Research aim
The aim of the study was to investigated what elements and features teachers perceive as the constructs and characters of positive social climate.
Theoretical framework
Goals, Attitudes, and Values in School (GAVIS) is a theoretical framework built upon theories of human development and a qualitative investigation of students’ perceptions of positive features in their classroom social climate (Allodi Westling, 2010).
Methodological design
The study is based on a qualitative investigation in the form of semi-structured in-depth interviews with elementary school teachers. The analysis method was an inductive qualitative content analysis suggested by Elo and Kyngäs (2007).
Findings
The analysis resulted with five categories that together describe elements and features of positive social climate in the classroom from teachers’ perspectives.
1. Commitment
This category consists of expressions of students’ commitment, engagement and dedication in the classroom. Such expressions are when students actively participate in activities, carry out the task in an active way, answer questions or discus eagerly with each other, as well as expressions of interest, desire, and enthusiasm in students. Expressions of creativity, playfulness and humor are also expressions that are included in this category.
2. Improvement
This category entails expressions of students’ willingness to improve, develop skills, do their best, and make efforts to manage challenging tasks. Such expressions are for example asking follow-up questions, answer elaborately, or if students have finished a task, they ask to receive a new task. In this category are included expressions of receiving and using individual feedback or collective feedback from teachers, as well as when good individual performances are recognized by other. When teachers encourage students to make efforts, and conveys 'I trust you can do it’ are also characters of this category.
3. Structure.
This category describes aspects related to structure, rules, control and predictability in the classroom. The category includes characters such as having and keeping structure for lectures, coming on time to the class, following classroom rules, activities start and end as planned, clear placement in the group, students raise their hand to get the word, and students and teachers are not interrupted when they talk.
4. Fellowship/ Companionship Helpfulness
This category consists of teachers’ appraisals related to students' propensity to be helpful, open and inclusive towards each other for help. Such descriptions are for example that students take care of each other, take each other's needs into account, share materials and generous with each other. Other examples are when students help each other with knowledge or emotionally, encourage, pep and receive compliments from each other.
5. Responsibility
This category entails teachers’ descriptions in which students take responsibility and influence their social environment. Such descriptions are when students are involved in taking decisions, get to choose between options of activities, or to influence the content and the way in which they work in the classroom. Students express their own views and suggestions, and teachers consider these views and suggestions. Students receive responsibility from the teacher.
Implication of the study
Relevance to Nordic educational research
Positive social climate in the classroom is associated with psychological wellbeing (Tabrizi & Sheikholeslami, 2020), academic motivation (Thornberg et al., 2020), and higher academic performances (Hamre & Pianta, 2001). However, there are still questions regarding the conceptualization of a positive classroom social climate, the components that built it up, and the directions on how to create it (Ginner Hau et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2020). Including teachers’ perspectives in the development of theory and educational practice is a desirable goal (Wang et al., 2020). The results are valuable to enrich our understanding of the phenomenon, to construct instruments to assess it, and to develop interventions to improve the social climate in the classroom.