Changing Ward Atmosphere Through Staff Discussion of the Perceived Ward Environment

Personal correlates of contrasting environments: Student satisfactions in high school classrooms

“…The CES itself can also be used to assess possible discrepancies between the current environment and the desired environment in terms of specific "outcome" criteria. Such discrepancies can also be used to trigger discussion of possible changes in the environment, a logic similar to reported attempts at environmental alteration in psychiatric wards (Pierce, Trickett, & Moos, 1972) and adolescent residential centers (Moos & Otto, 1972). Both of these potential uses for measures of the perceived environment are more fully discussed elsewhere (Barrett & Trickett, 1972;Moos, 1974).…”

Differences Between Student and Teacher Perceptions of Actual and Preferred Classroom Learning Environment

“…Having actual and preferred forms of classroom environ ment instruments makes it possible to use data on actual-preferred discrepancies as a practical basis for planning environmen tal changes that will align the actual envi ronment with students' or teachers' pre ferred environment. Although profiles of milieu inhabitants' perceptions of actual and preferred environment have been em ployed successfully in facilitating environ mental change in psychiatric wards (Pierce, Trickett, & Moos, 1972) and in al coholism treatment programs (Bliss, Moos, & Bromet, 1976), educators to date have paid surprisingly little attention to this po tentially useful approach. Nevertheless, an original contribution to this area has been made in a recent chapter (Fraser, 1981, ch.…”

Using short forms of classroom climate instruments to assess and improve classroom psychosocial environment

“…The methods described in this paper have been derived partly from analogous techniques involving the use of Social Climate Scales in a range of other human milieus. For example, milieu inhabitants' perceptions of actual and preferred environment have been employed in facilitating change through use of the Ward Atmosphere Scale in psychiatric hospitals (Pierce, Trickett, & Moos, 1972), use of both the Ward Atmosphere Scale and the Community-Oriented Program Environment Scale in a psychiatric hospital (Friedman, Jeger, & Slotnick, 1982), use of the CES in college and university classrooms (DeYoung, 1977), use of the Community-Oriented Program Environment Scale in an adolescent residential care centre (Moos & Otto, 1972) and in alcoholism treatment programs (Bliss, Moos, & Bromet, 1976), use of the Group Environment Scale in staff milieus (Schroeder, 1979), use of the Work Environment Scale in law enforcement agencies (Waters, 1978) and a hospital bum unit (Koran, Moos, & Zasslow, 1983), and use of the Family Environment Scale in family therapy groups (Fuhr, Moos, & Dishotsky, 1981). Although the above studies are related only peripherally to work in school classrooms, nonetheless, they attest to the general efficacy of the strategy of using environment assessments to guide environmental improvement and suggest some useful ways of conducting and reporting this type of work.…”