Effects of Empathic Classroom Atmosphere and Peer Attachment on School Life Quality among High School Students
Abstract
Background. Quality of school life refers to a general sense of student wellbeing, determined strictly by school-related factors and educational experiences resulting from pupils' involvement in school life and their engagement in school climate (Karatzias, Power, & Swanson, 2001). As cited by Johnson and Johnson (1993), thinking positively about school, class work, and teachers is important for students' general mental health and may enhance other school-related behaviors and learning. Jaavall (2007) found that students' relation to the teachers most contributes to their quality of school life and, the devotion of the teachers and the caring interaction between teacher and student are perceived by them to be essential. According to Booker (2004), when students experience positive and encouraging interactions with peers and teachers, they report higher levels of belongingness to the school community. A literature review shown that, despite of the close relationship between the perceived quality of school life and empathic behaviors of teachers and, peer attachment of the students, there is no study in which these three variables taken into account all together for high school students. However, Bilgiç (2009) who investigated these three variables in elementary school level found that there are significant relationships between the perception of school life quality and variables of attachment to friends and empathic classroom atmosphere. Purpose. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the quality of school life, empathic classroom atmosphere and the peer attachment among high school students. Method. The sample of the study consisted of ninth-, tenth-, and eleventhgrade high school students. The participant of the study included 281 students (123 female and 158 male). In terms of grades, 95 (33.8%) of the students were at ninth grade, 101 (35.9%) of them were at tenth grade, and 85 (30.2%) of them were at eleventh grade. The Quality of High School Life Scale (QHSLS), Perceived Intra-Classroom Empathic Atmosphere Scale (IEAS) and The Inventory of Peer Attachment (IPA) were used as data collection tools. To analyze the gathered data, descriptive statistics were investigated, and independent samples t-test, one way analysis of variance, and regression analysis were performed. Findings. Results showed that while the perceived quality of school life and emphatic classroom atmosphere of the students were around the average points of the scales; students' peer attachment levels were relatively high. While no significant difference found between QHSLS and IEAS scores of the students in terms of gender; there were significant differences in terms of grade level. It is also found that there were significant correlations between QHSLS, IEAS and IPA scores of the students. According to the results of the regression analysis, IEAS and IPA scores predicted significantly the scores gathered from the QHSLS, and these two variables together account for 27.5% of the total variance. Conclusions. Based on the results, it can be said that there is a close relationship between the perceived quality of school life, perceived intraclassroom emphatic atmosphere and peer attachment of high school students. Therefore, it is clear that every kind of study and activity aimed to promote students' perceived emphatic classroom atmosphere and peer attachment will promote students' perceived quality of school life.It is also clear that the number of studies and efforts aimed to develop the teachers' emphatic behaviors, students' peer attachment and the quality of school life should be increased. It is suggested that in-service educational programs about interpersonal relationships should be developed and administered especially for teachers and administrators who are working with adolescent students in high schools. In addition, students who have communication problems with their peers and teachers should be determined by the teachers and guidance services in the school and some precautions should be taken to increase positive attitudes of these students toward school.
Keywords
Empatik Sınıf Atmosferi ve Arkadaşlara Bağlılık Düzeyinin Lise Öğrencilerinin Okul Yaşam Kalitesine Etkisi
Öz
Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, lise öğrencilerinde okul yaşam kalitesi, empatik sınıf atmosferi algısı ve arkadaşlara bağlılık düzeyinin incelenmesidir. Araştırmanın örneklemi, 281 dokuzuncu, onuncu ve on birinci sınıf öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Lise Yaşam Kalitesi Ölçeği (LİSEYKÖ), Empatik Sınıf Atmosferi Tutum Ölçeği (ESATÖ) ve Arkadaş Bağlılık Ölçeği (ABÖ) kullanılarak toplanan verilerin çözümlenmesinde betimsel istatistikler incelenmiş, ayrıca bağımsız gruplar t testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi ve çoklu regresyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Ulaşılan bulgulara göre, öğrencilerin okul yaşam kalitesi ve empatik sınıf atmosferi algıları orta düzeydedir. Öğrencilerin ABÖ puanları ise LİSEYKÖ ve ESATÖ puanlarından yüksektir. Öğrencilerin LİSEYKÖ ve ESATÖ puanları arasında cinsiyete ve okulun sosyo-ekonomik düzeyine göre anlamlı bir fark bulunmazken, sınıf düzeyine göre puanlar arasında anlamlı farklar bulunmuştur. Öğrencilerin LİSEYKÖ, ESATÖ ve ABÖ puanları arasında anlamlı ilişkiler bulunmuştur. Yapılan regresyon analizi sonuçlarına göre, ESATÖ ve ABÖ puanları LİSEYKÖ puanlarının anlamlı bir şekilde yordamakta ve bu iki değişken birlikte, LİSEYKÖ puanlarında gözlenen toplam varyansın %27.5'ini açıklamaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
