Middle School Attitude Inventory

Abstract

The Middle School Attitude Inventory (MSAI) is a 30-item component of the larger Middle School Questionnaire (MSQ) developed by Gillan (1978). Its primary function is to assess teachers’ attitudes toward the specific organizational structure, philosophy, and pedagogical practices associated with the middle school concept. The MSAI utilizes a five-point Likert scale to measure the affective domain of educators regarding this educational model. The MSQ suite, which includes the MSAI, was constructed through extensive collaboration with educational stakeholders and rigorous pilot testing.

Keywords

Middle school, teacher attitudes, educational measurement, scale, intermediate grades, professional development, Likert scale.

Authors

R. E. Gillan

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Middle School Attitude Inventory is to quantitatively measure the degree of acceptance or rejection that educators hold regarding the implementation and principles of the middle school organizational model. The inventory was created specifically to identify potential differences in attitudes among various teaching populations, such as certified middle school teachers compared to teachers certified at different educational levels.

This measurement tool helps school administrators and university faculty understand the level of professional preparation, philosophical alignment, and potential resistance necessary for the successful transition to, or implementation of, the middle school structure.

Construct

The MSAI measures the construct of attitude toward the middle school concept. This construct is multidimensional, encompassing beliefs about various aspects critical to middle-level education. These dimensions include curriculum design (e.g., academic exploration versus subject concentration), administrative structure (e.g., flexible scheduling, grade organization), student development (e.g., transition from childhood to adolescence, developmental similarities), and professional requirements (e.g., specialized teacher training, the teacher’s role as a guidance counselor).

The 30 bipolar statements that comprise the inventory reflect key philosophical debates and operational principles prevalent in middle-level education during the time of the instrument’s development.

Validity

Validity efforts focused heavily on content validation during the scale construction phase. The development involved systematic meetings with key educational stakeholders, including school administrators, experienced middle school teachers, and university faculty specializing in middle school education. This comprehensive review and consultation process ensured that the items accurately reflected the prevailing literature and practical realities of the middle school philosophy.

Furthermore, college faculty were directly involved in the process of reviewing and validating the initial pool of potential items before the pilot study commenced, lending expert consensus to the relevance and scope of the instrument’s content.

Reliability

Specific psychometric indices of reliability, such as internal consistency coefficients (e.g., Cronbach’s Alpha) or test-retest reliability, were not explicitly detailed in the provided source summary (Gillan, 1978). However, the rigorous item refinement process employed suggests an emphasis on creating a methodologically sound instrument.

The initial pilot study, conducted on 30 middle school teachers, involved selecting items based on strong agreement or disagreement from an initial pool of 60 items. Based on the results of group consensus, formalized through the Delphi technique, 30 highly refined bipolar statements were ultimately developed for the final inventory.

Factor Analysis

Formal exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis was not explicitly reported as part of the initial validation effort. The primary analytical focus during the field study was comparative group analysis rather than the discovery of internal factor structure.

The data analysis indicated that the scale was sensitive enough to detect significant differences in attitudes between the two compared groups (certified middle school teachers and other certified teachers). Significant differences were identified across four unspecified domains, suggesting that the instrument effectively measures multiple facets or sub-components of attitude toward the middle school concept.

Instrument

Test Type: Attitude Inventory / Educational Survey

Format: 30-item self-report questionnaire utilizing a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (Original publication language).

Population Group: Educators (Teachers and school personnel).

Age Group: Adults (Professional educators).

Population Details: The field study included 45 certified middle school teachers and 45 teachers who were certified at a different school level, for a total sample size of 90 participants.

Test Methodology: Scale development utilized literature review, expert consultation, a pilot study, and the Delphi technique for generating consensus-driven bipolar statements.

Data Analysis and Scoring

Data analysis utilized comparative statistical methods to determine attitudinal differences among teacher groups. Specifically, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the Middle School Attitude Inventory scores to identify whether significant differences existed between certified middle school teachers and teachers certified at other school levels.

The MSAI employs a five-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. Scoring is bipolar: a “right” response (one philosophically aligned with the middle school concept) receives a value of plus one (+1), while a “wrong” response receives a value of minus one (-1). The companion instrument, the Middle School Concept List, was analyzed using Chi-square analysis, where respondents selected 10 concepts deemed most important to a middle school program.

Keywords

Attitudes, middle school concept, teacher training, educational research, Likert method, Delphi method, intermediate education.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The instrument was developed by R. E. Gillan in 1978. The study was published as part of the ERIC document system (ED 160 617), suggesting public accessibility for research purposes, although specific commercial usage permissions and fees are not detailed here. The original PDF can be downloaded here: ERIC ED 160 617.

Reference’s

• Gillan, R. E. (1978). The Middle School Questionnaire. ERIC ED 160 617.

Items of the Middle School Attitude Inventory

1. The development of the middle school has given improved status to intermediate grade education.

2. A competitive atmosphere in the academic program as well as co-curricular activities will best prepare the student for real life.

3. The middle school teacher is responsible for the establishment of an effective learning environment and the student for learning.

4. The middle school provides an environment which specializes in helping the student make a smooth transition from childhood to adolescence.

5. Flexible scheduling provides for efficient use of teacher time and permits more effective instructional planning.

6. The middle school facilitates the reorganization of teacher education to provide three areas of specialized training (elementary, middle, and secondary).

7. Present undergraduate education programs adequately prepare both elementary and secondary teachers for the middle school.

8. In the middle school organization it is probably best that the lower grades (5 and 6) remain as self-contained classes.

9. The effective teacher must be able to anticipate change and adjust to changing situation, and to help the student do the same.

10. Since children in grades 6–9 are undergoing common experiences, little developmental difference is noted.

11. The middle school program stresses academic exploration as opposed to subject centered concentration.

12. The diagnosing and prescription for individual learning problems can best be accomplished through formal evaluation by the counselor or a testing team.

13. The middle school allows the student to begin studying academically challenging subjects under a subject specialist at a younger age.

14. The academic program of the middle school should emphasize how to learn through student exploration.

15. The six-period day should be introduced by grade 7 in order to prepare the students for the Carnegie Unit in high school.

16. Individual reading skills can be best developed by a separate middle school course in reading and spelling.

17. The nature of the middle school program requires that each teacher also function as a guidance counselor.

18. The middle school should place emphasis on student self direction and learner independence through joint student teacher planning.

19. The academic purpose of the middle school is to provide the student with a strong background for high school studies in the four basic academic disciplines.

20. The teacher should help the student develop a learning sequence appropriate to his level based on formal and informal diagnosis of ability and achievement.

21. The only difference between a middle school and a junior high school is the grade organization.

22. Future education (education for change) should be confined to high school grades as most preadolescence have not developed the conceptual processes such education requires.

23. Developmentally, children in grades 6–8 are probably more alike than children in grades 7–9.

24. Since most elementary and secondary teacher training programs overlap at the middle school grades, there is little need for a special program at this level.

25. The middle school facilitates the introduction in grades 5 and 6 of some specialization and team teaching in staff patterns.

26. Content area reading instruction should be a primary responsibility of each middle school teacher.

27. One of the most serious problems of the middle school program is the lack of teachers trained specifically for the middle school.

28. The mastery of concepts and skills in the four basic academic disciplines should be the primary goal of the middle school program.

29. Guidance and counseling in the middle school program should be practiced by and limited to those professionally prepared and certified in the field.

30. The middle school program should strive to lessen competition in all phases of the student’s life.