Some aspects of classroom social climate

Abstract

Many educators assume that positive classroom social climates enhance a pupil's mental health and his academic learning. The warm support, encouragement and respect which pupils show for one another facilitate high self-esteem and utilization of intellectual abilities. The influence which pupils feel they have in relation to peers, or the degree of competence a pupil sees himself as possessing also enhance his feelings about school and involvement in classroom tasks. In short, the relevance of positive classroom social climates for the optimal school adjustment of pupils is now taken for granted by most social psychologists of education.Even with this general agreement about the significance of classroom social climate, few empirical analyses have been made of the characteristics of so-called positive and negative climates. The concept, classroom social climate, is too abstract and vague. The main purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept by delineating some empirical dimensions. This paper also includes some data on the characteristics of teachers with different classroom climates.The sample of classrooms for study was selected from a group of 75 teachers near Ann Arbor, Michigan who volunteered to participate. The selection of teachers from the volunteers was determined by sampling a diverse representation of types of communities (rural, industrial, suburban, and university) and grade levels (fourth through twelfth). As a result, a subject pool comprising 727 pupils was drawn from 27 public school classrooms. The fathers' occupations for the pupils in the sample differed significantly from classroom to classroom, e.g., in one classroom ninety per cent were professional, while in another, ninety-seven per cent were classified as unskilled. The racial composition ranged from predominantly Negro in two classes to all white in others. The data were obtained from questionnaires and group interviews with pupils; and questionnaires and interviews with teachers.3 The first aspect of the classroom social climate analyzed was the peer group. THE CLASSROOM PEER GROUPAmong its many aspects, the social climate of a classroom peer group has a t least two properties, cohesiveness and norms. Cohesiveness has several features such as attractiveness of the classroom group to the pupils, pupil motivation to perform tasks in the context of the group, and the pupils' feelings of security and comfort while interacting with classroom peers. While cohesiveness has to do with the relations with group members, norms refer to shared attitudes about objects and 'This paper is a revised version of a speech given to the colloquium of the School of Education, University of California a t Santa Barbara, January, 1965. The research is part of a program on children, youth, and family life in the Institute for Social Research a t the University of Michigan.

Peer Acceptance in the School Class and Subjective Health Complaints: A Multilevel Approach

“…While a high degree of acceptance at the classroom level may indicate more cooperation, more affiliation and more effort, a low degree of peer acceptance is likely to be accompanied by other negative factors, such as competitiveness, conflict, and social comparisons. Classes with a low degree of acceptance are moreover likely to be characterized by poorer integration and poorer mutual support among the students . This may create a greater tendency for students to experience feelings of social inadequacy.…”

“…Classes with a low degree of acceptance are moreover likely to be characterized by poorer integration and poorer mutual support among the students. 17 This may create a greater tendency for students to experience feelings of social inadequacy. It can also increase the perceived threat of victimization and other social sanctions in the classroom.…”

Peer relations and later personal adjustment: Are low-accepted children at risk?

“…Although longitudinal evidence is lacking, Schmuck (1966) found that unpopular children who also have few friends outside the classroom show poorer concurrent academic adjustment than unpopular children with more nonclass friends.…”

Peer groups as settings for learning

“…Research has shown that classroom groups with supportive friendship patterns enhance academic learning, while more interpersonally tense class environments in which peer groups rejections are strong and frequent get in the way of learning (Schmuck, 1963;Schmuck, 1966;and Schmuck, 1971). These studies indicated that classroom peer groups characterized by a Volume XVI, Number 4 273 wide dispersion of friendships had more cohesiveness than groups with a concentration of liked and disliked members.…”