Perceptions of classroom environment and their relationship to children's mood, achievement, popularity and...

This study examines relationships between: (a) teacher perception and (b) student-teacher convergence of perception of environment, and student mood, achievement, popularity and adjustment, for students in general and for "problem" (i.e., acting-out, anxious, and unpopular) subgroups. Subjects included 511 5th and 6th graders, and their 23 teachers, from 4 suburban schools. A short form of the Classroom Environment Scale (CES) was used to assess teacher and student perception of the classroom. Students also completed mood adjective checklists and peer sociometric ratings. Reading and math report card grades and achievement test scores were recorded for the school year, and teachers submitted adjustment ratings for all students. Since students and teachers saw their classrooms differently, the two perspectives were studied separately. The four CES scales, based on teacher perceptions and student-teacher convergence that best predicted positive mood, peer popularity and teacher rated adjustment were Involvement, Order and Organization, Affiliation, and Rule Clarity. Findings were directionally similar for the average class and problem students, though stronger for the latter.