Changes in School Climate in a Long-Term Perspective

In a previous report five school climate instruments were explored (1983 and 1985), and four scales were regarded as meaningful climate measures according to suggested criteria. These scales were re-inspected in the present study (1997 and 1998) by analyses of internal consistency, estimates of reliability (unit and aggregated reliability), and stability over time. A modified version of a communication scale was regarded as a meaningful climate measure, whereas two other scales concerning teacher collaboration were assessed more critically. Teachers' orientation to change and work autonomy were not found to be aspects of school climate in the present study, mainly because these scales did not distinguish between schools as required by the applied climate definition. It is suggested, however, that these scales could indicate features of the broader professional teacher community represented by the sample. The results show, in general, that schools have become more similar during the analyzed time period, and, in particular, that teachers have become more oriented to change and more open in their collegial communication.