Probing School Image at High Schools: Scale Development and a Discriminant Analysis

Abstract

This study aimed at developing a valid and reliable measurement tool to determine school image at high schools and investigating the discrimination level of the scale among the students from different high school types in Turkey. Two studies were conducted to a) develop a valid and reliable measurement tool and b) to examine the discrimination power of the scale among students. The research was conducted in a province in Southeastern Turkey, and 668 students from six different high schools participated in the research in the 2017-2018 academic year. The construct validity of the scale was probed via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The findings indicated that the School Image Scale (SIS) incorporated six factors (school-parent interaction, art-sports activities, student profile, teacher-administrator characteristics, student support services, and physical conditions) and 28 items. Results of discriminant analysis carried out with 300 students from 5 different high schools revealed that the sub-dimensions of the scale were effective in distinguishing between high schools. The most effective independent variable in distinguishing students studying at different school types was student profile, physical conditions, art-sports activities, teacher-administrator characteristics, student support services, and school-parent interaction variables, respectively. The related independent variables were discussed in order of importance in light of the relevant literature.