Conceptualizes and develops the OCDQ-RM, a measure of middle schools' organizational climate. Generates a typology of school climates based on openness and tests the relationship between openness and authenticity in teacher and principal behavior. Finds that openness in the school climate is related to authenticity in both teacher and principal…

A parsimonious measure of organizational climate of high schools is developed and tested in this research. The Organizational Climate Index (OCI) captures open and healthy dimensions of high school climates at the student, teacher, principal, and community levels. Next the relationship between the climate of schools and faculty trust is examined…

The concept of "organizational climate" is described briefly in this article; the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (the most well-known conceptualization and measure of elementary school climate) is evaluated; and the successful refinement and empirical testing of a revised, more parsimonious questionnaire, are discussed.…

Uses health and openness metaphors to develop measures of organizational climate in a study of 86 middle schools. In addition to socioeconomic status, other aspects of school climate that significantly influence student achievement in basic skills are environmental press, collegial leadership, teacher professionalism, and academic press. Moreover,…

This book offers hands-on suggestions for administrators who want to assess their schools' health. The goal is to improve middle schools by making sure the culture is right for all groups--students, teachers, and staff. Chapter 1, "Climate, Culture, and Quality," distinguishes between the concepts of organizational culture and climate, formulates…

Although researchers and reformers consider school climate an important aspect of effective schools, the concept is difficult to measure. This paper uses a health metaphor to conceptualize and measure school climate. It examines relationships between school health and student achievement in a sample of New Jersey middle schools. Organizational…

The theory-driven Organizational Health Inventory was compared to the empirically derived Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire in predicting student achievement and teachers' commitment to the school. After controlling for the socioeconomic status of the sampled 58 schools, only academic emphasis contributed significantly to student…

Study suggests that one possible way to begin to increase the attractiveness of secondary schools is to open" the climate. (Authors)

The relationship between teacher efficacy and a healthy school climate was examined in a survey of 179 teachers at 37 elementary schools in New Jersey. It was found that a healthy school climate was conducive to the development of teachers' beliefs that they could influence student learning. (MDM)

Describes a conceptual framework to measure various school climate aspects, including institutional integrity, initiating structure, consideration, resource support, principal influence, teacher morale, and academic emphasis. The Organization Health Inventory is a 44-item questionnaire asking educators to describe their behavior along a 4-point…

Three sets of hypotheses served to delineate the focus of this study: (1) the more open the organization climate of the high school, the less custodial the pupil control orientation of the school, (2) the more custodial the pupil control orientation of the school, the greater the total alienation of the students, and (3) the more open the…

Purpose: The aim of this study was two-fold: to demonstrate a general construct of schools called academic optimism and to show it was related to student achievement in urban elementary schools, even controlling for socioeconomic factors, and school size. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 99 urban elementary schools in Texas…

Examines importance of a school climate characterized by high levels of academic emphasis. Drawing on effective-schools research and social-cognitive theory, uses hierarchical linear modeling to show that academic emphasis accounts for differences among urban elementary schools in student math and reading achievement. (Contains 48 references.)…

This study is an analysis of the nature and meaning of bullying in schools. First, the literature on student bullying is reviewed and a definition of bullying is proposed. Next, we developed a set of items to operationalize teacher perceptions of student bullying. An initial, exploratory factor analysis suggested two rather distinct aspects of…