Classroom Climate Properties for the Memphis Effective Schools Project on the Learning Environment Inventory

The purpose of the Memphis Effective Schools Project (MESP), first initiated in the fall of 1982, is to help alleviate educational deficits that black students have acquired over the years of segregated schooling. The philosophy behind the MESP is that all students can learn in a conducive learning environment; this study assesses students' perceptions of their learning environment. Questionnaires were administered to all seventh, ninth, tenth and eleventh grade students from 11 Memphis City Schools to determine the following: (1) the MESP students' perceptions of classroom climate in relation to 15 measurable class group properties (cohesiveness, friction, cliqueness, competitiveness, favoritism, democracy, satisfaction, apathy, diversity, goal direction, disorganization, difficulty, formality, speed, and environment); and (2) differences between the MESP and two control groups on each of the 15 class group properties, and between the grades examined. The following results were discovered: (1) there are significant differences on class group properties within the effective schools; (2) MESP students perceived more cohesiveness, satisfaction, democracy, and formality than did members of the control groups; (3) there was more cliqueness in the lower grades, regardless of group; and (4) the innercity students perceived the subject matter as less difficult and at the same time perceived more friction in the classroom than did the students in the more affluent schools. Data are presented on 20 tables and figures. A 105-item Learning Environment Inventory is appended. (BJV)