Measuring School Climate among Japanese Students—Development of the Japan School Climate Inventory (JaSC)

Abstract

School climate is a significant determinant of students’ behavioral problems and academic achievement. In this study, we developed the Japan School Climate Inventory (JaSC) to see whether it measures school climate properly. To do so, we investigated whether or not the measurement with JaSC varies across sub-groups of varying grade and of gender and examined the relationship between the perception of school climate and the psychological and behavioral traits at individual levels in a sample of Japanese elementary and junior high school students (n = 1399; grade 4–9). The results showed that the measurement was consistent, since single-factor structures, factor loadings and thresholds of the items were found not to vary across sub-groups of the participants. The participants’ perception of school climate was associated positively with quality of life, especially in school (β = 0.152, p < 0.001) and associated negatively with involvement in ijime (bullying) as “victim” and “bully/victim” (β = −0.098, p = 0.001; β = −0.188, p = 0.001, respectively) and peer relationship problems (β = −0.107, p = 0.025). JaSC was found to measure school climate consistently among varying populations of Japanese students, with satisfactory validity.

Systematic and evaluative review of school climate instruments for students, teachers, and parents

“…The most common domains were safety and relationships; Teaching and learning was the next most common domain and environment was the least common domain. Three instruments contained a one‐dimensional structure (Georgia Brief School Climate Inventory [GaBSCI], Rifenbark et al, 2020; White et al, 2014; SCA scale, Sun & Royal, 2017; Japan School Climate Inventory [JaSC], Nishimura et al, 2020); the mean number of domains per instrument was 4.1. A leadership category was present most often in teacher‐based measures.…”

Psychometric Validation of the Japanese Version of the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS) in Early Adolescents1,2

“…Although these mean differences should not be overestimated when considering standard deviations, it is worth noting that Japanese students may perceive more support from their classmates than students in other countries. To illustrate the culture‐specific characteristics of school peer relationships in Japan, it may be necessary to conduct further research from cross‐cultural perspectives focusing on factors related to school social structure, such as school climate (Nishimura et al, 2020).…”

Determinants of school attendance in elementary school students in Japan: a structural equation model

“…Systematic reviews have identified the importance of identifying anxiety or depression among children and adolescents [ 6 , 7 ]. School climate is considered to be a significant determinant of children’s mental health [ 8 , 9 ] and behavior [ 10 ]. Within the environment, relationships with peers and school teachers have been found to be important [ 8 – 10 ].…”

“…School climate is considered to be a significant determinant of children’s mental health [ 8 , 9 ] and behavior [ 10 ]. Within the environment, relationships with peers and school teachers have been found to be important [ 8 – 10 ]. Such relationships with peers and teachers are also key elements for supporting students’ school attendance.…”