Brief Description

This is a questionnaire addressed to students, parents, and school staff. It includes 42 closed-ended questions that assess the sense of school community and the extent to which the school functions as a caring community that nurtures its members. The questions explore five dimensions: students’ perception of care within the school, students’ perception of the quality of their relationships with school staff and peers, students’ perception of being a meaningful part of the community, students’ perception of the support and care provided, and students’ perception of the moral and social responsibility of school community members.

Purpose

The aim of the questionnaire is to evaluate the perceptions of all members of the school community—students, teachers, and parents—regarding the degree to which the school operates as a caring community.

Scoring Method

Scoring is based on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). Individual indicators are calculated as the mean of responses for each factor, along with an overall care index for the school community.

Validity

The tool was adapted into the Greek language through a process of double translation and back-translation. A pilot study followed, along with statistical verification of the factorial structure using factor analysis, which confirmed the validity of the five theoretical factors.

Reliability

Reliability indices (Cronbach’s alpha) for the full scale and individual factors range from 0.66 to 0.87 for students, staff, and parents. The reliability values for each subscale generally exceed 0.70, indicating a high level of internal consistency.

Data Analysis and Use

The data can be analyzed using descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations, correlational analyses, and factor analysis, depending on the purpose of the research. The indicators may be used to assess the school community climate and to implement targeted interventions aimed at enhancing the caring environment within the school.

References

Dimitropoulou, P. (2008). Development of internal motivation, degree of autonomy, and cultivation of educational goals.
Lampropoulou, A. (2008). Adolescents’ subjective sense of well-being.
Lickona, T., & Davidson, M. (2001). School as a Caring Community Profile (SCCP-II). Cortland, NY: Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, State University of New York at Cortland.
Lee Che-Ming, A. (2005). Teacher’s moral development and their perceptions of school environment.
Dimitropoulou, P. (2007, November 2–3). Adolescent students with or without learning disabilities: Perceptions related to parents’ motivation and patterns of behavior and learning in the school environment.