A study of the relationship between perceived school culture and reading academic achievement in the special education subgroup at selected West Virginia middle schools.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if a relationship existed between school culture as perceived by teachers and administrators and reading academic achievement in the special education subgroup reading achievement as measured by the 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006- 07, and 2007-08 West Virginia Educational Standards Test (WESTEST) in selected West Virginia middle schools. To determine if a relationship existed, teachers and principals at participating middle schools took the School Culture Survey (SCS). One conclusion of this study was that the school culture of the four participating West Virginia middle schools as perceived by teachers and principals was primarily about the presence of Unity of Purpose. Additionally, as a total group teachers and principals demonstrated a high level of agreement in their perceptions of each the six factors of school culture being present. There were also similarities in the perceptions between teachers and principals when separated in groups regarding each of the six factors of school culture measured. Finally, there was suggestive evidence that reading achievement in the special education subgroup may be related to a school culture that is perceived to contain each of the six factors measured