0.3 Lindahl, r. (february 2009). school climate differences between  (Page 8/10)

Consistent with Taylor’s (2008) advice, examining the individual elements of school climate yielded greater insight than using aggregated climate indices. Torchbearer School teachers reported more positively on almost all climate elements contained in the Take20 survey. Of Tagiuri’s (1968) climate factors, the greatest difference between the more successful and less successful schools examined in this study were in the milieu factor. This demonstrates that the human elements of school climate are vital to the success of the school. As Owens and Valesky (2007) noted, the leadership of the school has a strong relationship with the school’s success, as do the teachers’ motivation, satisfaction, feelings, morale, and values. Although some of the differences between the climates of these two groups of schools may be attributable to a halo or Pygmalion effect following a school’s academic success, some of them may be attributable to causal links between school climate and that success. Consequently, building and maintaining a healthy school climate should be a priority for all school leaders.

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