title: Multilevel Factor Structure and Concurrent Validity of the Teacher Version of the Authoritative School Climate Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  School climate is well recognized as an important influence on student behavior and adjustment to school, but there is a need for theory-guided measures that make use of teacher perspectives. Authoritative school climate theory hypothesizes that a positive school climate is characterized by high levels of disciplinary structure and student support.
  
  
  METHODS
  A teacher version of the Authoritative School Climate Survey (ASCS) was administered to a statewide sample of 9099 7th- and 8th-grade teachers from 366 schools. The study used exploratory and multilevel confirmatory factor analyses (MCFA) that accounted for the nested data structure and allowed for the modeling of the factor structures at 2 levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multilevel confirmatory factor analyses conducted on both an exploratory (N = 4422) and a confirmatory sample (N = 4677) showed good support for the factor structures investigated. Factor correlations at 2 levels indicated that schools with greater levels of disciplinary structure and student support had higher student engagement, less teasing and bullying, and lower student aggression toward teachers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The teacher version of the ASCS can be used to assess 2 key domains of school climate and associated measures of student engagement and aggression toward peers and teachers.
authors.affiliation: College of Education, University of Missouri, 16 Hill Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. huangf@missouri.edu.
authors.forename: Francis L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, 417 Emmet Street South, Charlottesville, VA 22901. dcornell@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Dewey G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Cornell
authors.affiliation: Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, 417 Emmet Street South, Charlottesville, VA 22904. konold@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Konold
authors.affiliation: Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, 405 Emmet Street South, Charlottesville, VA 22904. meyerjp@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, 59 Koch Avenue, Morris Plains, NJ 07950. apl4gu@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lacey
authors.affiliation: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889. ekn2cn@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Erin K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Nekvasil
authors.affiliation: Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, 405 Emmet Street South, Charlottesville, VA 22904. anna.heilbrun@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heilbrun
authors.affiliation: Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, Ruffner Hall 153, 405 Emmet St South, Charlottesville, VA 22904. kds5un@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Kathan D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Shukla
mesh_terms: D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014768:Virginia
keywords: bullying; multilevel CFA; school climate; student engagement; teacher perceptions