FACTORS RELATED TO STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE HIGH SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009754 |
| Date | 01 February 1976 |
| Pages | 199-210 |
| Published date | 01 February 1976 |
| Author | CHOO PIANG FONG |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XIV, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER, 1976
FACTORS RELATED TO STUDENT PERCEPTIONS
OF THE HIGH SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
CHOO PIANG FONG
The study investigates the relationship of intelligence, sex, and selected "home
background" variables to student perceptions of the high school environment. In addition it
also investigates the independence of the Activities Index (AI) and the High School
Characteristics Index (HSCI) which are parallel instruments based on Murray's need press
theory. There are two major conclusions arising from the findings of this study.
Firstly, student perceptions of the school environment are influenced by a number of
variables, namely, sex, intelligence, educational aspiration, mother's occupation, and per-
sonality. This influence, however, is not strong enough to affect seriously the normal use of
the HSCI as a measure of the global or overall environment of
the
high school. But evidence
points to the need for further investigation of individual differences in perceptions of the
school environment. Secondly, the study shows that the parallel instruments are "factorial-
ly" independent of each other. This means that students' perceptions of the school environ-
ment are largely independent of their personality.
INTRODUCTION
An essential characteristic of
Murray's1
need-press theory is that needs
and press are parallel concepts—needs representing a "force" coming
from within the person, while press represents a similar "force" emanating
from outside the person, for example, the environment of an institution.
The concept of psychological needs has led to the development of the Ac-
tivities Index (AI) which measures needs along thirty different dimensions.
Since the press concept is really the environmental counterpart of the need
concept, Pace and Stern2 (1958) used the Activities Index as a prototype in
the development of the College Characteristics Index (CO). The same
rationale was used in the development of the high school counterpart of
the College Characteristics Index—the High School Characteristics Index
(HSCI). The actual rationale followed was that just as the personality
needs of a student may be inferred through student responses to items
referring to common-place daily activities and feelings, so the "per-
sonality" of the high school, that is, its press, may be inferred from student
responses to items referring to various characteristics of the high school.
In other words, the press of the high school is measured through student
reports or perceptions of various aspects of the institution.
CHOO PIANG FONG is a Lecturer in the Centre for Educational Studies, Universiti Sains
Malaysia. Dr. Choo holds the degrees of B.A. (Pacific Union College), B.Ed. and Ph.D.
(University of Western Australia).
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