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The purpose of this study was to modify and validate a new form of the Colleges and Universities Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI), and to then use it to compare students' actual and preferred perceptions of their classroom learning environments at the senior and tertiary levels of education. The study also examined the attitudes of 504 students towards their science courses. The reliabilities of the modified CUCEI scales were satisfactory. Sizeable relationships were found between students' perceptions of their learning environment and attitudinal outcomes. When the two levels were compared, students at the tertiary level ad a less favorable perception of the learning environment. However, when attitudes were compared students at the tertiary level preferred a more positive attitude in terms of the satisfaction with courses they were taking and the level of difficulty. There was no difference in their attitude to speed delivery of science courses. (Author)

The purposes of this study were to describe the validation of a new instrument, the Teacher Communication Behaviour Questionnaire (TCBQ) and to show its use in assessing students' perceptions of their interactions with their teachers by focusing on their teachers' communicating behaviors. Participants were 1,202 students in grades 7 through 9 from 30 science classes in Taiwan. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in the development and validation process, and the questionnaire was then used to study the teachers' behaviors and their associations with students' perceptions and attitudes toward science and science academic achievement. Results show that all five scales of the TCBQ have satisfactory internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and factor validity. There were strong associations between the scales of the instrument and students' attitudes toward science. Two of the scales were associated with cognitive achievement. This instrument adds to research on teacher-student interactions by focusing on the use of challenging questioning to promote students' creative thinking ability and the use of verbal and nonverbal feedback to enhance students' attitude toward science and their academic achievement outcomes. (Contains 5 tables and 22 references.) (SLD)

This paper reports on research conducted to determine whether science curriculum reform efforts in Korea have had a positive effect on the classroom learning environment from a constructivist point of view. The Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) was administered to 1083 students and 24 science teachers in 12 different schools. One class of grade 10 students and one class of grade 11 students were sampled at each school. Results indicate that grade 10 students held more positive perceptions of their learning environment in a general science class, which was designed so that students would learn about and understand basic science concepts through inquiry and negotiation, than did grade 11 students who studied an academic-centered science curriculum. Three other achievements were reported: a Korean-language version of the CLES was developed and found to be reliable and valid; there were statistically significant relationships between classroom environment and student attitudes; and there were differences between student perceptions of actual and preferred environment in that students tended to prefer a more positive environment than what was perceived to be present. Contains 36 references. (WRM)

The purpose of this study was to use secondary analysis of a database known as the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to examine the differences in a student's opportunity to learn mathematics and science and the differences in classroom teaching practices and delivery of the curriculum, and to investigate those variables associated with gender and socioeconomic equity in a student's mathematics and science achievement. The aim was to investigate mathematics and science achievement of 13-year-old students from four countries who participated in the TIMSS study--Australia, Canada, England and the United States--and to identify those aspects and practices of the educational systems in those countries that successfully promote student mathematics and science learning. Those factors associated with gender differences and socioeconomic differences were investigated using a multilevel model of analysis--that is, the random gender slope and the random socioeconomic status slope were both fully investigated. In order to achieve this goal, the TIMSS data were used and this study included the Australian, Canadian, English and U.S. TIMSS data. The usefulness of this research for enhancing the scientific and technological skills of a country is established both in terms of the quality and the uniqueness of the data, the untapped potential of the data bases, advanced statistical techniques, previous research experience, availability of expert advice and resources, the identification of gender and socioeconomic issues and the problem of lack of equity in mathematics and science achievement. Contains 47 references. (Author/WRM)

The purpose of this study was to describe the validation of a new instrument called the Teacher Communication Behavior Questionnaire (TCBQ). This instrument is meant for use in assessing students' perceptions of their interactions with their teacher by focusing on their teachers' communicating behaviors. The study described in this paper occurred in secondary science classrooms in Taiwan. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in the development and validation processes of the TCBQ. The questionnaire was then used to investigate Taiwanese secondary science teachers' behaviors and their associations with students' perceptions and attitudes toward science and science academic achievement. Results indicate that all five scales of the TCBQ were found to display satisfactory internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and factor validity. There were strong associations between the scales of the instrument and students' attitudes about science, and two of the scales were associated with cognitive achievement. This instrument has added an additional aspect to research on teacher-student interactions by focusing on the use of verbal and non-verbal feedback to enhance students' attitudes toward science and their academic achievement outcomes. Contains 22 references. (Author/WRM)

This study reports the first use of classroom learning environment questionnaires involving students in senior high school environmental science classes. The three objectives of the study were to measure students' perceptions of aspects of their learning environment in environmental science classrooms by means of the Environmental Science Learning Environment Inventory (ESLEI), to investigate associations between students' perceptions of their classroom learning environment and students' attitudinal outcomes, and to investigate differences in student perceptions based on the students' gender and whether they were studying another science course. Results indicate that of the five aspects of environmental science students' learning environments measured in this study, student cohesion, involvement, and task orientation were found to be the most strongly associated with positive attitudinal outcomes. Contains 35 references. (DDR)

A cross-national study of learning environments in Taiwan and Australia is one example of research that employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. This paper describes the part of that study related to the development and validation of an instrument called the Teacher Student Interaction (TSI) which assess student perceptions of teacher behavior. After using the questionnaire with groups of students, the data were quantitatively analyzed, the questionnaire validated, and quantitative descriptions of teacher behavior obtained. To further validate the questionnaire and understand the teacher interactions according to the perceptions of students, a qualitative approach was used. Students were interviewed and the researchers visited and observed in science classrooms. (DDR)

This paper examines relationships between teachers and students. Data was gathered through administration of the 48-item version of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI). At least 20 secondary science classes in three countries responded to the QTI indicating their perceptions of their science teachers' interpersonal behavior. Cross validation data is provided on the use of the QTI in the United States, Singapore, and Australia. Comparisons are made between the students' perceptions in each country. (Contains 25 references.) (DDR)

The purpose of this study was to determine associations between science and mathematics students' perceptions of their classroom learning environments, the cultural backgrounds and gender of students, and their attitudinal and achievement outcomes. The subjects were 3,994 students from 182 secondary school science and mathematics classes in 35 coeducational schools in Western Australia and Tasmania. The students completed a survey including the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), an attitude to class scale, and questions relating to cultural background. Statistical analyses have confirmed the reliability and validity of the QTI for secondary school science and mathematics students. Generally, the dimensions of the QTI were found to be significantly associated with student attitude scores. In particular, students' attitude scores were higher in classrooms in which students perceived greater leadership, helping/friendly, and understanding behaviors in their teachers. Females perceived their teachers in a more positive way than did males, and students from an Asian background tended to perceive their teachers more positively than those from the other cultural groups used in the study. (Contains 24 references). (Author/SPM)

A study was conducted to develop and validate an instrument to assess students' culturally sensitive environments, and to examine associations between these factors and students' attitudes. A measure of students' environment, namely the Cultural Learning Environment Questionnaire (CLEQ), was developed. The instrument was influenced by the four dimensions of culture defined by G. Hofstede (power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity/femininity) and contained eight scales. Using a sample of over 3,000 secondary students, the reliabilities of the CLEQ scales ranged from 0.69 to 0.86 and showed acceptable discrimination between the scales. The mean correlation between scales ranged from 0.04 to 0.23. Reporting the class or school mean did not appear meaningful, since the instrument was designed to measure students' personal cultural environment. An examination of the diversity of cultural environments in each classroom was indicated by examining the standard deviations of each scale for different classrooms. Relationships among students' cultural environment and attitudes were examined. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/SLD)

The development and validation of a new instrument, the School-Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ), are described. The SLEQ measures teachers' perceptions of psychosocial dimensions of the environment of the school. The SLEQ consists of 56 items, each scored on a five-point scale, and grouped in eight scales: (1) student support; (2) affiliation; (3) professional interest; (4) staff freedom; (5) participatory decision making; (6) innovation; (7) resource adequacy; and (8) work pressure. The SLEQ was validated with three samples from Australian schools: 83 teachers from 19 metropolitan elementary and secondary schools in Sydney; 34 secondary school beginning teachers in New South Wales; and 109 elementary and secondary teachers in Tasmania. Results indicate that each SLEQ scale displayed satisfactory internal consistency with satisfactory discriminant validity results, suggesting that distinct, but somewhat overlapping, aspects of school environment were measured. The SLEQ was used, in the Tasmanian sample, to determine differences in the climates of elementary and secondary schools. It was also used to evaluate teachers' efforts to improve school environment in a study of 15 elementary teachers in a pretest/posttest evaluation of improvement efforts. Four tables and two graphs present data from these studies; an appendix provides the SLEQ. A 33-item list of references is included. (SLD)

Relationships between student affective and cognitive learning outcomes and their perceptions of classroom environment as measured by the Classroom Environment Scale (CES) were investigated for a sample of 1,083 students in 116 science classrooms. It was found that CES scales displayed satisfactory internal consistency and discriminant validity, and that each CES scale differentiated significantly between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. Six different statistical analyses (simple correlation, multiple correlation, and canonical correlation analysis conducted separately for raw posttest scores and residual posttest scores adjusted for corresponding pretest and general ability) were used to investigate environment-outcome relationships. The results of these different analyses taken together confirmed the existence of sizable and statistically significant associations between student learning outcomes and their classroom environment perceptions as measured by the CES. In particular, greater levels of classroom Order and Organizations were linked with greater student achievement of several outcomes. (Author)

This study reports on the development and validation of a questionnaire to assess student perceptions of the teacher-student interaction in Taiwan and Australia. The questionnaire is part of a cross-national study of science classroom environments in Taiwan and Australia. The questionnaire contains five domains: (1) higher-order questioning behavior; (2) encouragement and praise behavior; (3) non-verbal supportive behavior; (4) understanding and friendly behavior; and (5) strict behavior. The development process included the translation of the Chinese version into English, the back translation of the English version into Chinese again by people not involved in the original translation, and subsequent changes to wording where necessary. Following the translation, a pilot study was conducted in both countries which included interviews with students about their comprehension and interpretation of individual items in the questionnaire. Refinements were made to the questionnaire based on statistical analyses the interviews. Administration of the questionnaire to a total of 100 grade 7-9 science classes (N=2,397) from both Taiwan and Australia supported each scale's internal consistency, reliability, and validity. Contains 11 references. (Author/JRH)

Evaluated first use of a classroom environment instrument in a Year 1 class. Students responded to both the actual and preferred forms of the inventory. The teacher then implemented selected strategies in a practical attempt to improve the classroom environment in ways preferred by the students. Follow-up assessment indicated that the environment was changed in the desired direction. (AA)