Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of the School Climate Questionnaire High School Form

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of The School Climate Questionnaire. Data were collected from 542 students aged between 14-18 attending high schools in Ankara. The School Climate Questionnaire (SCQ)-High School Form, Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS), Demographic Information Form were used to collect the data. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to test the factor structure of the questionnaire, and Cronbach Alpha was computed for reliability analysis. Pearson correlation coefficients between SCQ and MSLSS were calculated to examine the criterion-related validity of the questionnaire. The results of the study showed that the School Climate Questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure for Turkish high school students. Keywords: School Climate Questionnaire, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Validity, Reliability SUMMARY Purpose and Significance: The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of The School Climate Questionnaire.. This scale was developed by Haynes, Emmons and Comer (1994) from Yale Child Studies Center to measure the general adaptation and the quality of the relationship between the adults and the students in the school. The School Climate Questionnaire consists of 42 items and 6 factors as resource usage, order and discipline, parental participation, school building, relationship between students and between teachers and students. The questions are answered in a 5-item Likert type format as (1) Strongly agree and (5) strongly disagree. The use of this scale has many implications in educational settings. Methods: The sample of the study was composed of 542 (290 females, 251 males) high school students from five schools in Ankara. The age of the participants ranged from 14 to 18 years. Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (Huebner, 1994) and School Climate Scale (Haynes, Emmons & Comer, 1994) were used to collect the data. For the statistical analysis, PASW (SPSS 18) package, and for the confirmatory analysis, SPSS Amos 19 program was used. In order to understand whether the 6-factor model fit in the Turkish version of the questionnaire, confirmatory factor analysis was performed by using item parceling technique. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis findings showed that the model fit perfectly (χ²(137) = 353.912, p = .00; χ²/df-ratio = 2.583; GFI = .936, CFI = .947, RMSEA = .054, ve SRMR = .046). Cronbach Alpha coefficient was calculated for the internal reliability of the questionnaire for 42 items and was found as .91. For the factors of the scale, the coefficients were .67 for resource usage; .68 for order and discipline; .70 for parental participation; .73 for school building; .88 for relationship between students; and .89 for the relation between teachers and students. Discussion and Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the Turkish version of the School Climate questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure for Turkish high school students. As school climate affects the high school adolescents in many psychological aspects, such as their school adjustment (Eccles & Roeser 1999), the level of aggression and violent behavior that they display (Goldstein, Young & Boyd, 2008), their school drop-out rate (Lee & Burkam, 2003) and drug abuse (LaRusso, Romer & Selman, 2008), it is essential to conduct studies on this topic. Besides, there is an increase in the importance given to school bullying and school related problems in Turkey, the adaptation of the school climate questionnaire to Turkish especially for high school students seems very important. The School Climate Questionnaire proved to be a valid assessment tool for Turkish high school students.