How Secondary Schools Are Perceived by Parents, Teachers, and Students, 1978 vs. 1982. Research Report 46.

The Mesa School Profile, limited to cognitive and demographic characteristics, was broadened by the School Climate Surveys developed to accumulate information regarding the affective dimensions of each secondary school as well as the district (junior and senior high schools only) as a whole. Questionnaires designed by the Human Resources Research Organization were modified to obtain perceptions of 859 teachers, 2,240 students, and 4,400 parents, picked at random. The three surveys were first administered in the secondary schools in 1977-78 and then again in 1981-82. This report documents the current climate perceptions of the three subpopulations and compares them with the perceptions of similar subpopulations in 1977-78. The overall perceptions for all three populations in 1981-82 were positive. In 1981-82, only 2 of the 12 areas were perceived negatively by one or more subpopulations: Student Characteristics and Relationships, and Student Issues. This is in contrast to 1977-78, when five areas were perceived negatively by one or more groups. The primary difference is that senior high students viewed several areas more positively in 1981-82. (PN)