Abstract

FONSECA, Patrícia Nunes da et al. Sense of school as a caring community scale: Evidences of factor validity and reliability. Arq. bras. psicol. [online]. 2010, vol.62, n.1, pp. 135-147. ISSN 1809-5267.

This study aimed at adapting to the Paraibano context the Sense of School as a Caring Community Scale, jointing evidences of its factorial validity and reliability, and to know if its scores are influenced by participants’ sex, scholar degree, and type of school. Participants were 242 students, most of them from private schools in João Pessoa city (PB) (53.7%), female (57.7%), and with a mean age of 14.3 years old (sd = 1.88). An Alpha factor analysis (with oblimin rotation) revealed three factors, accounting for 26.9% of the total variance: collaboration, help, and closeness (α = .91; 19 items), positive interpersonal relationship (α = .76; eight items), and student influence (α = .54; five items). Participants’ scores in these factors were influenced by their sex and grading. Results were discussed based on literature about the psychometric parameters of this measure, and considering the relation of its factors with the relevant demographic variables. Moreover, it was suggested new studies that include more participants from different contexts.

Keywords : School; Perception; Community; Scale.

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