Secondary school climate: Using an ecological perspective.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide data which will enable administrators, through climate assessment, to make concrete decisions regarding perceptions that can be utilized in targeting areas within the school which need intervention or improvement. The main emphasis of the study is to assess various stakeholders' perceptions regarding school variables (teacher/student relationships, security and maintenance, administration, student academic orientation, student behavioral values, guidance, student/peer relationships, parent and community/school relationships, instructional management, and student activities) and to note perceptual trends, similarities, and differences among stakeholder groups. Much of the existing literature views climate as a separate, yet related, component of effective schools. This study's focus is on better understanding climate from the ecological perspective, viewing climate as a tool in which school climate research can be used in school improvement programs to ensure consistency in conceptualizing and measuring school climate. This study goes beyond many in that it attempts to understand climate from various stakeholders' perceptions, and to discern any patterns or relationships among these. Unlike the previous studies of school climate which consider the perceptions of only one or two groups, this concept of school climate is driven by the shared perceptions of key stakeholder groups in the school operation of itself--Board members, Administration, classified staff, the students, teachers, and parents/community members. Because an inductive research method is most appropriate for a study of this type, a quasi-case study approach was selected as the research procedure. The following data analysis process was used in the study, for each of the ten subcategories of respondent, gender, ethnicity, and group/role, an analysis of variance and test of significance were conducted. These results are presented according to the research questions and subcategory. The contribution that this study makes is in the analysis of climate data. The data presented, looking at group means in the climate subcategories to give a broad, general impression of the school's climate. As the data were broken apart and regrouped, important patterns emerged. This information provides much more specific guidance in targeting school improvement, as well as delineating precisely the subcategories of particular concern to various stakeholder groups. This approach to unpacking the school climate concept takes advantage of the multiple characteristics of this school climate study, and acknowledges the different interests of groups within a school. Given scarce resources and competition for people's time, a finer grained analysis of a school's problems is a rational beginning to focused interventions.