Development and Validation of Boarding School Climate Scale (BSCS)

Abstract

Background. Boarding schools not only provide boarders with education but also focussed to groomthe students intellectually, socially, and emotionally. The term boarding school climate is considered tohave unique features that appear to significantly differ from the climate of day school. As compared tothe day schools, boarding institutes provide residential settings, having a highly structured andorganized daily routine, and ample opportunities for learning and engaging in co-curricular activities.Numerous scales were developed to evaluate the day school climate; however, studies aiming to exploreand assess the boarding school climate are sparse.Method. The Boarding School Climate Scale (BSCS), comprises of 68 items, it was developed usingthe triangulation technique; we employed an open-ended questionnaire, followed by focus groupdiscussions with current boarding students, and literature review. The scale was administered on asample of participants drawn from 7 public and private-sector boarding schools and colleges ofPakistan. We used the purposive sampling technique (N=738, amongst these, there were 635 males, 103female students). Only those included in the study, who gave written informed consent to participate inthe study. The mean age of students was 15.4 years with the age range of 12 years to 19 years old (SD1.46); the participants were students of grade 6 to grade 12.Results. The findings of Exploratory Factor Analysis showed a total of eight factors, these named as;Pastoral Care, Behavioral Problems, Academic & Civic Learning, Discipline Safety & Rules, ResourceSupport, Physical Environment, Leadership, and Relationships. The Convergent Validity of theBoarding School Climate Scale (BSCS) showed a significant correlation with the 9-Item Georgia BriefSchool Climate Inventory (La Salle, McIntosh, & Eliason, 2016) (GaBSCI) (r=.73, p <.01) and itsfactors highlighting significant indices of convergent validity with an existing school climate measure.Conclusion. The development of indigenous BSCS is a significant contribution to measuring theboarding school climate in Pakistan. The instrument can assist the boarding school administration togain an insight into students' perception of the boarding school climate and its various dimensions.