A study of the perceptions of teachers and students on indicators of school climate in selected middle schools in the Atlanta metropolitan school systems; implications for school administration, 1996

The purpose of this study was to see how indicators identified in the literature to be measures of school climate are perceived by teachers and students and to determine what differences exist between their perceptions. Selected indicators in this study were (1) principal's leadership style, (2) decision-making structure, (3) teacher-student relationship, (4) morale, (5) academic involvement, (6) physical environment, and (7) school safety. The sample in this study was comprised of 261 teachers and 188 students from middle schools in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, school systems. School systems were Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton County Schools, Cobb County Schools, Gwinnett County Schools, and Henry County Schools. A descriptive survey developed and validated by the researcher was used to generate data which were collected through the use of a 44-item questionnaire. The survey was rated on a four-point Likert-type scale from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. Data were collected and analyzed to give responses to ten hypotheses. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. Data were tested for significant differences at the .01 and .05 levels. Overall, principal's leadership style emerged as the best indicator of school climate. The next best indicator was teacher-student relationship. Physical environment, morale, academic involvement, school safety, and decision-making structure followed as indicators of school climate