Validating an Instrument to Measure School Culture in Project-Based Learning Environments

Abstract

Measuring school culture and analyzing student learning experiences is a rapidly growing practice, with a notable uptick following the increased forcus on learning experiences spurred by international comparisons of educational environments and resulting student outcomes. The literature documents common constructs that are often included in school culture surveys. However, often all learning environments are organized together and offered the same school culture survey. This is problematic because a common school culture survey construct is “learning environment” and the items that form this construct will be significantly different based on the instructional model. Therefore, providing educators with a one size fits all culture survey does not meet the needs of schools offering problem-based learning (PrBL) and project-based learning (PBL) environments. This research examines the process for revising, designing, and validating a school culture survey aligned to PrBL and PBL environments.