Classroom Environment Scale Research Articles

Classroom environment and approaches to learning: An investigation of the actual and preferred perceptions of Hong Kong secondary school students

This study is based on the responses of 180 Form 3 Hong Kong secondary students to preferred and actual forms of Chinese versions of the Classroom Environment Scale (Moos & Trickett 1974) and Learning Process Questionnaire (Biggs 1987) with reference to their Science classes. The data tended to support qualitative research indicating that Hong Kong secondary school students perceive their classroom to be relatively competitive and teacher controlled and as encouraging rote learning. The students tended to prefer a friendlier atmosphere where students and teachers collaborated to provide a greater variety of interesting but challenging activities. Such a learning environment, the students indicated, would tend to promote the deeper, more achievement-oriented approach to learning that they would prefer. The relationship was strongest between preferred deep approach and preferred learning environment. Some implications for improvement of student learning are discussed.

Environmental Approach Used for Evaluating an Educational Innovation

Abstract An environmental assessment was used to compare an experimental high school that had incorporated Corsini's (1977) individual education program with a relatively conventional high school. Both schools belong to the same network of schools and are in urban settings. The Corsini program emphasizes responsibility, respect, resourcefulness, and responsiveness; students are responsible for their own studies and assume an active and egalitarian relationship with the teachers. The high-inference Classroom Environment Scale (CES) (Moos & Trickett, 1974) was administered to 13 teachers and classes in the experimental school and to 14 teachers and classes in the conventional school. The perceived classroom environments of both teachers and classes in the two schools differed according to the contrasting educational philosophies of the schools, for example, experimental classes showed more teacher support, involvement, and innovation, whereas conventional classes emphasized the environmental dimensions of task orientation, competition, and teacher control. The results of the study indicate the advantageous use of environmental instruments as a criterion variable in global assessments of the classroom.

The perceived environment of special education classrooms for adolescents: a revision of the classroom environment scale.

The Classroom Environment Scale (CES), originally developed for use in traditional public school classrooms, was revised for use in special education classrooms. The scale, which assesses students' perceptions of various aspects of the classroom, was administered to students in 79 special education classrooms in 16 residential and day treatment schools serving special education students with behavior disorders and emotional disturbance. Psychometric analyses showed that only seven of the nine aspects of the classroom found in the original CES were reliably reported in special education classrooms. The revised scale was found reliable for use in special education classes in residential and day treatment settings.

Classroom Environments and Middle School Students' Views of Science

Abstract This study identified classroom environmental variables related to student views of science. As a replication study, it adds to a growing empirical base indicating that student views of certain academic subjects are determined, in part, by the classroom environment. The cluster analysis technique resulted in the formation of three types of classroom environments, very dissimilar on most of the environmental factors of the Classroom Environment Scale. The finding indicates that there is a wide variety of science classroom environments, teaching philosophies, and teaching expertise at these grades. In classrooms with high levels of student involvement, teacher support, group affiliation, order and organization, and teacher innovation, student attitudes toward science were highest. These findings are discussed in relation to other research in this area.

Classroom Environment and Locus of Control in Identifying High and Low Self-Concept in Fourth- and Fifth-Graders

This study examined classroom environment and locus of control in identifying successfully children showing high and low self-concepts. In their respective intact classrooms, 107 fourth- and fifth-graders were administered the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale, the Classroom Environment Scale, and the Nowicki-Strickland Children's Locus of Control Scale. A stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that four variables in combination successfully classified 76% all cases, suggesting the importance of environmental factors associated with classrooms and locus of control in identifying self-concepts of children of elementary-school age.

Classroom Environment as Related to Contest Ratings Among High School Performing Ensembles

The purpose of this study was to assess classroom environments, as measured by the Classroom Environment Scale, Form R (CESR) and as perceived by high school instrumental and choral students and teachers ( N = 1,843) in performing ensembles, to determine whether any significant differences existed between CESR subject scores according to musical achievement (contest ratings), status (teacher or student), sex, or type of performing group (instrumental or choral). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in all these areas.

A Factor Analytic Study of the Adult Classroom Environment Scale

This study explored the factor structure of Darkenwald and Valentine's Adult Classroom Environment Scale (ACES). The Student Ideal form of the ACES was administered to 449 adult students from a variety of educational settings and a factor analysis was performed. All but 15 of the original 49 items loaded clearly with a five-factor orthogonal solution, which only partially supported the seven dimensions proposed by Darkenwald and Valentine. A revised version of the scale was then administered to an additional 287 adult students. A second factor analysis largely confirmed the stability of the five factor solution, although a tentative sixth factor was identified.

Teachers and Students: Two Different Perspectives?! Measuring Social Climate in the Classroom

This study compared teachers’ and classes’ perceptions of the actual and preferred classroom environment in 78 sixth grade classes in Israel. The Classroom Environment Scale (CES) ( Moos & Trickett, 1974 ) was administered, and similarities between the perceptions of teachers and classes were found, particularly pertaining to the preferred or ideal classroom. The teachers and classes differed most in their respective perceptions of the real classroom. The validity of the CES and the relationship between the organizational factor of classroom seating arrangement and the environment perceptions were explored. The results of this study were discussed in relation to previous research conducted in different cultural settings. Implications of the consistent finding of teacher and student agreement on the characteristics of the ideal setting and means of implementing the comparison of teachers’ and classes’ perceptions of the classroom environment were suggested.

Gender Differences in Adult Student Perceptions of College Classroom Social Environments

Adult male and female students’ perceptions of classroom social environments (climates) were compared on the Relationship dimensions of Affiliation and Involvement as measured by the Adult Classroom Environment Scale. Data were collected from 439 adult students enrolled at an urban community college. Theoretically grounded hypotheses were tested using the general linear model procedure. As predicted, women perceived more affiliation and a greater degree of involvement in the classroom than did men. Implications of the findings for future research and the teaching-learning transaction are discussed.

Dropout As A Function Of Discrepancies Between Expectations and Actual Experiences Of The Classroom Social Environment

Prediction and explanation of the dropout phenomenon in adult education have suffered from a lack of theory-based research. In the present inquiry, social environment theory was employed to determine the relation of dropout behavior to the social ecology of the classroom. Research in school settings indicates that discrepancies between students' expectations of a specific classroom environment and their actual experiences in that environment promote dissatisfaction. These findings, coupled with theoretical deduction, suggested the hypothesis that adult dropouts, compared to persisters, would exhibit a greater degree of discrepancy between initial expectations and actual experiences of the classroom environment. Expectations and actual classroom experiences were measured by administering the Classroom Environment Scale to 77 adults enrolled in GED preparation classes. Discrepancy scores were analyzed by t-tests and multiple regression. Dropouts differed significantly from persisters on the subscale of Affiliation. Put briefly, they expected a classroom environment characterized by less social involvement with other students. Twenty-six percent of the variance in drop out behavior was attributed to the CES discrepancy scores

Effects of classroom environment on science attitudes: A cross‐cultural replication in Indonesia‡

A three‐phase study, with a different sample for each phase, involved a total of 1125 secondary school students in Indonesia. The first phase involving 373 grade 8 and 9 students was used to develop and validate an Indonesian classroom environment instrument with eight scales based on the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire and the Classroom Environment Scale. In the second phase of the study, 502 Indonesian science students in grades 11 and 12 were involved in a translation, adaptation and validation of a four‐scale Indonesian version of the Test of Science‐Related Attitudes. In the third phase, these new Indonesian attitude and environment scales were used with another sample of 250 Indonesian biology students in an investigation of the effects of classroom psychosocial environment on students’ science‐related attitudes. The finding of statistically significant associations between environment and attitudes replicated much prior work in science classrooms in developed countries. For examp...

Student Perceptions of Preferred Classroom Learning Environment

This study involved administration of several preferred classroom environment measures as well as an actual environment measure on a sample of 1,675 students from 18 schools in New South Wales, Australia. Whereas preferred classroom environment was measured with short forms of the My Class Inventory , Classroom Environment Scale, and Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire, actual environment was assessed with the Quality of School Life questionnaire. Data were analyzed in five different ways to answer various types of questions. First, a set of analyses attested to the high reliability of all the environment scales. Second a maximum likelihood factor analysis suggested that there are four distinct groups of classroom environment scales, which were labeled tentatively as “Preference for Peer Conflict,” “Preference for Individualization,” “Preference for Teacher-Managed Structure,” and “Actual Environment.” Third, a cluster analysis revealed three distinct typologies of schools, which were called “Self-Survival,” “Indifferent,” and “Cooperative and Motivated.” Fourth, a multivariate analysis of variance revealed some interesting grade level and gender differences in students’ learning environment perceptions. Fifth, some associations between student achievement and classroom environment factors were found.

Assessment of Preschool Classroom Environments

The Preschool Assessment of the Classroom Environment (PACE) scale is described. The results from a pilot study involving 20 preschool classrooms showed that different aspects of the management, organization, and operation of classroom environments were significantly related to both caregiver and child outcomes. The particular pattern of findings confirmed the hypothesized relationships among the independent and dependent variables. The results are discussed in terms of the use of the PACE for proactively affecting the changes in the classroom ecology in order to produce changes in child behavior.

Using short forms of classroom climate instruments to assess and improve classroom psychosocial environment

AbstractDespite international interest in research in the area of classroom environment, very little attention has been given to exploring how science teachers might apply ideas from the field of classroom environment in guiding practical improvements in science classrooms. In order to facilitate science teachers' use of classroom climate assessments, we developed economical short forms of the Classroom Environment Scale (CES), Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), and My Class Inventory (MCI) which contain only approximately 25 items each and which are amenable to easy hand scoring. When each instrument was administered to a large sample of science classes, results supported each scale's internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. The methods for improving classrooms are illustrated by reporting some case studies of change attempts. For example, when the CES was used in an attempt to improve the environment of a ninth grade science class, the steps followed were, first, assessment of actual and preferred classroom environment in order to identify discrepancies between actual and preferred environment and, second, introducing interventions aimed at reducing these discrepancies. The interesting finding was that significant improvements occurred for the two dimensions on which change had been attempted.

The effects of peer-teaching on student perceptions of class environment, adjustment, and academic performance.

This study explored the effects of a social studies peer-teaching intervention on student perceptions of class environment, adjustment, and academic performance. There were 45 students in the experimental group (E) and 46 controls (C) from four fifth-grade classes in a suburban, predominantly white, middle-class school. The Classroom Environment Scale (CES) and a School Opinion Survey were used to assess student views of the classroom. Students completed self-esteem and peer sociometric rating measures and teachers submitted adjustment ratings for all pupils. Report card and average monthly grades were recorded in social studies. After the intervention, Es compared to Cs came to see their classes as more Involved, Orderly and Organized, and Competitive, and reported being happier in class and enjoying aspects of their school work more. The groups did not differ in change in self-esteem. Both groups improved directionally in peer liking, though Cs did so more than Es. Teachers rated Es as having increased competence and decreased in problems after the program. Es did significantly better than Cs both on report cards and monthly social studies grades due primarily to the substantial improvement of Es with initially low academic status.

The Effects of Classroom Climate on Student Outcomes: A Replication in Two Developing Countries

A strong tradition of research in developed countries has established consistent relationships between students' outcomes and their perceptions of psychosocial characteristics of the classroom learning environment. The present research provides a replication of the prior work in developed countries by using samples of students from two developing countries, namely, Indonesia and Thailand. Indonesian versions of the individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire and the Classroom Environment Scale were responded to by 373 students in 18 Grade 8 and 9 classes in Padang, whereas a Thai version of the Learning Environment Inventory was responded to by 989 students in 31 Grade 12 classes in Bangkok or nearby provinces. Results supported the predictive validity of student perceptions in that significant relationships emerged between student outcomes and classroom climate among students in both Indonesia and Thailand.

Validity and Use of the Classroom Environment Scale

In a recent monograph, Fraser (1981a) argues that classroom environment variables should be incorporated more often when designing evaluations of educational programs. When used in evaluations as dependent variables, characteristics of classroom psychosocial environment provide important process criteria of curricular effectiveness (Walberg, 1975). In fact, in past evaluation studies (Fraser, 1979a; Welch & Walberg, 1972), classroom environment dimensions have differentiated revealingly between students following different curricula when a range of outcome measures showed little sensitivity. Also, because consistently strong associations have been found between student learning outcomes and the nature of the classroom environment (Haertel, Walberg, & Haertel, 1981), it is desirable that educational program evaluations that use student outcomes as criterion variables also include classroom environment dimensions as independent variables because they are important codeterminants of student outcomes. This article aims to stimulate and facilitate more frequent use of classroom environment variables in educational program evaluation by reporting a study of the validity and use of a widely applicable instrument called the Classroom Environment Scale (CES). Also, important implications for the design and interpretation of evaluation studies are drawn from the present research applications using the CES. Before this research is considered, the following section briefly overviews past classroom environment research, including the development and use of the CES.

Validity and Use of the Classroom Environment Scale

Validity and Use of the Classroom Environment Scale

A comparison of actual and preferred classroom environments as perceived by science teachers and students

AbstractThis study of perceptions of classroom environment is distinctive in that, first, it made use of two instruments (the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire and Classroom Environment Scale) which have had very little use in prior science education research and, second, it involved assessment not only of student perceptions of actual environment, but also of student perceptions of preferred environments and teacher perceptions of actual environment. Administration of these instruments to a sample of 2175 junior high school students in 116 classes revealed that the environment scales exhibited satisfactory internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity in each of the three forms (student actual, student preferred, and teacher actual), and that there were some fascinating systematic differences between the profiles of environment scale scores obtained for the different forms. In particular, it was generally found that students preferred a more favorable classroom environment then was perceived as being actually present and that teachers perceived the environment of their classes more favorably than did students in the same classrooms.

Student perception of school environment and its relationship to mood, achievement, popularity, and adjustment

This study examined relationships between student perceptions of classroom environment and mood, achievement, popularity, and adjustment, both for students in general and for “problem” (i.e., acting-out, anxious, and unpopular) children. Subjects included 511 fifth- and sixth-grade students from 23 classes in four suburban schools. Class environment was assessed by responses to a short form of the Classroom Environment Scale (CES). Students also completed mood adjective checklists and peer sociometric ratings. Reading and arithmetic report card grades and achievement test scores were recorded for the school year, and teachers submitted adjustment ratings for all students. Classes, rather than students, were used as the main unit of analysis. For classes in general, high perceived Order and Organization and Affiliation related to greater student popularity. Relationships between perceptions of class environment and the dependent measures were stronger for problem students. For that group, high perceived Order and Organization, Affiliation, and Innovation related to positive mood, greater peer popularity, and teacher ratings indicating more positive adjustment.