Perceived Climate: Classroom Versus School

Abstract

Environmental variables play a very crucial part in the behavior of students within schools. Classroom climate, defined as the overall psychological tone of a classroom, intrigued the researcher. This study determined how the researcher's perceived classroom climate compared to the overall perceived school climate. A survey consisting of 20 paralled questions was given to 37 middle school students. The results of this study displayed where the differences are in respect to what the students think of the researcher's classroom versus that of the school. Six of the 20 paralled questions were found to be statistically significant: safety of the class vs. safety of the school, looking forward to class vs. looking forward to coming to school, and teacher fairness vs. all teachers treating the student fairly.