1. Delaware Positive Behavior Support Project
Updated 2018
School Climate and the Delaware School Surveys: Review of importance of school climate and overview of tools used to measure it plus more
Delaware Positive Behavior Support Project
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

2. Why is school climate important?
School Climate is linked to a wide range of academic, behavioral, and socio- emotional outcomes for students and teachers:
Academic achievement
Student academic, social, and personal attitudes and motives
Student attendance and school avoidance
Student behavior problems, delinquency, victimization
Student and teacher emotional well-being
Teachers’ greater implementation fidelity
of new curriculum and interventions

3. Why is school climate important?
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) explicitly recognizes the strong relationship between positive school climate and student learning and success.
Law requires states to include data related to school climate and safety in annual school report cards

4. Updated 2018
How are we doing in Delaware? DE School Climate Longitudinal Study
Examined changes in students’ perceptions of school climate using the DE School Climate Scale -Student version
Guiding question:
Did students’ perceptions of school climate improve from 2012 to 2017 in elementary, middle, and high schools?
If so, were improvements found across all seven aspects of school climate measured by the Delaware School Climate Scale-Student?
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

5. Major Findings Total school climate score: All seven subscales:
Updated 2018
Major Findings
Total school climate score:
Students’ perceptions quite favorable; especially in elementary schools
Improved significantly from 2012 to 2017
All seven subscales:
Scores improved significantly (elementary, middle, and high schools)
Exception: Bullying School-wide subscale scores in middle schools.
Most impressive:
Improvements in School Safety and Bullying (elementary & high schools)
For more information, an executive summary and full report for the longitudinal study are available.
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

6. What do I need to know about the DE School Surveys?
Updated 2018
What do I need to know about the DE School Surveys?
This section will:
review the 5 scales included in the survey
list the subscales included in each of the 5 scales per population
provide item examples from each scale and subscale.
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

7. Delaware School Survey Scales (Note: School Climate is 1 of the 5 scales included in the survey)
Student Scales
School Climate
Techniques (School Discipline)
Bullying Victimization
Student Engagement
Student Social and Emotional Competencies
Teacher/Staff Scales
Home Scales

8. Delaware School Climate Scale: Subscales per Population
Updated 2018
Delaware School Climate Scale: Subscales per Population
Student
Teacher/Staff
Home
Teacher-Student Relations
Student-Student Relations
Clarity of Expectations
Fairness of Rules
School Safety
Student Engagement School- wide
Bullying School-wide
Teacher-Home Communications
Staff Relations
Total School Climate
Satisfaction with School
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9. School Climate Scale – Subscale Item Examples
Teacher-Student Relations
“Teachers care about their students.”
Student Engagement School-wide
“Most students try their best.”
Fairness of Rules
“The school rules are fair.”
Bullying School-wide
(Note: A high score on this subscale is unfavorable)
“Students threaten and bully others.”
Staff Relations
Teachers, staff, and administrators work well together.”

10. Delaware Positive, Punitive, and SEL Techniques
Updated 2018
Delaware Positive, Punitive, and SEL Techniques
Scale: Subscales per Population
Student Survey
Teacher/Staff Survey
Home Survey
Positive Behavior Techniques
Punitive Techniques
Social Emotional Learning Techniques
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11. Techniques Scale – Subscale Item Examples
Use of Positive Techniques
“Students are praised often.”
Use of Punitive Techniques
(Note: A high score for this subscale is unfavorable)
“Students are punished a lot.”
Use of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Techniques
“Students are taught to feel responsible for how they act.”

12. Bullying Victimization Scale: Subscales per Population
Student
Teacher/Staff
Home
Bullying Victimization1
Verbal Bullying
Physical Bullying
Social/Relational Bullying
Cyberbullying2
1 Grades 6-12 only for the printed version. Optional for grades 4-5 with computer version.
2 Grades 6-12 only.

13. Bullying Scale – Subscale Item Examples
Verbal Bullying
“A student said mean things to me.”
Physical Bullying
“I was pushed or shoved on purpose.”
Social/Relational Bullying
“A student told or got others to not like me.”
Cyberbullying (grades 6-12)
“A student sent me a mean or hurtful message about me using , text messaging, instant messaging, or similar electronic messaging.”

14. Student Engagement Scale: Subscales per Population
Teacher/Staff
Home
Student Engagement
Behavioral
Cognitive
Emotional

15. Student Engagement – Subscale Item Examples
Behavioral Engagement
“I pay attention in class.”
“I follow the rules at school.”
Cognitive Engagement
“I try my best in school.”
Emotional Engagement
“I feel happy in school.”

16. Social and Emotional Competencies Scale: Subscales per Population
Student Survey
Teacher/Staff Survey
Home Survey
Responsible Decision-making /Responsibility
Understanding how others think and feel/Social Awareness
Self-management of Emotions and Behavior
Relationship Skills

17. Social & Emotional Competencies – Subscale Item Examples
Responsible Decision-making/Responsibility
“I feel responsible for how I act.”
Understanding how others think and feel/Social Awareness
“I think about how others feel.”
Self-management of emotions and behavior
“I can control how I behave.”
Relationship skills
I am good at solving conflicts with others.”

18. Are the DE School Surveys Reliable and Valid?
Updated 2018
Are the DE School Surveys Reliable and Valid?
This section will:
review evidence of survey reliability
review evidence of survey validity
provide references to peer-reviewed journal studies.
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

19. Reliability
Are the scores consistent or stable?
Generally want reliability scores (alpha coefficients) to be above .70.
Reliable scales and subscales indicate that if the same students, teachers/staff, or parents in a school took the survey again, similar results would be found.
CAUTION: Some scores are not very reliable with 3rd graders.

20. School Climate and Techniques: Reliability (alpha coefficients)
Updated 2018
Subscale
Student
Teacher/Staff
Home
Teacher-Student Relations
.88
.92
Student-Student Relations
.87
.91
.95
School Safety
.77
Clarity of Expectations
.90
.93
Fairness of Rules
.80
.82
Student Engagement School-wide
N/A
Bullying School-wide
.74
.86
Teacher-Home Communications
Staff Relations
.96
Total Climate
.94
.98
Parent Satisfaction
Use of Positive Behavioral Techniques
.84
.83
Use of Punitive Techniques
.75
Use of Social Emotional Learning Techniques
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

21. School Climate: Student Reliability (alpha coefficients) by Grade
Teacher Student Relations
Student Relations
School Safety
Clarity of Expect-ations
Fairness of Rules
Student Engagement School-wide
Bullying School-wide
Total Score
Third
.75
.82
.62
.64
.65
.71
.85
Fourth
.81
.68
.73
.70
.86
Fifth
.83
.74
.77
.76
.87
Sixth
.78
.80
.79
.89
Seventh
.88
.91
Eighth
.90
Ninth
Tenth
Eleventh
.84
Twelfth

22. Student Engagement and Bullying Victimization: Reliability (alpha coefficients)
Subscale
Student
Home
Behavioral Engagement
.80
.86
Cognitive Engagement
.75
.85
Emotional Engagement
.91
Verbal Bullying
Physical Bullying
.84
.78
Social/Relational Bullying
.90
Total Bullying
.95
.93
Cyberbullying
.89

23. Student Social and Emotional Competencies Scale: Reliability (alpha coefficients)
Subscale
Student
Responsible Decision Making
.77
Social Awareness
.86
Self-Management
.78
Relationship Skills
Total Score
.92

24. Validity Does the test yield the factors predicted?
Updated 2018
Validity
Does the test yield the factors predicted?
Are the scores related to other variables as one might predict (e.g., grade level, gender and race, academic achievement, suspensions)?
Caution: Correlation does not mean causation. Direction of influence is likely to be bidirectional.
Extensive studies have been conducted to test validity of DE School Surveys, and they are deemed VALID! For details, please see the Technical Manual for the Delaware School Survey.
Bear, G., Yang, C., Harris, A., Mantz, L., Hearn, S., & Boyer, D. (2019). Technical Manual for the Delaware School Survey: Scales of School Climate; Bullying Victimization; Student Engagement; Positive, Punitive, and Social Emotional Learning Techniques; and Social and Emotional Competencies. Newark, DE: Center for Disabilities Studies.
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25. Updated 2018
Concurrent Validity
Are the scores related to other variables as one might predict (e.g., grade level, gender and race, academic achievement, suspensions)?
In the tables on the following slides, subscale scores from the student and teacher/staff survey are correlated with academic achievement (in ELA and Math) and suspensions/expulsions
Positive and significant correlations indicate that a higher scores on a subscale are related to higher scores on the academic achievement or suspension/expulsion variables
Negative and significant correlations indicate that lower scores on a subscale are related to higher scores on the academic achievement or suspension/expulsion variables, and vice versa
Non-significant correlations indicate a weak relationship between variables and relationships should not be interpreted as being meaningful
Again, Correlation does not mean causation. Direction of influence is likely to be bidirectional.
*The data in the following slides is from the school year.
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26. Updated 2018
Evidence of Concurrent Validity Student Survey and School-level Data: School Climate Scale
Subscales 
Elementary Schools
Middle Schools
High Schools
ELA
Math
S/E
Teacher–Student Relations
.540**
.485**
-.420**
.714**
.715**
-.583**
-.041
.108
-.565*
Student–Student Relations
.691**
.649**
-.682**
.751**
.755**
-.740**
.286
.526*
-.837**
Engagement School-wide
.531**
.530**
-.585**
.663**
.644**
-.623**
.355
.546**
-.819**
Clarity of Expectations
.463**
.445**
-.316**
.605**
.614**
-.408*
-.021
.077
-.432*
Fairness of Rules
.500**
-.366**
.690**
.616**
-.772**
-.431*
-.296
-.135
School Safety
.558**
-.512**
.657**
.669**
-.579**
.451*
.528*
-.691**
Bullying School-wide
-.782**
-.687**
.574**
-.708**
-.760**
.676**
-.381
-.510*
-.686**
Total School Climate
.694**
.639**
-.598**
.746*
.743**
-.698**
.223
.393
-.749**
Note. ELA= English–Language Arts. S/E = Suspensions and Expulsions. ELA = % passing ELA. Math = % passing math.
77 Elementary Schools, 28 Middle Schools, 17 High Schools. *p < .05. **p < .01, ***p < .001 One tailed.
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

27. Updated 2018
Evidence of Concurrent Validity Teacher Survey and School-level Data: School Climate Scale
Subscale 
Elementary Schools
Middle Schools
High Schools
ELA
Math
S/E
Teacher–Student Relations
.522**
.648**
-.574**
.577**
.590**
-.463**
.353
.431*
-.661**
Student–Student Relations
.716**
.746**
-.753**
.683**
.635**
-.586**
.629**
.704**
-.668**
Schoolwide Engagement
.743**
.816**
-.734**
.727**
-.683**
.731**
.775**
-.774**
Clarity of Expectations
.498**
.624**
-.541**
.444*
.396*
-.246
.420*
.397*
-.424*
Fairness of Rules
.559**
.611**
-.566**
.506**
.468**
-.400*
.461*
-.419*
School Safety
.591**
-.696**
.543**
-.486**
.574**
-.580**
Bullying Schoolwide
-.687**
-.700**
.690**
-.660**
-.612**
.463*
-.534**
-.547**
.500*
Teacher-Home Communications
.604**
.698**
-.555**
.551**
.614**
-.530**
.330
.547**
Staff Relations
.307**
.270**
-.211*
.214
.259
-.198
.230
.222
-.360
Total School Climate
.655**
.622**
-.527**
.617**
.603**
-.508**
.587**
.613**
-.676*
Note. ELA= English–Language Arts. S/E = Suspensions and Expulsions. ELA = % passing ELA. Math = % passing math.
75 Elementary Schools, 27 Middle Schools, 20 High Schools. *p < .05. **p < .01, One tailed.
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

28. Evidence of Concurrent Validity Student Survey: Techniques Scale
Updated 2018
Evidence of Concurrent Validity Student Survey: Techniques Scale
 Subscale
Elementary Schools
Middle Schools
High Schools
ELA
Math
S/E
Punitive Techniques
-.764**
-.714**
.634**
-.790**
-.822**
.735**
-.147*
-.473*
.726**
Positive Techniques
-.033
-.030
-.016
.113
.102
-.118
-.460
-.332
-.262
SEL Techniques
.374**
.325**
-.325**
.580**
.610**
-.619**
-.199
-.181
-.151
Note. ELA= English–Language Arts. S/E = Suspensions and Expulsions. ELA = % passing ELA. Math = % passing math.
76 Elementary Schools, 28 Middle Schools, 18 High Schools. *p < .05. **p < .01, **p <.001. One tailed.
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

29. Evidence of Concurrent Validity Teacher Survey: Techniques Scale
Updated 2018
Evidence of Concurrent Validity Teacher Survey: Techniques Scale
Subscale 
Elementary Schools
Middle Schools
High Schools
ELA
Math
S/E
Positive Techniques
.319**
.347**
-.244*
.258
.278
-.234
.137
.261
-.542**
Punitive Techniques
.692**
.688**
-.672**
.655**
.649**
-.674**
.396*
.483*
-.627**
SEL Techniques
.544**
.540**
-.415**
.390*
.386*
-.288
.607**
.529**
-.619**
Note. ELA= English–Language Arts. S/E = Suspensions and Expulsions. ELA = % passing ELA. Math = % passing math.
75 Elementary Schools, 27 Middle Schools, 20 High Schools. *p < .05. **p < .01, One tailed.
DE-PBS Project - DE School Surveys Background

30. Peer-Reviewed Journals
Bear, G. G., Gaskins, C., Blank, J. , & Chen, F. F. (2011). Delaware School Climate Survey-Student: Its factor structure, concurrent validity, and reliability. Journal of School Psychology. Bear, G., Yang, C., Pell, M., & Gaskin, C. (2014).Validation of a brief measure of teachers‘ perceptions of school climate: Relations to student achievement and suspensions. Learning Environments Research. Bear, G.G., Yang, C., & Pasipanodya, E. (2015). Assessing school climate: Validation of a brief measure of the perceptions of parents. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. Yang, C., Bear, G. G., Chen, F.F., Zhang, W., Blank, J.C., & Huang, X.S. (2013). Students‘perceptions of school climate in the U.S. and China. School Psychology Quarterly. Bear, G.G., Mantz, L., Glutting, J., Yang, C., & Boyer, D. (2015). Differences in bullying victimization between students with and without disabilities. School Psychology Review.

31. Peer-Reviewed Journals
Bear, G.G., Holst, B., Lisboa, C., Chen, D., Yang, C., & Chen, F.F. (2016). A Brazilian Portuguese survey of school climate: Evidence of validity and reliability. International Journal of School and Educational Psychology, 4,
Bear, G.G., Chen, D.D., Mantz, L., Yang, C., Huang, X., & Shiomi, K. (2016). Differences in classroom removals and use of praise and rewards in American, Chinese, and Japanese schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 53(1),
Mantz, L. S., Bear, G. G., Yang, C., & Harris, A. (2016). The Delaware Social-Emotional Competency Scale (DSECS-S): Evidence of Validity and Reliability. Child Indicators Research
Bear, G.G., Yang, C., Mantz, L., & Harris, A. (2017). School-wide practices associated with school climate in elementary, middle, and high school. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63,
Bear, G. G., Slaughter, J. C., Mantz, L. S., & Farley-Ripple, E. (2017). Rewards, praise, and punitive consequences: Relations with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 65(1),

32. Peer-Reviewed Journals
Bear, G. G., Yang, C., Chen, D., He, X., Xie, J. S., & Huang, X. (2018). Differences in school climate and student engagement in China and the United States. School Psychology Quarterly, 33(2),
Yang, C., Bear, G. G., & May, H. (2018). Multilevel Associations Between School-Wide Social– Emotional Learning Approach and Student Engagement Across Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. School Psychology Review, 47(1),
Bear, G. G., Harris, A., Saraiva de Macedo Lisboa, C., & Holst, B. (2019). Perceptions of engagement and school climate: Differences between once-retained and multiple- retained students in Brazil. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 7(1),
Harris, A. B., Bear, G. G., Chen, D., de Macedo Lisboa, C. S., & Holst, B. (2019). Perceptions of Bullying Victimization: Differences between Once-Retained and Multiple-Retained Students in Public and Private Schools in Brazil. Child Indicators Research, 1-20.

33. Additional Resources Delaware School Survey – Tool overview – FAQ
Updated 2018
Additional Resources
Delaware School Survey – Tool overview – FAQ
Professional development materials designed to provide information to schools that can lead to improvements in school climate and behavioral outcomes for students. Topics include: Teacher-Student Relations, Student Relations, Bullying Prevention and more!
Delaware Positive Behavior Support Project - The DE-PBS Project is a collaborative project with the Delaware Department of Education, the University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies, and Delaware Public Schools. This statewide initiative is designed to build the knowledge and skills of Delaware educators in the concepts and practices of a Positive Behavior Support framework as an example of a multi-tiered System of support.
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