Development and Initial Validation of the Student Perceptions of Supportive School Environment Scale

• Published in: School social work journal Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 29 - 47
• Main Authors: Canfield, James P., Wilson, Wendy, Shute, Lauren, Harley, Dana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Illinois Association of School Social Workers 01.11.2023
• Subjects: Adolescents; Environment; Measurement; Student Perceptions; Supportive School
• ISSN: 0161-5653

Schools are crucial environments for the overall development of adolescents. A consistently safe and supportive school environment has been shown to increase student engagement and promote the overall achievement and wellbeing of adolescents. However, there is a dearth of measurements validated on student perceptions of a supportive school environment. This study used data from a routine school-wide needs assessment at an urban high school to develop and validate a measure intended to gauge student perceptions of a supportive school environment. After exploratory factor analysis to identify constructs, items were evaluated using reliability testing. Findings provided initial psychometric validation for the new measure, the Student Perceptions of Supportive School Environment scale. This article concludes with a discussion of the implications of a validated scale of student perceptions and emphasizes that research among various populations is needed.