Teachers and Students: Two Different Perspectives?! Measuring Social Climate in the Classroom

This study compared teachers’ and classes’ perceptions of the actual and preferred classroom environment in 78 sixth grade classes in Israel. The Classroom Environment Scale (CES) ( Moos & Trickett, 1974 ) was administered, and similarities between the perceptions of teachers and classes were found, particularly pertaining to the preferred or ideal classroom. The teachers and classes differed most in their respective perceptions of the real classroom. The validity of the CES and the relationship between the organizational factor of classroom seating arrangement and the environment perceptions were explored. The results of this study were discussed in relation to previous research conducted in different cultural settings. Implications of the consistent finding of teacher and student agreement on the characteristics of the ideal setting and means of implementing the comparison of teachers’ and classes’ perceptions of the classroom environment were suggested.