). How teaching conditions predict teacher turnover in California Schools. Peabody Journal of Education, 80(3), 44–70.
Loukas, A., Suzuki, R., & Horton, K. D. (2006). Examining school connectedness as a mediator of school climate effects. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16, 491–502. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2006.00504.x.
Ma, X., & MacMillan, R. B. (1999). Influences of workplace conditions on teachers’ job satisfaction. The Journal of Educational Research, 93, 39–47. doi:10.1080/00220679909597627.
McLeskey, J., & Billingsley, B. S. (2008). How does the quality and stability of the teaching force influence the research-to-practice gap? A perspective on the teacher shortage in special education. Remedial and Special Education, 29, 293–305. doi:10.1177/0741932507312010.
Meredith, W. (1993). Measurement invariance, factor analysis, and factorial invariance. Psychometrika, 58, 525–543. doi:10.1007/BF02294825.
Moos, R. H., & Trickett, E. J. (1974). Classroom environment scale manual. Palo Alto, California: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Moos, R. H., & Trickett, E. (2002). The Classroom Environment Scale (CES) manual (3rd ed.). Menlo Park, CA: Mind Garden.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2011). Mplus version 5.2 [Computer Software].
Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, W. J., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, 283. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.04.009.
Olweus, D., & Limber, S. P. (2010). Bullying in school: Evaluation and dissemination of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80, 124–134. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01015.x.
Pellerin, L. A. (2005). Student disengagement and the socialization styles of high schools. Social Forces, 84, 1161–1179. doi:10.1353/sof.2006.0027.
Raviv, A., Raviv, A., & Reisel, E. (1990). Teachers and students: Two different perspectives? Measuring social climate in the classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 27, 141–157.
Reddy, R., Rhodes, J. E., & Mulhall, P. (2003). The influence of teacher support on student adjustment in the middle school years: A latent growth curve study. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 119–138. doi:10.1017/S0954579403000075.
Rigby, K. (2000). Effects of peer victimization in schools and perceived social support on adolescent well-being. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 57–68. doi:10.1006/jado.1999.0289.
Sailor, W., Dunlap, G., Sugai, G., & Horner, R. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook of positive behavior support. New York: Springer.
Soderstrom, I. R., & Elrod, P. (2006). Assessing student perceptions of school victimization and school safety. Journal of School Violence, 5, 5–28. doi:10.1300/J202v05n01_02.
Stockard, J., & Mayberry, M. (1992). Effective educational environments. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin.
Taylor, D., & Tashakkori, A. (1995). Decision participation and school climate as predictors of job satisfaction and teachers’ sense of efficacy. Journal of Experimental Education, 63, 217–233.
Thompson, B. (2004). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis: Understanding concepts and applications. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Trickett, E. J., & Quinlan, D. M. (1979). Three domains of classroom environment: Factor analysis of the Classroom Environment Scale. American Journal of Community Psychology, 7, 279–291. doi:10.1007/BF00890692.
United States Department of Education. (n.d.). Safe and supportive schools: School climate survey compendium. Retrieved 3/5/2012 from at see http://safesupportiveschools.ed.gov/.
Wang, M. T., Selman, R. L., Dishion, T. J., & Stormshak, E. A. (2010). A tobit regression analysis of the covariation between middle school students’ perceived school climate and behavioral problems. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 274–286. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00648.x.
Waters, S., Cross, D., & Runions, K. (2009). Social and ecological structures supporting adolescent connectedness to school: A theoretical model. Journal of School Health, 79, 516–524. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2009.00443.x.
Way, N., Reddy, R., & Rhodes, J. (2007). Students’ perceptions of school climate during the middle school years: Associations with trajectories of psychological and behavioral adjustment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 40, 194–213. doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9143-y.
Welsh, W. N. (2000). The effects of school climate on school disorder. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 567, 88–107. doi:10.1177/000271620056700107.
Widaman, K. F., & Reise, S. P. (1997). Exploring the measurement invariance of psychological instruments: Applications in the substance use domain. In K. J. Bryant, M. Windle, & S. G. West (Eds.), The science of prevention: Methodological advances from alcohol and substance abuse research (pp. 281–324). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Zullig, K. J., Koopman, T. M., Patton, J. M., & Ubbes, V. A. (2010). School climate: Historical review, instrument development, and school assessment. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 28, 139–152. doi:10.1177/07342829093442.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bear, G.G., Yang, C., Pell, M. et al. Validation of a brief measure of teachers’ perceptions of school climate: relations to student achievement and suspensions. Learning Environ Res 17, 339–354 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-014-9162-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-014-9162-1