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7.3: Pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of classroom ethos
Pupils’ perceptions
Pupils’ perceptions of classroom ethos at both grades were measured through Fraser’s
My Classroom Inventory (MCI). This Inventory consists of five domains; Satisfaction,
Cohesiveness, Competitiveness, Friction and Difficulty. Each domain contains five
questions. As MCI aims to investigate pupils’ perceptions of classroom ethos in all
classes, and this study attempted to explore pupils’ perceptions of classroom ethos in
mathematics classes in particular, the words “mathematics classes” were inserted into
each statement.
• Satisfaction relates to pupils’ enjoyment and happiness, in mathematics classes.
Statements included ‘The pupils in my Maths class enjoy their work’, and ‘Children
seem to like this Maths class.’
• Cohesiveness relates to pupils’ friendships in mathematics classes. Statements
included ‘In my Maths class everybody is my friend’.
• Competitiveness relates to pupils’ competitiveness both in terms of speed of
completion and actual outcomes, for instance, ‘Children often race to see who can
finish first in my Maths class’, and ‘Some pupils always try to do their work better
than the others in my Maths class.’
• Friction relates to conflicts or fighting in mathematics classes. For instance, ‘Children
are always fighting each other in my Maths class’.
• Difficulty relates to pupils’ difficulty in dealing with the task provided. For instance, ‘In
our Maths class the work is hard to do.’
The Fraser’s MCI has yes/по responses, which are added to derive a total for each
section. Respondents are given a score of 5 when they mention ‘Yes’to five questions in
the domain, 4 when they mention ‘Yes’ to four questions in the domain and so on. MCI
contains seven reverse statements whose scores are adjusted.
Pupils from both age groups did not report feeling great satisfaction in mathematics
classes. They experienced very little friction, and moderate levels of cohesiveness,
competition and difficulty. A relatively wide distribution was found in the pupils’
perceptions of classroom ethos. This suggests, as might be expected, that classroom
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