Abstract
The main aim of this study was to find out the perceptions of the parents about the rural school climate. This study was set in a selected rural primary school located in Hebei Province, in China. Data were collected using questionnaires and a semi-structured interview protocol. 103 parents participated in the questionnaire and 10 parents were invited to take part in the focus group interview. The findings in the questionnaires had revealed that parents had positive perceptions of the rural school climate. Inferential statistics further showed that there was no significant difference in parents’ perceptions based on education level, and the male parents’ perceptions of school administrators, teachers, and students were higher than the female parents. The focus group interview further revealed that parents felt that the rural schools were unable to establish a complete school curriculum, lacked a sufficient number of teachers, had a shortfall of adequate infrastructure, had school violence, inadequate extracurricular activities, and programs.
Highlights
The state-run system of public education is governed by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China
There were 103 parents participated in the questionnaires and 10 parents take part in the focus group interviews
Majority of parents (56.3%) strongly agreed that the students had the opportunities to talk to one another during class activities (M = 4.50, SD = 0.67). 93.2% of them felt that the grading practices in this school were fair (M = 4.49, SD = 0.70). 94.1% of the parents agreed that the school policies encouraged freedom of expression for everyone (M = 4.46, SD = 0.71). 90.3% of the parents thought that the messages sent home were positive (M = 4.36, SD = 0.82). 82.5% of the parents endorsed that a high percentage of students pass in this school (M = 4.25, SD = 0.85)
Summary
The state-run system of public education is governed by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. Keiser and Shulte (2009) have shown that there are many facets of school climate in primary, middle, and high schools. These facets involve safety at school; a student’s feeling of belonging, and interactions between school staff and administration. School climate greatly impacts effective risk prevention, positive youth development, healthy development, and increased student and teacher retention (Huebner & Diener, 2008). Earlier studies have shown a correlation a school climate and teacher quality (Whitehurst, 2002), academic achievement (Demi et al, 2010), and employee morale (Mayer, 2007). This study aims to investigate the parents’ perceptions of the school climate in a rural primary school in China
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