STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL CLIMATE IN A BERMUDA MIDDLE

SCHOOL: A PROGRAM EVALUATION STUDY

A dissertation submitted
by
Stephanie Guthman
to
FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
This dissertation has been accepted for
the faculty of Fielding Graduate University by
Marie P. Farrell, EdD, MPH
Committee Chair
Committee:
Leonard Baca, EdD., Faculty Reader
Debra Bendell Estroff, PhD., Faculty Reader
Cheryl Nance, N.M., Student Reader
Edward Joyner, EdD., External Examiner p1

UMI Number: 3376886

Copyright 2009 by
Guthman, Stephanie
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p2

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL CLIMATE IN A BERMUDA MIDDLE SCHOOL:

A PROGRAM EVALUATION STUDY
by
Stephanie Guthman
Abstract
The purpose of this program evaluation study was to examine the impact of a year-long
broad-based intervention program aimed at making positive changes in school climate for
students in one Bermuda middle school. The conceptual framework guiding this study was
based, in part, on the Comer model of school improvement. General school climate is defined
as
the sum total of the physical and psychosocial dimensions of the school context. This includes
the quality and character of the school life and the environment that influences attitudes of
and
interactions between staff, students, and parents. The study used a quasi-experimental, one
group, pretest/posttest design with all 185 middle school student volunteers in attendance
during
the time period in which the intervention was implemented. The primary dependent variables
for
this study were scores from the Yale School Climate Survey, namely, fairness, order and
discipline, parent involvement, sharing of resources, student interpersonal relations,
studentteacher
relations, and total school climate. Demographic variables included gender,
race/ethnicity, age, grade, and school year. To test the null and alternate hypotheses, two-way
Pearson's correlations and one-way ANOVA tests were used. Tests did not support the
research
hypotheses and the study concluded that there was no significant positive effect of the yearlong
intervention program by The Family Centre on the students' perception of the overall school
climate.
p3

Keywords - Bermuda, Middle School, School Climate, Student Perception

Copyright by
STEPHANIE GUTHMAN
2009
IV

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