classroom climate questionnaire

Abstract

The Classroom Climate Questionnaire (CCQ) is a psychometric instrument comprising 46 items designed to measure the quality of the teaching and learning environment, or Classroom Climate (Unterrichtsklima), from the perspective of the educator. The development of the questionnaire was fundamentally based on the concept of Subjective Theories of Teachers, aiming to understand how these personal beliefs influence classroom management and student interactions. The CCQ evaluates five distinct, critical dimensions of the classroom dynamic.

These five dimensions are: (1) Social relations between students, (2) Aggression directed towards the teacher, (3) Cooperation with the teacher, (4) Disciplinary violations, and (5) Emotionality. The instrument is a validated measure developed in German, demonstrating high internal consistency for most subscales (ranging from .69 to .94).

Keywords

Classroom Climate, Unterrichtsklima, Social relations, Aggression, Cooperation, Disciplinary violations, Emotionality, Teacher Perception, Subjective Theories of Teachers, Educational Psychology

Authors

Dann, Hans-Dietrich, Humpert, Wolfgang, Krause, K., Obrich, J., Tennstädt, K.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Classroom Climate Questionnaire (CCQ) was established within the framework of the research project “Aggression in der Schule” (Aggression in Schools). The instrument was created to investigate the interplay between teacher cognition and behavior in the classroom setting.

Specifically, the CCQ sought to determine the conditions under which the Subjective Theories of Teachers influence the behavior of educators, particularly Hauptschule (secondary school) teachers, when faced with aggressive or disruptive actions in the classroom. Furthermore, the scale aimed to assess the reciprocal effects that differing subjective theories held by the teacher have on overall student behavior and the resulting classroom atmosphere.

Construct

The central psychological construct measured by this instrument is the Classroom Climate (Unterrichtsklima). This construct is operationalized through the teacher’s perception of five critical sub-dimensions of the classroom environment, which together define the overall quality of instruction and interaction.

The five measured subscales are:

• Social Relations between Students: Assessing the level of peer support, camaraderie, and lack of hostility among students.
• Aggression Against the Teacher: Measuring the frequency and intensity of maliciousness, insults, provocation, and potential violence directed from students toward the teacher.
• Cooperation with the Teacher: Evaluating student engagement, willingness to participate, and the quality of the personal relationship and rapport between the teacher and the students.
• Disciplinary Violations: Quantifying the prevalence of disruptive behavior, lack of concentration, and general maintenance of order within the classroom.
• Emotionality: Capturing the general affective tone of the class, including humor, enthusiasm, and the open expression of feelings.

Validity

The original documentation indicates that formal evidence or explicit reports concerning the validity of the scale are lacking. However, the researchers interpreted the numerical magnitude and directional signs (positive/negative) of the intercorrelation coefficients among the five subscales as providing preliminary indications of Criterion Validity.

The intercorrelation matrix for the five scales (N=400) revealed expected relationships, such as a strong negative correlation between “Social Relations of Students” and “Disciplinary Violations” (-.79), and a strong positive correlation between “Social Relations of Students” and “Cooperation with Teacher” (.75), suggesting that the subscales measure distinct yet theoretically related components of the classroom environment.

Reliability

The internal consistency (reliability) of the subscales was calculated using the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20). The coefficients demonstrate robust internal consistency for the majority of the subscales, ranging from acceptable to excellent levels.

• Social Relations between Students: .94
• Aggression Against the Teacher: .87
• Cooperation with the Teacher: .90
• Disciplinary Violations: .94
• Emotionality: .69

The lowest reliability coefficient (.69) was observed for the “Emotionality” subscale, while the other four dimensions exhibited very high internal consistency (above .87).

Factor Analysis

Formal factor analytic procedures were not explicitly reported for the Classroom Climate Questionnaire. The theoretical framework guiding the instrument’s development assumed unidimensionality for each of the five subscales.

Instead of factor analysis, the researchers presented the average item-total correlation (Homogeneity) for each subscale as an indicator of homogeneity. These homogeneity indices ranged from .45 (Emotionality) to .79 (Disciplinary Violations), supporting the internal consistency and suggesting that items within each subscale generally measure a single underlying dimension, though this requires further empirical verification.

Instrument

Test Type: Teacher self-report questionnaire (Assessment of perceived classroom environment)

Format: 46 items across five subscales, utilizing a 4-point categorical scale. The response options provided are: 1 = völlig falsch (completely false), 2 = eher falsch (rather false), 3 = eher richtig (rather true), 4 = völlig richtig (completely true).

Language Available: German (deutsch)

Population Group: Teachers (Educators)

Age Group: Not specified (Adult Teachers)

Population Details: The scale development included a pretest sample (N=400) and a main investigation sample (N=1176) consisting of Grundschullehrern (primary school teachers) and Hauptschullehrern (secondary school teachers) located in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Test Methodology: The questionnaire is administered in written format, either individually or in group settings. Respondents are instructed to evaluate the climate of the class where they serve as the main teacher or the class where they teach most frequently. Scoring involves calculating a total score for each of the five subscales by summing the item values, adjusting for both positively and negatively keyed items.

Keywords

Psychological Measurement, Educational Research, Teacher Stress, Student Behavior, School climate, Aggression, Cooperation, Discipline, Emotionality

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Prof. em. Dr. Hans-Dietrich Dann)

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1982

Permissions/Fee: Information regarding permissions and fees is not provided in the source content.

Reference’s

Dann, H.-D., Humpert, W., Krause, K., Obrich, J., & Tennstädt, K. (1982). Subjektive Theorien von Lehrern über Aggression und Störung im Unterricht. Forschungsbericht. Konstanz: Universität Konstanz, Forschungsgruppe Aggression in der Schule.

Fend, H. (1977). Schulklima: Soziale Bedingungen der Lernergebnisse. Beltz Verlag.

Humpert, W., & Hummer, L. (1980). Unterrichtsklima und Lehrerverhalten. Weinheim: Beltz Verlag.

Items of the classroom climate questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Instruktion

Wir bitten Sie, uns einige Fragen in Bezug auf die Klasse zu beantworten, in der Sie gerade Klassenlehrer sind. Falls Sie keine eigene Klasse haben, geben Sie Ihre Beurteilung bitte für diejenige Klasse ab, in der Sie am meisten unterrichten. Wir haben diesen möglichst konkreten Bezug gewählt, da Sie hier den größten Einblick haben und sich auch an alltägliche Ereignisse sicher am besten erinnern können. Uns interessiert speziell, wie Sie die Zusammenarbeit, die Kooperation und die Aggressivität gerade dieser Klasse, die Sie jetzt unterrichten, beurteilen. Bitte denken Sie bei der Beantwortung der Fragen immer daran, dass es hier nur um diese Klasse und um Ihre persönlichen Erfahrungen mit dieser Klasse geht. Kreuzen Sie auch hier jeweils eine der vier Antwortmöglichkeiten an.

Items