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Special Analysis 2002 Image Special Analysis-Private Schools
Introduction

Schools and Students

School Climate and Staff Perceptions

- Introduction

Teachers’ control over teaching practices and influence on school policies

Teachers’ ratings of school climate and management

Principals and school leadership

Academic Coursetaking and Student Outcomes

Conclusion


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School Climate and Staff Perceptions


Research has examined the links between teachers’ perceptions of a school’s professional climate, on the one hand, and teachers’ effectiveness and job satisfaction on the other (for example, see Mitchell, Ortiz, and Mitchell 1987; Rosenholtz 1991). In one extensive study of Catholic high schools, a range of attributes were found to contribute to school effectiveness, including the staff’s communal organization to advance shared goals; principals having primary decisionmaking authority for most school management matters; teachers’ commitment to the academic, spiritual, and social development of students (which encompassed providing extra help when needed and supporting extracurricular activities); and an atmosphere of mutual respect among everyone in the school (Bryk, Lee, and Holland 1993). Elements of staff opinion and school climate discussed here include teachers’ sense of shared purpose, collegiality, and cooperative efforts; teachers’ evaluations of principals’ leadership and support; and principals’ top goals for the school.