Behavioral Norms and School Climate Questionnaire

Abstract

Socio-psychological characteristics of the school environment are a significant factor in the formation of students’ values, behavioral patterns, ways of relationships constructing, as well as expectations from the future. The paper describes the process of developing and validating the Behavioral Norms and School Climate Questionnaire, which allows to assess the subjectively perceived quality of the school environment from the perspective of students’ psychological safety and well-being. The questionnaire differs from the other resembling tools primarily by its creating procedure: the expertise of practicing psychologists working with teenagers in Russian schools was the basis for its development. The questionnaire includes 22 items that make up three scales: “Deviant Behavior”, “School Well-being” and “Subjective Unsafety”. The sample included 4,776 respondents. The survey involved schoolchildren aged 9 to 18 from more than 35 regions of Russia. Confirmatory factor analysis and convergent validity analysis have shown that the questionnaire has a three-factor structure and is characterized by reliability and validity, allowing it to be used for research in the field of educational psychology. It can be used in screening studies to assess the school climate and the subjective well-being of schoolchildren. Also, this tool can be used in the designing of preventive programs and interventions aimed at reducing anxiety and aggressive behavior and improving the quality of relationships within the school community, and to assess the effectiveness of the impact. The questionnaire is characterized by conciseness and ease of use. It expands the possibilities of studying the contribution of the school climate to the effectiveness of the educational process and the students’ social adjustment in the educational environment.