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Multilevel Factor Structure and Concurrent Validity of the Teacher Version of the Authoritative School Climate Survey
Author(s) -
Huang Francis L.,
Cornell Dewey G.,
Konold Timothy,
Meyer Joseph P.,
Lacey Anna,
Nekvasil Erin K.,
Heilbrun Anna,
Shukla Kathan D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12340
Subject(s) - concurrent validity , psychology , test validity , mathematics education , applied psychology , psychometrics , developmental psychology , internal consistency
BACKGROUND School climate is well recognized as an important influence on student behavior and adjustment to school, but there is a need for theory‐guided measures that make use of teacher perspectives. Authoritative school climate theory hypothesizes that a positive school climate is characterized by high levels of disciplinary structure and student support. METHODS A teacher version of the Authoritative School Climate Survey ( ASCS ) was administered to a statewide sample of 9099 7th‐ and 8th‐grade teachers from 366 schools. The study used exploratory and multilevel confirmatory factor analyses ( MCFA ) that accounted for the nested data structure and allowed for the modeling of the factor structures at 2 levels. RESULTS Multilevel confirmatory factor analyses conducted on both an exploratory (N = 4422) and a confirmatory sample (N = 4677) showed good support for the factor structures investigated. Factor correlations at 2 levels indicated that schools with greater levels of disciplinary structure and student support had higher student engagement, less teasing and bullying, and lower student aggression toward teachers. CONCLUSIONS The teacher version of the ASCS can be used to assess 2 key domains of school climate and associated measures of student engagement and aggression toward peers and teachers.