Perceptions Of School Environment Research Articles

Science teachers' perceptions of the school environment: Gender differences

AbstractBecause the school environment has been shown to play an important role in teacher and student performance, we undertook research into the assessment of school environment, differences between female and male science teachers' perceptions of their school environments, and associations between these school environment perceptions and teachers' background characteristics. Although gender differences in science education have attracted both public concern and academic interest, little research has specifically addressed this issue in terms of the school environment. Data were collected from a large sample of 300 female and 518 male science teachers from secondary schools in Taiwan. Statistically significant gender differences were found in most aspects of the school environment, with female science teachers perceiving greater collegiality among teachers, higher gender equity among students, and stronger professional interest, and with male science teachers perceiving lower work pressure and better teacher–student relations. Gender differences in science teachers' perceptions of collegiality, work pressure, and gender equity in the school environment persisted even after controlling for teachers' background and school characteristics. Among the implications are recommendations about administrative policy for improving the school environment for both male and female teachers and about future research on factors associated with teachers' perceptions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 404–420, 2009

Frequency, stability and differentiation of self-reported school fear and truancy in a community sample.

BackgroundSurprisingly little is known about the frequency, stability, and correlates of school fear and truancy based on self-reported data of adolescents.MethodsSelf-reported school fear and truancy were studied in a total of N = 834 subjects of the community-based Zurich Adolescent Psychology and Psychopathology Study (ZAPPS) at two times with an average age of thirteen and sixteen years. Group definitions were based on two behavioural items of the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Comparisons included a control group without indicators of school fear or truancy. The three groups were compared across questionnaires measuring emotional and behavioural problems, life-events, self-related cognitions, perceived parental behaviour, and perceived school environment.ResultsThe frequency of self-reported school fear decreased over time (6.9 vs. 3.6%) whereas there was an increase in truancy (5.0 vs. 18.4%). Subjects with school fear displayed a pattern of associated internalizing problems and truants were characterized by associated delinquent behaviour. Among other associated psychosocial features, the distress coming from the perceived school environment in students with school fear is most noteworthy.ConclusionThese findings from a community study show that school fear and truancy are frequent and display different developmental trajectories. Furthermore, previous results are corroborated which are based on smaller and selected clinical samples indicating that the two groups display distinct types of school-related behaviour.

Identity and Adolescent Adjustment

This article is the report of an investigation of relations among identity coherence/identity confusion, the ego strength of competence, antisocial behavior, academic competence, and perceptions of school environment in a sample of 574 adolescents. The primary results of this cross-sectional study suggest significant associations between identity-related constructs and indicators of adolescent adjustment. Study implications are discussed in terms of identity-related interventions.

But I Like PE

The current study examined associations between physical education (PE) class enjoyment and sociodemographic, personal, and perceived school environment factors among early adolescent girls. Participants included 1,511 sixth-grade girls who completed baseline assessments for the Trial of Activity in Adolescent Girls, with 50% indicating they enjoyed PE class a lot. Variables positively associated with PE class enjoyment included physical activity level, perceived benefits of physical activity, self-efficacy for leisure time physical activity, and perceived school climate for girls' physical activity as influenced by teachers, while body mass index was inversely associated with PE class enjoyment. After adjusting for all variables in the model, PE class enjoyment was significantly greater in Blacks than in Whites. In model testing, with mutual adjustment for all variables, self-efficacy was the strongest correlate of PE class enjoyment, followed by perceived benefits, race/ethnicity, and teachers' support for girls' physical activity, as compared to boys, at school. The overall model explained 11% of the variance in PE class enjoyment. Findings suggest that efforts to enhance girls' self-efficacy and perceived benefits and to provide a supportive PE class environment that promotes gender equality can potentially increase PE class enjoyment among young girls.

Chronic diseases, social context and adolescent health

Studies have claimed children with chronic diseases to have greater probability of behavioural and emotional problems, while others have emphasized good adaptation of most children. Protection and risk factors were identified as determinants of positive adaptation to chronic conditions, such as family and school related dimensions. This study tested the negative association between a chronic disease and positive health. A nationally representative sample of 6131 Portuguese adolescents, mean age 14, was surveyed based on a self-completed questionnaire. We used data from the Portuguese study of the 2002 HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children), namely the questions on chronic disease, demographics, psychological symptoms, school life related variables, substance use and life satisfaction. Preliminary multilevel analysis and Structural Equation Model were specified. Students with chronic disease reported more psychological symptoms, less global satisfaction and less positive perception of school environment. Results supported the assumption that chronic disease is negatively associated with adolescent global life satisfaction, and that this relation is moderated by gender, school grade and socioeconomic status, and mediated by variables related with the school. The data supports a recommendation for schools to develop more systematic procedures to attend students with chronic conditions

Continuity, psychosocial correlates, and outcome of problematic substance use from adolescence to young adulthood in a community sample

BackgroundThe study of the continuity, psychosocial correlates, and prediction of problematic substance use (PSU) across time from adolescence to young adulthood.MethodsSubstance use was studied in a cohort of N = 593 subjects who had been assessed at three times between adolescence and young adulthood within the Zurich Psychology and Psychopathology Study (ZAPPS). Based on the frequency of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis consumption, groups with PSU were defined at each of the three measurement points in time and compared to the rest of the sample. Comparisons included questionnaire data regarding emotional and behavioural problems, life events, coping style, self-related cognitions, perceived parenting style, perceived school environment, and size and efficiency of the social network.ResultsThe size of the groups with PSU increased continuously across time. The cross-sectional correlates of PSU were characterized by a similar pattern that included higher scores for externalizing behaviour, and both number and negative impact of life events across all three times. At time 1 and 2 subjects with PSU also experienced less favourable parenting styles and school environments. Longitudinally, PSU in young adulthood was predicted most strongly and persistently by previous risk status, externalizing problems and male gender.ConclusionProblematic substance use is a major problem in youth. Its contributing pattern of associated and predictive psychosocial variables can be identified in the community.

Psychosocial Factors in Adolescent and Young Adult Self-Reported Depressive Symptoms: Causal or Correlational Associations?

Using a large longitudinal representative community sample, this study identified three groups of subjects who were depressed either in pre-adolescence, late adolescence or early adulthood, and matched by age and gender to controls without depression. The 90th percentile on one or two self-reported symptom scales [i. e. the Center for Epidemilogical Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) or the subscale Anxious / Depressed subscale on either the Youth Self Report (YSR) or the Young Adult Self Report (YASR)] served as the cut-off for the depression groups. Psychosocial variables under study included life events and life events impact, coping, self-related cognitions, perceived parental rearing style, family relations, perceived school environment, and the internalizing (except anxious/depressed) and externalizing problem scale of the YSR/YASR. The study found a large number of time-related correlations between psychosocial factors and depression. Evidence for causal effect (either antecedent or consequent) was obtained only for self-esteem, perceived maternal rejection, and internalizing problems.

School and School Environment as a Determinant for Psychosomatic Complaints

During early adolescence individuals must cope with the biological challenges associated with puberty and the psychological challenges of increased identity differentiation. Another potential source of stress is the school environment. Complaints regarding school may reflect in part problems in adapting to school demands, which in turn, can lead to the emergence of psychosomatic complaints. We investigated if students' perceived school environment and adjustment to school are associated with psychosomatic complaints.

Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents Living in Rural America

The purposes of this pilot study were to examine prevalence of depressive symptoms among rural adolescents and identify related social and environmental variables. A convenience sample of 299 14- to 18-year-old agriculture class students at 5 rural high schools in Kentucky and Iowa completed a survey that included demographic information, family farm history, experience with suicide, perception of school environment, and indicators of farm injuries and risky behaviors. Participants also completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) as well as scales to assess the number of major life events in the last year, active coping use, and family closeness. The prevalence of a high level of depressive symptoms (CES-D > or = 16) in this sample was 34%. Nine percent had seriously considered suicide in the last year. Unlike previous reports, boys reported as many depressive symptoms as girls. Although the literature reports that engaging in risky behavior is associated with depressive symptoms, the only risky behavior linked with depressive symptoms in this sample was operating a 4-wheel all-terrain vehicle. Other predictors of depressive symptoms included poor family relationships and poor active coping. Interventions to identify and prevent depressive symptoms in rural adolescents are needed. Boosting active coping and improving family function may also prevent the development of clinical depression in rural adolescents.

The Racial Identity and Cultural Orientation of Lumbee American Indian High School Students.

The uncertain and complex lineage of the Lumbee American Indian tribe has made the issue of identity of prime concern. The cultural identification, racial identification, bicultural competence, and perceived school environment for 103 Lumbee Indian high school students were examined in this study. Higher self-ratings on American Indian cultural competence and American Indian cultural identification than on White cultural competence and White cultural identification were found, and t-test comparisons revealed no gender differences on responses to the instruments. Analysis of variance was conducted to assess whether differences in perceived school environment could be attributed to cultural orientation. Rather than appearing assimilated, this generation of Lumbees tends to exhibit J. E. Helms's (1995b) Internalization identity status and an American Indian cultural orientation.

The validity of adolescent types of alcohol use.

Alcohol is the most frequently used substance among adolescents with different patterns of consumption. Various types of adolescent alcohol use have been proposed, but only a few studies have looked for external validation of these types. Data from 794 adolescents participating in the Zurich Adolescent Psychology and Psychopathology Study (ZAPPS) were used to evaluate the discriminant validity of the classification of four types of adolescent drinkers: abstainers, social drinkers, heavy drinkers, and problem drinkers. Data were based on questionnaires dealing with substance abuse, emotional and behavioral problems, life events, coping capacity, self-related cognitions, perceived parental behavior, perceived school environment, and the social network. There was a clear differentiation of the problem drinkers' group on almost all dimensions of the emotional and behavioral problems questionnaires, with the heavy drinkers' profile situated in between on some dimensions, and the abstainers and social drinkers almost ideally meeting the expectation of a mean normal population profile. Problem drinkers were also marked by high life impact scores, low self-esteem, high self-awareness, low perceived parental acceptance and high amount of rejection by the parents, and various indicators of a stressful and less rewarding school environment. Again, the heavy drinkers were positioned on an intermediate level on some of these scales, whereas the abstainers and social drinkers scored more normally. These findings support the validity of the distinction of various adolescent alcohol use types.

Teachers' perceptions of high school environments.

The purpose of this study was to investigate high school teachers' perceptions of school environments and to determine whether gender was a differentiating factor. A total of 275 teachers from eight high schools responded to the Teacher's School Environment Survey. The results revealed that most of these teachers had favourable perceptions. They rated job satisfaction and principal leadership highly but ethnic equity relatively low. Female teachers scored higher than male teachers on job satisfaction, collegiality, teacher-student relations, ethnic equity, teacher influence, and student discipline. No significant difference was found in teachers' perceptions of principal leadership. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Children's Relationship with Teachers and Bonds with School An Investigation of Patterns and Correlates in Middle Childhood

The purpose of this study was to examine aspects of children's social and contextual experience in schools. Children N = 289 in elementary schools completed a measure designed to assess qualities of their relationships with teachers as well as their perceptions of school environments. Students were then grouped into categories based on these perceptions and comparisons were made between groups on measures of social and emotional adjustment. Findings indicated that student classifications resembled classifications reported by other researchers for student-teacher relationships. Students classified as having poor relationships with teachers and poor bonds with school had poorer scores on self- and teacher ratings of social and emotional adjustment than children classified as having positive relationships and bonds. These findings add to a growing body of research focused on understanding children's social and contextual experience in schools by providing a descriptive typology that could be used by researchers and practitioners interested in identifying students who are having nonoptimal experiences in school settings.

Students' Perception of School and Their Smoking and Alcohol Use: A Cross-National Study

The objective of the paper is to study how 15 year old students' perceptions of the psychosocial environment in their schools, defined as student autonomy, teacher support, student support and demands, relate to smoking and alcohol use. Data from 15 year old students in Finland and Norway are included (n=2.816), using structural equation modelling to test theoretical models. The best model fitting the data shows that low student autonomy, low teacher support, student support and inadequate demands are significantly associated with health compromising behaviours directly, and indirectly through students' satisfaction with school. Low student autonomy is the strongest predictor of the four. The suggested relationships stress the need to develop and implement strategies to improve students' perceived school environment, and in particular students' autonomy, as a means of reducing the onset and continuance of health compromising behaviours in adolescents.

Measuring Neighborhood and School Environments Perceptual and Aggregate Approaches

This paper describes scales measuring perceptions of neighborhood and school quality. The scales are short and easy to administer, and easily understood by respondents. The measure of neighborhood quality (the NegNeb) has high reliability (alpha = .81), correlates with census data, shows sensitivity to change in neighborhood quality, and discriminates among urban neighborhoods. The measure of school quality (the NegEd) correlates to an index of aggregate school problems. Theories posit that the impact of environment on mental health is determined by perception of that environment. A regression model controlling for family and other characteristics showed that perception of neighborhood (as measured by the NegNeb) contributed unique variance to adolescent mental health. Perception of school did not. However, a second regression model showed that perception of school environment contributed unique variance to peer misbehavior, which was the largest predictor of mental health problems in the first equation. In each regression model aggregate measures of neighborhood and school quality contributed less to the model than did perceived measures. Because adolescents' perceptions of their neighborhood and school environments are clearly linked to their mental health and peer environment, researchers interested in effects of neighborhood and school environment should use subjects' perceptions to conceptualize and measure these realities.

Relationship between Students' Perceptions of School Environment, Their Satisfaction with School and Perceived Academic Achievement: An International Study

During the last decades numerous studies have been conducted with the aim of finding predictors of an effective school measured in terms of the average level of the students' academic achievement. Few of these studies have examined how the students' perception of their work environment at school influences their academic achievement. The present article applies theory and findings from research on the adult work environment to the daily school life of children and adolescents. The analyses are based on self-reported data from the "Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey" (the HBSC study), using data from countries in both Eastern and Western Europe. Data from 11, 13 and 15 year old students in Finland, Latvia, Norway and Slovakia are used. The findings suggest that the most important psychosocial school setting predictors of students' perception of their academic achievement are that they feel satisfied with school, that they feel the teachers do not expect too much of them, and that they have a good relationship with their fellow students. The findings imply that interventions which enhance the students' satisfaction with school are likely to improve their achievement as well.

Parents' Risk and Protective Factors as Predictors of Parental Well-Being and Behavior

This article examines a model in which protective factors are expected to reduce the impact of economic, family, and community risk factors on parental well-being. Parental well-being, marital happiness, and parents' community resources are expected to show positive relationships to parenting behavior. The model is tested through an analysis of data from parents and adolescents and interviewed for the National Commission on Children 1990 Survey of Parents and Children. The results indicate that, although risk factors are negatively related to parental well-being, the protective factors do not buffer these relationships. However, two protective factors, marital happiness and perceived school environment, are positively related to parental well-being. These factors reveal independent compensatory effects on parental well-being, rather than buffering or protective effects. Parental well-being, marital happiness, and parents' community resources show modest positive relationships to nurturing and supportive parenting behavior. Key Words: community resources, parental well-being, parenting behavior, protective factors, risk factors. In recent years, researchers have proposed a model in which parental well-being influences parenting behavior, which, in turn, affects adolescent wellbeing. Although a great deal of research has investigated relationships between parenting behavior and adolescent well-being, studies of the determinants of parenting practices and behavior are relatively limited. In addition, some possible influences on parenting behavior, such as school and neighborhood environments, have been neglected. This article examines a model that integrates the ecological systems model of human development with the analysis of risk and protective factors. In this model, we expect protective factors to reduce the impact of economic, family, and community risk factors on parental well-being. We expect parental well-being, marital happiness, and parents' community resources to show positive relationships to nurturing and supportive parenting behavior among parents of adolescents aged 10-17. Several researchers using an ecological approach have considered risk and protective factors in relation to adolescent well-being. However, these concepts also may be useful for the analysis of parenting behavior. Recent studies of the determinants of parenting behavior have used a framework based on stress, support, and coping (Belsky, 1984; Conger & Elder, 1994; Simons, Beaman, Conger, & Chao, 1993; Simons, Lorenz, Wu, & Conger, 1993). Haggarty, Sherrod, Garmezy, and Rutter (1994) document the transition from the analysis of stress and coping to a framework using the concepts of risk and protective factors. These concepts have advanced the analysis of stressmoderating processes (Gore & Eckenrode, 1994). Risk factors are conditions or variables associated with compromised health, well-being, or social performance. Protective factors, such as dispositional attributes, family milieu, or the extrafamilial social environment, decrease the likelihood of such negative outcomes. Protective factors reflect positive mechanisms or processes that reduce the effects of negative processes associated with risk factors (Garmezy, 1985; Jessor, 1992; Jessor, Van Den Bos, Vanderryn, Costa, & Turbin, 1995). A strict definition of protective factors requires that they buffer or reduce the effects of risk factors on outcomes (Rutter, 1987). This approach is followed in Jessor's (1992) conceptual framework for adolescent risk behavior and health-compromising outcomes, which includes risk and protective factors in the areas of biology, social environment, perceived environment, personality, and behavior. (See Jessor et al., for empirical support of this approach.) When variables decrease the likelihood of negative outcomes independently of risk factors, they often are referred to as independent compensatory factors. …

Frequency and Correlates of Substance Use among Preadolescents and Adolescents in a Swiss Epidemiological Study

Alcohol use and nicotine use were investigated in a representative sample of 1110 study participants aged 10 to 17 years. In addition to questions on substance use, the participants responded to questionnaires covering behavior and emotions, life events, self-related cognitions, coping capacities, perceived parental behavior, perceived school environment, and the social network. The gender gap in substance used tended to close with increasing age. Parental substance use served as a model for substance use in the participants. Substance users had more abnormal scores on almost all variables as compared to abstaining controls. Lack of acceptance and control, pressure to achieve at school, and life events significantly predicted substance use. The latter served as a moderating risk variable for delinquent behavior under stress.

Perceptions of School Environment among Japanese Junior High School, Non-attendant, and Juvenile Delinquent Students

Scales to assess Japanese school environment were constructed based on the Classroom Environment Scale (CES) (Moos & Trickett, 1974) and a Japanese scale (Hirata, 1994). Factor analysis revealed four factors extracted from 61 items: Teacher Control, Sense of Isolation, Order and Discipline, and ‘Wa’ Affiliation. The resulting Classroom Environment Scale (CES-J) consists of 29 items. In Study I, 635 pupils from four junior high schools were compared on the CES-J, and statistically significant school differences were found for Sense of Isolation, Order & Discipline and ‘Wa’ Affiliation. In Study II, the CES-J was administered to 266 junior high school students, 106 juvenile delinquents and 11 non-attendant pupils. Delinquents showed a stronger sense of isolation in the classroom, and non-attendant students reported more maladjustment regarding affiliation with classmates. The results suggest that the CES-J is useful for assessing students' perceptions of the characteristics of their schools. It was necessary to modify the CES for use in Japan, as well as for the factors which delineate the Japanese school environment.

A measure of adaptation to problematic academic and interpersonal tasks of middle school

This study examined the development and validation of a measure of adaptation to problematic academic and interpersonal tasks that arise during the transition to middle school (Survey of Adaptational Tasks of Middle School — SAT-MS). In terms of Bronfenbrenner's framework of “ecological transitions,” a set of psychosocial tasks was reliably identified, and the perceived impact of these tasks was found to be related to self-concept and perceived school environment. Sex differences consistent with differential development expectations emerged. The results suggested that for girls, peer relationship tasks were most salient with regard to criterion measures, whereas for boys, peer relationshipm conflict with authority, and academic pressure tasks all related to criterion measures. The major findings were replicated for both a predominantly white, suburban sample and a predominantly urban, nonwhite sample. The results are discussed in terms of the needs of children during periods of adaptational challenge.