Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Determinants of Students' Quality of School Life: A Path Model

  • Published:
Learning Environments Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined factors contributing to the quality of school life of secondary school students. A path model, expressing interrelationships between students' background characteristics, their expectations of schools, the perceived quality of both the formal and the informal school curriculum, the classroom environment and students' quality of school life, was developed and tested. The sample comprised 8265 Grade 12 students from 70 schools in New South Wales, Australia. Analysis indicated that, after controlling for other variables in the model, students' experience of the classroom environment was the single most important factor explaining their quality of school life.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Ainley, J. (1991). High school factors that influence students to remain in school. Journal of Educational Research, 85(2), 69-80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ainley, J. (1999, July). Schools and the social development of young Australians: Frameworks, outcomes and influences. Paper presented at the 1999 National Social Outcomes of Schooling Forum organized by the Performance Measurement and Review Branch, Education Queensland, Surfers Paradise, Australia.

  • Ainley, J., Batten, M., & Miller, H. (1984). Staying at high school in Victoria (ACER Research Monograph No. 23). Melbourne, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ainley, J., & Bourke, S. F. (1988, November-December). Quality of life in primary schools. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, University of New England, Armidale, Australia.

  • Ainley, J., & Bourke, S. (1992). Student views of primary schooling. Research Papers in Education Policy and Practice, 7(2), 107-128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ainley, J., Foreman, J., & Sheret, M. (1991). High school factors that influence students to remain in school. The Journal of Educational Research, 85(2), 69-80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ainley, J., Reed, R., & Miller, H. (1986). School organisation and the quality of schooling. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ainley, J., & Sheret, M. (1992). Progress through high school: A study of senior secondary schooling in New South Wales (ACER Research Monograph No. 43). Melbourne, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, L. W., & Bourke, S. F. (2000). Assessing affective characteristics in the schools (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238-246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourke, S. (1993). Quality of life of primary and secondary students: Studies of classrooms and schools. In John S. Shellard (Ed.), New South Wales Institute for Educational Research Bulletin of Proceedings 1992 (pp. 71-77). Kingswood, Australia: New South Wales Institute for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourke, S., & Smith, M. (1989, November-December). Quality of school life and intentions for further education: The case of a rural high school. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Adelaide, Australia.

  • Bryk, A., Lee, V. E., & Holland, P. B. (1993). Catholic schools and the common good. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulcock, J. W., Whitt, M. E., & Beebe, M. J. (1991). Gender differences, student wellbeing and high school achievement. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 37, 209-224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delors, J. (1996). Learning: The treasure within (Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century). Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorman, J. P., Fraser, B. J., & McRobbie, C. J. (1997). Relationship between school-level and classroom-level environments in secondary schools. Journal of Educational Administration, 35, 74-91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Education Commission. (2000). Review of education system reform proposals consultation document: Education blueprint for the 21st Century. Hong Kong: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, J. L., & McPartland, J. M. (1976). The concept and measurement of the quality of school life. American Educational Research Journal, 13, 15-30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn, M. (1993). The culture of Catholic schools. Homebush, Australia: St Paul's Publications

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, H. (1995). Multilevel statistical models. London: Edward Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, L. R., Mulaik, S. A., & Brett, J. M. (1982). Causal analysis: Assumptions, models, and data. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joreskog, K. G., & Sorbom, D. (1986). LISREL VI: Analysis of linear structural relationships by maximum likelihood and least square methods. Mooresville, IN: Scientific Software.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linnakyla, P. (1996). Quality of school life in the Finnish comprehensive school: A comparative view. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 40(1), 69-85.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacCallum, R. C., & Hong, S. (1997). Power analysis in covariance structure modeling using GFI and AGFI. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 32, 193-210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. P., & Marsh, H. (1990). Choosing a multivariate model: Noncentrality and goodness of fit. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 247-255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (1999). The Adelaide declaration on national goals for schooling in the twenty-first century. Melbourne, Australia: Author. [On-line]. Available: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya/ nationalgoals/natgoals.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Mok, M. (1992). Construct validity of the Quality of School Life scale. Psychological Test Bulletin, 5, 47-51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mok, M., & Flynn, M. (1998). Effect of Catholic school culture on students' achievement in the Higher School Certificate Examination: A multilevel path analysis. Educational Psychology, 18, 409-432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pang, N. S. (1999, July). Students' quality of school life in Hong Kong. Paper presented at the National Forum on the Social Outcomes of Schooling organized by the Performance Measurement and Review Branch, Education Queensland, Surfers Paradise, Brisbane, Australia.

  • Schliecher, A. (2002, April). First results from PISA. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

  • Slee, R. (1992). Reforms and ravines: Diminishing risk in schools through systematic change. In R. Slee (Ed.), Discipline in Australian public education, changing policy and practice (pp. 177-198). Melbourne, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiger, J. H., & Lind, J. M. (1980, May). Statistically based tests for the number of common factors. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Psychometric Society, Iowa City, IA.

  • Tanaka, J. S., & Huba, G. J. (1985). A fit index for covariance structure models under arbitrary GLS estimation. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 38, 197-201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, B. (1998). In praise of brilliance: Where that praise really belongs. American Psychologist, 53, 799-800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, L., & APA Task Force on Statistical Inference. (1999). Statistical methods in psychology journals: Guidelines and explanations. American Psychologist, 54, 594-604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, T., & Batten, M. (1981). The quality of school life. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, M. (1988). Internal construct validity and reliability of a quality of school life instrument across nationality and school level. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 48, 995-1009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, F. M., Chandler, T. A., & Spies, C. J. (1980, March). Quality of school life: Cause or effect of beliefs of academic responsibility? A Cross-lagged panel correlation analysis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association, Norfolk, VA. (ERIC Document Services ED 194 537)

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research and International Collaboration, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong

    Magdalena Mo Ching Mok

Authors
  1. Magdalena Mo Ching Mok
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mo Ching Mok, M. Determinants of Students' Quality of School Life: A Path Model. Learning Environments Research 5, 275–300 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021924322950

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021924322950

Search

Navigation