Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Classroom Environment and Self- and Others-Concepts

Abstract

The relationships among self-concept, others-concept (a person's perceptions and expectancies about other people), and students' and teachers' perceptions of classroom environment were explored. Subjects were 441 fifth grade children and their 25 teachers. All children were administered group tests which measured self-concept, others-concept, and perceptions on five classroom environment scales (Involvement, Affiliation, Teacher Support, Friction, and Satisfaction). Teachers completed the classroom environment measure only. Correlations indicated that children's self- and others-concepts were statistically related to their perceptions of classroom environment, but the correlations were low. When the children were assigned to high, middle, and low self- and others-concept groups, analyses of group membership indicated significant differences in perceptions on the five classroom environment scales between the groups low and high in self- and others-concepts. Significantly more children with low self- and others-concepts differed from their teachers' perceptions of classroom environment than did children with high self- and others-concepts. The findings underscore a significant relationship between perception of classroom environment and several personal variables.