Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire Research Articles

Grade 10 Students’ Perception of Learning Environment: Prospects for K to12 Science Teaching Enhancement

Creating a positive psychosocial learning environment (PsLE) that holistically considers the learners’ needs is vital to optimizing learning productivity in Science. This study investigates the Science learning environment as perceived by the students in actual Science classes. Anchored on the three PsLE dimensions namely: relationship, personal development, and systems maintenance and change, it tracks for alignment of the current Science teaching and learning practices to the expectations of the Kto12 Science curriculum standards. A survey method was done to gather the students’ perception ratings based on a 5-point Likert scale (with 5 as most indicative) using the adapted established learning environment instruments, namely, the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey, the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire, and the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory. The data was collected from 105 Grade 10 students in one of the provinces in Central Visayas, Philippines, and treated statistically using descriptive statistics to get the mean percentage score and standard deviation. Results showed a high perception rating of the scales in the relationship dimension with a mean perception score (MPS = 3.7, SD= 0.36) and least in the personal development dimension. The specific scales that are of low perception include independence, open-endedness, shared control, and differentiation. These findings bear implications for potential interventions for the improvement of Kto12 Science teaching. Re-tooling the teachers with professional development training is a practical move that can be undertaken by the school leadership. Some concrete teaching practices anchored on the PsLE framework are discussed for the enhancement of Kto12 Science teaching.

SENIOR EDUCATIONAL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR MASTER SCIENCE TRAINEE EDUCATIONAL TEACHING INTERNSHIPS IN PHYSICS FOR IMPROVING AND CREATING ATTITUDE SKILLS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTS IN THAILAND

To investigate of students' perceptions of their physics classroom learning environments with the instructional internships in teaching physics of the master science trainee educational students for improving and creating scientific attitude skills toward physics in upper secondary educational students in Thailand. Associations between these perceptions and students' attitudes toward physics were determined. The learning environment perceptions were obtained using the 35-item Physics Laboratory Environment Inventory (PLEI), the 25-item Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), the 48-item Questionnaires on Teacher Interaction (QTI), and with the Test Of Physics-Related Attitude (TOPRA) were assessed which convention on individualized open and inquiry-based education, teacher-student interactions, and students’ creating science attitude skills. Both these questionnaires have an Actual Form and a Preferred Form. The questionnaires were administered in three phases with the Custer Random Sampling technique to a sample consisted of 989 students in 28 physics classes from 10 schools at the grade 10-12 levels in the Secondary Educational Service Area 26 and Area 27. Statistically significant differences between students' perceptions of actual-1, actual-2 and preferred environments of their physics laboratory, distinguish individualized classrooms, and teacher interpersonal behaviours with their improving and creating attitudes skills’ sustainable development were also found. Predictions of the monitoring and evaluation of master science trainee educational students of their internships; students’ skills developments of their physics achievements’ sustainable for the set of actual and preferred environments as a whole and physics related attitudes also were correlated. The R2 values indicate that 58%, 67%, and 84% of the variances in students’ attitudes to their actuale-1, actual-2 and preferred for the PLEI; 42%, 63%, and 72% for the ICEQ, and 38%, 59%, and 68% for the QTI in physics classes were attributable to their perceptions of their actual-1, actual-2 and preferred environments and their developing creative science skills’ sustainable toward physics, consequently. Article visualizations:

Single-sex school boys’ perceptions of coeducational classroom learning environments

Reviews in many countries have found little evidence of consistent advantages in either single-sex education or coeducation. Over the last three decades, coeducation has been introduced into many single-sex schools, but there is a dearth of evidence from the student perspective of the impact of such changes on the classroom learning environment. The Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) was administered to 309 elementary and secondary boys from a single-sex school over 3 years prior to (T1), during (T2) and after (T3) the introduction of coeducation. Overall, boys perceived coeducational classrooms to be significantly more Personalised at T2, particularly at the secondary level, while Personalisation increased significantly from T2 to T3 at the elementary level. No significant changes were evident for the Participation, Independence, Investigation and Differentiation scales at either T2 or T3. These findings have implications for the ongoing single-sex/coeducation debate.

Evaluation of an Innovative Mathematics Program in Terms of Classroom Environment, Student Attitudes, and Conceptual Development

Dull classroom environments, poor students’ attitudes and inhibited conceptual development led to the creation of an innovative mathematics program, the Class Banking System (CBS), which enables teachers to use constructivist ideas and approaches. To assess the effectiveness of the CBS, the Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), Test of Mathematics-Related Attitudes (TOMRA), and concept map tests were administered to two groups of fifth-grade students as pretests and posttests over an academic year. To enrich the data collected from those questionnaires, three case studies (one for the experimental group and two for the control group) were undertaken based on observations and interviews of selected students. Relative to non-CBS students, CBS students experienced more favorable changes in terms of mathematics concept development, attitudes to mathematics, and perceived classroom environments on several dimensions of the CLES (e.g., Personal Relevance, Shared Control) and the ICEQ (e.g., Participation and Differentiation). Qualitative information based on classroom observations and student interviews reinforced and enriched the patterns of results obtained from the concept test and questionnaires.

Does the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (Iceq) Measure Classroom Climate?

Data from 1,467 high school students in New South Wales schools on the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) were analyzed using multilevel variance components models to derive intraclass correlations to determine the degree to which ICEQ scores may validly be said to measure aspects of classroom climate as against individual student attitude. The results showed that the class variable accounted for large and noteworthy proportions of overall variance in all five ICEQ scales. Subsequent analyses showed that only small and nonsignificant proportions of variance were attributable to the school variable. In these terms, the ICEQ may be considered to be a relatively good measure of classroom climate.

Classroom Learning Environments and Students' Approaches to Learning.

Four hundred and eighty-four students from two metropolitan secondary schools completed the Learning Process Questionnaire, the Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire and the Learner Self Concept scale. Relationships between perceptions of the classroom learning environment, approaches to learning and self concept as a learner were investigated. Gender and level of schooling (junior high versus senior high) differences were examined. Results showed Deep Approaches to learning were significantly related to classroom learning environments which were perceived to be highly personalised and to be encouraging active participation in the learning process and the use of investigative skills in learning activities. High learner self concept was positively associated with Deep Approaches to learning and with classrooms perceived as high in Personalisation. It was negatively associated with Surface Approaches to learning. Differences in perceptions of learning environments and approaches to learning in relation to gender and level of schooling were small. The implications of these findings are discussed and strategies for facilitating Deep Approaches to learning are referred to.

Perceptions of Classroom Environment, School Types, Gender and Learning Styles of Secondary School Students

Abstract Assessment of students’ perceptions of classroom environment and their learning styles provided a framework within which to study factors related to perceptions of students in learning. Two instruments, the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) and the Learning Style Inventory 1985 (LSI), were administered in Singapore to a stratified random sample of 1733 Secondary 4 students (equivalent to Grade 10) from nine secondary schools (good, average and below average schools). The study showed that school type (the category of schools that the students come from), had the most influence on the students’ perceptions of both actual and preferred classroom environment. Gender had an influence too, but mainly on perceptions of actual classroom environment. Learning styles of students had the least influence.

Use of classroom environment assessments in school psychology: A British perspective

The move from individual-centered to systems-oriented and consultancy-based approaches has inevitably affected school psychologists' perceptions of and need for appropriate assessment techniques. Of particular importance are techniques that make it possible to assess participants' perceptions of teaching-learning contexts. One such technique (Fraser's Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire) is described, together with the rationale of individualized learning on which it is based. Preliminary data on the validity and reliability of the ICEQ in English secondary schools are provided, and illustrative examples are presented on ways in which systems-oriented consultant psychologists can employ such data in their professional practice.

The Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire: Confirmatory Findings

AbstractThe results of independent field trials of the Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire are presented based on testing nearly 1500 high school students in NSW schools. The findings from this study are very similar to those originally presented by Fraser (1990) and hence constitute independent confirmatory evidence supporting its more widespread use in classroom research.

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.

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 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.

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.

Relationship between perceived levels of classroom individualization and science‐related attitudes

AbstractRelationships between perceived levels of classroom individualization and science‐related attitudes were explored for a sample of 712 junior high school science students. Five dimensions of perceived individualization (personalization, participation, independence, investigation, and differentiation) were measured with the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), while seven distinct attitudes were measured with the Test of Science‐Related Attitudes (TOSRA). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the set of individualization variables accounted for a significant increment in end‐of‐year attitude scores, beyond that attributable to corresponding beginning‐of‐year attitude scores, for four of the seven attitudes considered. Significant associations between an individual individualization variable and an attitudinal dimension were positive in all cases. The study also provided support for the reliability and validity of the ICEQ and TOSRA and for their general usefulness in science education research.

Predicting Students' Outcomes from Their Perceptions of Classroom Psychosocial Environment

Relationships between students’ affective and cognitive outcomes and their perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment as measured by the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) and the Classroom Environment Scale (CES) were investigated for a sample of 1,083 junior high school students in 116 classrooms. Six different statistical analyses (simple correlation, multiple correlation, and canonical correlation analysis conducted separately for raw post-test scores and residual posttest scores adjusted for corresponding pretest and general ability) revealed sizable environment-outcome associations. Further analyses showed that the ICEQ and CES made appreciable, unique contributions to explaining outcome variance, and that the magnitudes of environment-outcome relationships were larger when the class was employed as the unit of analysis than when the student was used.

Predicting Students’ Outcomes from Their Perceptions of Classroom Psychosocial Environment

Relationships between students’ affective and cognitive outcomes and their perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment as measured by the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) and the Classroom Environment Scale (CES) were investigated for a sample of 1,083 junior high school students in 116 classrooms. Six different statistical analyses (simple correlation, multiple correlation, and canonical correlation analysis conducted separately for raw post-test scores and residual posttest scores adjusted for corresponding pretest and general ability) revealed sizable environment-outcome associations. Further analyses showed that the ICEQ and CES made appreciable, unique contributions to explaining outcome variance, and that the magnitudes of environment-outcome relationships were larger when the class was employed as the unit of analysis than when the student was used.

A study of Indonesian students' perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment

Extensive research conducted in developed countries has established classroom learning environment as a thriving field of study. The present investigation makes a contribution to classroom environment research in that it involved the translation into Indonesian of scales previously available only in English, and the subsequent validation and use of these translated scales among Indonesian students. The new Indonesian instrument consists of nine seven-item scales based upon the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire and the Classroom Environment Scale. Analyses of data collected from a sample of 373 Indonesian students from nine schools supported the new instrument's internal consistency, discriminant validity, ability to differentiate between classrooms, and predictive validity (i.e. ability to predict student outcomes). Potential applications of the new instruments in Indonesian classrooms are suggested.

Predicting learning from classroom individualization and actual-preferred congruence

One of the strongest traditions during the past decade of classroom environment research has involved investigation of the predictability of students' cognitive and affective learning outcomes from their perceptions of psychosocial characteristics of their classrooms. Moreover numerous research programs involving many thousands of students from various nations have provided convincing and consistent support for the incremental predictive validity of student perceptions in accounting for appreciable amounts of variance in learning outcomes beyond that attributable to initial student characteristics such as pretest performance and general ability (see Walberg, Singh and Rasher, 1977; Haertel, Walberg and Haertel, 1979; Walberg, 1979; Fraser, 1980; Walberg and Haertel's paper in this issue). Although consistent with the previous research tradition involving the predictive validity of students' perceptions, the study reported here represents an important extension to prior research in two key ways. First, the present investigation involved the use of a new instrument, the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (Rentoul and Fraser, 1979), which measures perceptions of those learning environment dimensions which differentiate individualized and conventional classrooms. In contrast, previous studies have employed instruments such as the Learning Environment Inventory (Anderson and Walberg, 1976) or the Classroom Environment Scale (Moos and Trickett, 1974) which exclude some aspects of classroom environment particularly salient in individualized settings involving open or inquiry-based approaches. Second, while prior research has concentrated on the predictive validity of perceptions of actual classroom environment, the present study also examined the predictability of learning from the congruence between actual and preferred classroom environment (as derived from student perceptions on the individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire). This proposition is based on the intuitively plausible notion that students who differ in their preferences for classroom individualization could achieve differentially depending upon the amount of actual individualization present in their classrooms. The major purpose of the present paper is to report analyses into the predictability of some cognitive and affective outcomes from (a) actual classroom individualization and (b) the congruence between actual and preferred individualization.