Opening up learning environments: liking school among students in reformed learning spaces

Figures & data

Table 1. Summary for items in study variables.

1. Liking school
	I like being at my school
2. School spaces
	It’s easy to move from one place to another in my school
	I like my school
	I like the open space classrooms in my school
	I like the interior decoration of my school, such as the furniture and colours
3. Working conditions
	I usually find a good working place for myself
	Every student has enough space on tables when needed
	The lighting is appropriate in my school
	The indoor air is healthy in my school
	My school is clean
	The furniture in my school is ergonomic
4. Availability of teacher support
	It’s easy to ask for help from the teacher
	The teacher/teachers has/have time to listen to me
	I can ask for help from every adult in the open classroom if I need to
	I can talk with my teacher(s) about difficult topics, too
	It is easy for me to hear the teacher
	My teacher trusts me
5. Peer support
	It is easy for me to work in groups
	It’s easy for me to find a pair/small group in which to work
	I have enough friends at school
	There is a good atmosphere in our class
	I feel that I belong in my class
	I know my classmates well
6. Managing schoolwork
	It is easy to know what to do during the lesson
	I usually have enough time to finish the tasks
	I study carefully even when the teacher is not around
	It is easy for me to concentrate on my work and on the tasks set
7. Feeling safe at school
	I feel safe at school

Table 2. Summary of intercorrelations, means, and standard deviations for the latent and observed variables.

Measure	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. Liking school	–
2. School spaces	.62***	–
3. Working conditions	.62***	.88***
4. Availability of teacher support	.65***	.65***	.82***	–
5. Peer support	.49***	.51***	.56***	.62***	–
6. Managing schoolwork	.51***	.53***	.64***	.76***	.65***	–
7. Feeling safe at school	.53***	.49***	.57***	.50***	.40***	.36***	–
8. Gender	.19***	.05	.08	.05	−.01	.12*	.14**	–
9. Grade	−.11**	−.27***	−.29***	−.19***	−.06	−.17***	−.03	−.03	–
M	4.09	4.15	4.18	4.15	4.30	4.08	4.45	–	2.99
SD	.96	.81	.67	.69	.68	.71	.88	–	1.19
Skewness	−1.13	−1.15	−1.24	−1.03	−1.59	−.93	−1.87	–	−.07
Kurtosis	−1.12	.93	1.81	.89	3.17	1.26	3.59	–	−1.00
Cronbach’s alpha	–	.78	.81	.79	.81	.75	–	–	–

Note: Means and standard deviations based on observed and mean variables. Correlations based on latent factors (variables 2–5) and observed measures (variables 1, 6–7). Gender: boys = 0, girls = 1. Grade: 1–5.

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, two-tailed.

Table 3. Explaining the variance in liking school.

	Model 1		Model 2^b
Variables	b*	SE	b*	SE
School spaces	.49**	.02	.28***	.06
Working conditions	−.39	.31
Availability of teacher support	.53**	.18	.37***	.06
Peer support	.07	.06
Managing schoolwork	−.04	.08
Feeling safe at school	.22***	.06	.19***	.05
Gender	.15***	.04	.13***	.03
Grade	.02	.04
R^2	.56		.54

Note: b* = standardised regression coefficient and SE = standard error. ^bModel 2 was estimated by only including those variables from Model 1 that accounted for statistically significant variance in the dependent variable.

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, two-tailed.