Examining High School Students’ Perceptions of Democratic School Culture

Abstract

This research aims at analysing high school students’ perceptions of democratic school culture from several variables. At first, for the purpose of measuring the students’ perceptions of democratic school culture “Democratic School Culture Scale” had been developed by the researchers. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted for the data obtained through the 5-pointed Likert type scale of 46 items which was applied to 307 students. Following the factor analysis, it was exhibited that the scale had a 26-item, single-factor construct. Cronbach Alpha coefficient calculated for determining the scale reliability was found to be 0.944. In order to obtain evidence for the validity of the single-factor construct which had been found in consequence of the EFA conducted in the pilot study, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was done for the data collected from another group of 325 high school students. The fit and error indices obtained from the CFA demonstrated that the model had an acceptable fit. Based on the findings obtained, it was concluded that the scale developed was capable of exhibiting students’ perceptions of democratic school culture in a reliable and valid manner. The findings obtained have revealed that the students’ perceptions of democratic school culture do not differ on the basis of gender, the number of brothers and sisters, or father’s education level whereas their perceptions differ according to the type of school that they attend, the type of the institution, the grade level, mother’s education level, and to the family income. It is believed that the conclusions reached will contribute to determining the dynamics influential in students’ perceptions of democratic school culture and to revising the educational settings based on it, and thus to the development process of the curricula.