Abstract
This study presents the procedures for adapting the School Climate Survey – Revised, Elementary and Middle School Version (SCS-MS) to the Brazilian context and demonstrates the first evidence of the validity of its use among elementary school students. Participants were 511 children (52,1 % girls) from Porto Alegre, between 3rd and 5th grade. Analysis of internal validity was performed by evaluating the factor structure of the instrument, and analysis of convergent validity by testing the correlation between the SCS-MS, social skills and childhood peer aggression. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) analysis were conducted. The results indicated that the structure provided in the ESEM analysis were more adequate than the original structure for this sample. ESEM provided satisfactory indices of fit for the model of six factors, including modifications in four factors. The overall score of the SCS-MS showed positive and moderate correlations with social skills and negative and moderate correlations with peer aggression. The results suggest that the SCS-MS is a measure that can be used to assess the students’ perception of school climate in Brazilian schools, contributing to overcome the shortage of instruments in this context.
Highlights
In the early twentieth century, studies related to school climate were based on observable characteristics of the environment, such as availability of material resources and the physical conditions of the school, demonstrating little relationship with student performance
In the Brazilian version, the results suggested that this dimension was composed of three items (15, 16, 22), the factor loadings of which ranged between .61 and
This study aimed to adapt an instrument that assesses the perceptions of students regarding the school climate and present evidence of convergent validity for its use in Brazil
Summary
In the early twentieth century, studies related to school climate were based on observable characteristics of the environment, such as availability of material resources and the physical conditions of the school, demonstrating little relationship with student performance (see Anderson, 1982). From the 1980s, these studies began to focus on the perceptions of individuals regarding the organizational behaviors of the teachers and principals and the values shared within the school community (Haynes et al 1997; Kuperminc et al 1997). There are student-, school-, and classroom-related factors that contribute to determine the student perception of school climate, including sex and race, school size and faculty turnover, and characteristics of the teacher, class size, and the concentration of students with behavior problems (Koth et al 2008). There are contextual factors that contribute to determine the student perception of school climate, including norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structure (Cohen et al 2009). The student perception of school climate is based on student background and motivational factors, and quality and consistency of interpersonal interactions within the school community (Haynes et al, 1997)
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