School Climate Perceptions among Different Stakeholders

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

School climate is a widely-researched topic. However, most researches available have been limited to the perceptions of just the teachers and students. Since school climate covers the perceptions of different stakeholders, wider scope, especially in terms of the respondents, should be addressed in order to get a more accurate and clearer view of the climate in a given school. In addition, most of the researches about school climate were done abroad, very few have been conducted in the Philippines, where we, in fact, pride ourselves in supporting the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development since 2005-2014 and the ASEAN Environmental Education Action Plan in 2014-2018.

METHODS

This study used quantitative research design using case study approach. The study was conducted in a small public elementary school in the Division of Cavite from January to May 2016 among the following respondents namely: (1) teachers, (2) pupils, (3) parents, (4) school principal, and (5) non-teaching personnel. The questionnaire included the 3 dimensions of school climate namely physical, social and academic dimensions. One-way Analysis of Variance and Tukey-Kramer Multiple Comparison Test were used to determine if there is any significant difference between and among means.

RESULTS

Results showed that the school principal and theteachers had the highest perceptions of the school physical climate, while the non-teaching personnel got the lowest. The parents and pupils obtained similar perceptions. In terms of the social and academic climates, as well as the over-all school climate perceptions, the school principal obtained the highest mean score, while the non-teaching personnel got the lowest. The mean scores obtained from the school principal and the non-teaching personnel in these areas were significantly different from the mean scores obtained from the teachers, pupils, and parents.

DISCUSSIONS

This study suggested that there might be differences among the perceptions of school stakeholders, particularly among the (1) principal, (2) non-teaching personnel, and the (3) teachers, pupils, and parents. Although differences in perceptions were part of the diversity in organizations, the study proposed that the stakeholders must open with these differences, discuss them formally, and use them in improving the overall climate “”physical, social, and academic dimensions“”of the school.