Main Study:
3.6. Cross-Sectional Survey with Learners
3.6.4. Data processing and statistical analysis
Quantitative data was entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 for Windows (IBM SPSS Inc., Chicago IL, USA). Prior to data analysis, data underwent a comprehensive in-depth quality control process to ensure completeness and accuracy. Frequencies were calculated for each variable to check for errors i.e. duplicate entries, erroneous data and missing values. No missing values were recorded. Negatively worded items were reverse- coded to ensure that all the items were loaded in the same direction for further analysis techniques. In answering the research objectives number one to five, the following statistical analyses were conducted:
The factor structure and psychometric properties of the measures were investigated for the cross-sectional survey which was a component of Phase Two of the study. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the underlying factor structure of the 32 items contained along the three dimensions of the scale which measured the Safe & clean classroom and school environment. The purpose was to refine the measures and scales of the components of The Healthy Kids Survey scales. The requirements for PCA were met by an examination of the suitability of
data for factor analysis. This was indicated since the factorability was adequate as the Bartlett’s testof sphericity was significant at 4255.16 with p <.001/ (p = 0.000) and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) index (0.853) is greater than 0.60. Therefore, the variables were applicable for PCA. The intention of the PCA was to develop a factor model which included the following requirements:
• The resulting components explained 50% or more of the variance in each of the variables, for instance those having a communality greater than .50;
• No variable has a loading, or has correlations of .40 or higher for more than one component; and
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In order for the requirements to be fulfilled, problematic variables were removed from the analysis. Thereafter, the principal component analysis was repeated to give rise to an adequate solution. Principal component analysis with Varimax rotation revealed the presence of three components with eigenvalues exceeding one. Varimax rotation (orthogonal rotation) was used due to the uncorrelated factors. This is in accordance with Tabachnick and Fidell (2007), who indicate that if correlations do not exceed 0.32 then there is less than 10% or more overlap among factors which is enough variance not to warrant oblique rotations. Items with loadings of less than .40 were not included. After removal of 21 problematic variables and numerous duplications, a three component Varimax rotation solution which, in addition appeared to be the best in terms of prior literature and theoretical background, was retained. The components items were then subjected to inter-item reliability analysis.
In the PCA, all 32 items from the Safe & Clean Classroom and School Environment Scale were entered as equal priorities into the analysis process. PCA produced eigenvalues from the three factors. These were compared to decide the number of factors to be extracted. Based on this comparison, the three factors were kept for further analysis. The 21 items which did not meet the inclusion criteria (i.e. having a commonality value < 0.50) were excluded from the analysis due to limited shared variance with the remainder of the items in their factor structures. The following items (quoted from the questionnaire) were removed: 1a) “Your classroom(s) is/are protected from the elements (solid roof, walls, and floor)”, 1b) “The classroom has enough ventilation”, 1c) “The classroom is a comfortable temperature”, 1d) “The classroom lighting is enough for learners to work”, 1g) “Learners each have enough space to work”, 1h) “Furniture is of the right size for learners to work comfortably”, 1i) “There are examples of learners’ work or projects shown in the classroom”, 2a) “Do you feel that your belongings are safe at your school”, 2b) “Do you feel that you are safe from bullying at your school”, 2c) “Do you feel that you are safe from physical abuse and violence at your school”, 2d) “During the past 12 months, how often have you been pushed, shoved, hit, etc.”, 2e) “During the past 12 months, how often have you seen or heard of learners being in a physical fight on school property”, 2f) “During the past 12 months, how often have you been involved in a physical fight on school property”, 2g) “During the past 12 months, how often have you seen or heard of learners being afraid of being beaten up on school property”, 3ab) “Sinks that work properly with soap are near the toilets”, 3af) “Toilets are close to classrooms”, 3ba) “Grounds are clean”, 3bb) “Hallways are clean”, 3bd) “School buildings provide enough
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protection from the rain, heat, cold, wind and dust.”, 3be) “The school grounds are kept free of litter and garbage, except in selected bins.” 3bf) “The school grounds are kept free of unwanted animals (for example, Stray dogs and cats) as well as animal waste. Any school pets are kept in clean conditions.” The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation yielded three factor structures with 11 items. The three factor model explained 51.839% of the total variance. The three factors identified could be approximately interpreted as follows:
• Factor one (four items) related to “Hygiene and Sanitation” • Factor two (four items) related to “School Safety”
• Factor three (three items) related to “School Physically Organised”
The highest contributing factors are: “Hygiene and Sanitation” and explained 20.047%, “School Safety” explained 16.159% and “School Physically Organised” explained 15.633% of the variance in the items respectively and 51.839 % in total. The loading values/factor structure for the three new components are shown in Table 7 below:
Regarding the construction of measures, items which were negatively coded were recoded to load in the same direction as the rest of the scale. The components’ items were assessed in terms of their inter-item reliability analysis. Upon obtaining satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, scales were developed by summing the relevant items. Items which formed scales within the cross- sectional survey were collated to form individual scale measures. Normality of the new constructs was assessed using the Explore function of SPSS version 23.0 for Windows (IBM SPSS Inc., Chicago IL, USA) and outliers were removed with the intention of improving normality. Shapiro- Wilkes tests and a visual inspection of the histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots were conducted to confirm normal distributions and homogeneity of variance of the dependent variables (DVs) for the purposes of parametric testing. A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro & Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the Safe & Clean Classroom and School Environment Scale scores were approximately normally distributed. Table 8 indicates the descriptive statistics of the components. Parametric tests were used in the further analysis due to the relative normal distribution of the measures.
115 Table 7
Principal component analysis loading matrix after Varimax rotation with loading factors >.40
11 variables Hygiene and
sanitation School safety School physically organised Commonalities
3ae) Toilets are safe and in a good state .797 .693
3ag) Toilets and sinks are clean and hygienic .664 .596
3ac)Toilets are designed to allow learners privacy .631 .582
3ad) There are enough working toilets available so that learners do not have to
wait too long to use them. .507 .541
1l) There are security gates and walls at your school .639 .555
1k) Your school is physically safe .627 .520
1j) There are security guards at your school .604 .651
3aa) Learners and staff have ongoing, easy access to drinking water. .568
3bc) Classrooms are clean .626 .578
1e) The classroom is clean and orderly .579 .571
1f) Outside noise does not affect communication within the classroom. .571 .589
Eigenvalue 7.694 7.448 6.230
Contribution rate 20.047 16.159 15.633 51.839
Inter-item reliability co-efficient (N=600) .74 .66 .65
116 Table 8
Descriptive statistics of continuous and categorical variables for Setting 1 data
Continuous N Number
of items Min/Max co-efficient (N=600) Inter-item reliability Mean 95% CI for mean SD Kurtosis Skewness
Lower Upper School Safety 600 4 2.48-2.94 .74 10.71 2.72 2.90 3.276 -.883 -.201 Hygiene and sanitation 600 4 2.23-2.81 .66 10.31 2.60 2.82 3.264 -.776 -.221 School physically organised 600 3 2.32-2.61 .65 7.43 2.47 2.63 2.065 -.781 .016
Note: SD=standard deviation; CI= confidence interval
Codes used for items: 1= Not achieved, 2= Somewhat achieved, 3= Mostly achieved, 4= Fully achieved
Construction of Scale Measures
Table 9 below indicates how the scales were constructed for the purposes of the cross-sectional survey analysis in the study. The scale, developer, characteristics, target groups, recoding, inter-item reliability, summing of items & Cronbach’s alpha,
117 Table 9
Construction of Scale Measures According to this Study
Scale/ Assessm ent
Developer Characteristics Target
Groups Recoding, inter-item reliability. Summing of items & Cronbach’s Alpha Psychometric Properties & Descriptives
Normality & removal of outliers Appendix
number Caring Environ ment scale (Hanson & Kim, 2007) California healthy kids survey, 2011
An 11 item scale (4a-4k) assessing the learners’ perception of learner care by the school.
Youth aged 13 - 18
None of the items out of all the items (4a-4k) were recoded due to them all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item). Cronbach’s alpha: Caring Environment α = 0.86. Minimum=1, Maximum=4, N=600 Mean=3.00, SD= .769, Scale range=3,
95% CI for mean lower=2.91 95% CI for mean lower Upper=3.05
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the Caring Environment scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of 0.141 (SE=0.281) and kurtosis of 0.583 (SE=0.715) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of - 0.124 (SE=0.387) and kurtosis of (SE=0.141) for Grade 11 learners. No outliers were removed.
B Sense of Belongin g scale (Gambon e & Arbreton, 1997) (Gambone & Arbreton, 1997)
5 item scale assessing learners’ perceptions of learner’s experiences of learners’ school connectedness and belonging. Youth aged 13 - 18 years old 5c was reverse- coded of all the items (5a-5e) due to the rest of the items all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
Inter-item reliability co-efficient Sense of Belonging Scale α = 0.86. Minimum=1, Maximum=5, N=600
Mean=2.48, SD=0.88, Scale range 4.
95% CI for mean lower=2.38 95% CI for mean lower Upper=2.58
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the Sense of Belonging scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of 0.375 (SE=0.142) and kurtosis of -0.111 (SE=0.284) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of 0.142 (SE=0.142) and kurtosis of -0.250 (SE=0.282) for Grade 11 learners. Six outliers were removed.
B Psycholo gical Sense of School Members hip Scale (Gooden ow, 1993) Goodenow,
1993 10 item scale assessing learner and educator perceptions of learners’ experiences of the school as a supportive environment in terms of whether learners have networks of social support they can access within their schools.
Youth aged 13 - 18 years old
None of the items (6a-6l) were recoded due to them all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
Cronbach’s alpha Supportive Environment scale α = 0.89. Minimum=1, Maximum=4, N= 600
Mean = 25.25, SD=6.94, Scale range =3
95% CI for mean lower=1.91 95% CI for mean lower Upper=2.06
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the Psychological Sense of School Membership scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of 0.342 (SE=0.142) and kurtosis of 0.077 (SE=0.284) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of -0.327 (SE=0.144) and kurtosis of -0.085 (SE=0.286) for Grade 11 learners. No outliers were removed.
B School Engagem ent scale (Frederic ks et al., 2005) Fredericks et al., 2005.
6 item scale assessing learners’ behavioural and emotional engagement in the school. Youth aged 13 - 18 years old
None of the items (11a-11f) were recoded due to them all loading in a positive direction (the higher the
Inter-item reliability co-efficient = 0.79. Minimum=1,
Maximum=4, N=600
Mean=, SD=0.75, Scale range=3 95% CI for mean lower=2.73
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the School Engagement Scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of 0.268 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of
118 score, the more
positive the result on the item).
95% CI for mean lower Upper=2.91
0.699 (SE=0.281) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of 0.249 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of -0.704 (SE=0.281) for Grade 11 learners. No outliers were removed.
School discipline scale (Hanson & Kim, 2007) California school climate survey, 2012
6 item scale assessing learners’ perceptions of learners’ experiences of the discipline and order within the school environment.
Youth aged 13 - 18 years old
None of the items (9a-9f) were recoded due to them all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
Inter-item reliability co-efficient = 0.87. Minimum=1.68 Maximum=2.29, N= 600 Mean=2.07, SD=0.55, Scale range=.617
95% CI for mean lower=2.56 95% CI for mean lower Upper=2.78
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the School Discipline scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of 0.04 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of 0.09 (SE=0.281) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of - 0.249 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of -0.519 (SE=0.281) for Grade 11 learners. No outliers were removed.
B Compreh ensive School climate inventory (The Centre for Social and Emotiona l Educatio n, 2012) The Centre for Social and Emotional Education, 2012
15 item scale overall school climate and values in terms of discrimination, stigma, acceptance and tolerance.
Youth aged 13 - 18 years old 12c, 12e, 12m and 12o of all the items (12a-12o) were reverse-coded due to the rest of the items all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
Cronbach’s alphaComprehensive School climate inventory α = 0.76. Minimum=1, Maximum=4, N=600 Mean=2.56, SD = 0.62, Scale range=3
95% CI for mean lower=2.85 95% CI for mean lower Upper=3.11
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the Comprehensive School Climate Inventory scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of 0.078 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of -0.413 (SE=0.281) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of -0.117 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of -0.141 (SE=0.281) for Grade 11 learners. No outliers were removed.
119 Parent School Partnersh ip (Hanson & Kim, 2007) California School Climate Survey
19 item scale which investigates learners’ perceptions of their caregivers’ experiences of the school environment in terms of being conducive to LO’s sexuality educations’ aims. It assesses learners’ perception of their caregivers’ support for learner school
connectedness and whether the school allows input and welcomes caregivers’ contributions. Youth aged 13 - 18 years old
None of the items (14a-14s) were recoded due to them all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
Cronbach’s alpha Parent School Partnership α = 0.90.
Minimum=1, Maximum=4, N= 600
Mean=3.05, SD=0.69, Scale range=3
95% CI for mean lower=2.97 95% CI for mean lower Upper=3.13
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the Parent School Partnership scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of -0.371 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of - 0.603 (SE=0.281) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of - 0.222 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of -0.502 (SE=0.281) for Grade 11 learners. No outliers were removed.
B Sexual Activity Scale (Bennett & Dickinso n, 1980) Youth Risk Behaviour Survey (High School Cross- sectional survey) Questions on Sexual Behaviour, 2008 10 individual items measuring the level of sexual activity in learners.
Youth aged 13 - 18 years old 15.6 & 15.7 out of all the items (15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 158b & 15.8c) were reverse coded due to the rest of the items all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
The Sexual Activity Scale Cronbach’s alpha α = 0.83. Minimum=1, Maximum=4, N=600
Mean=3.01, SD=0.48, Scale range=3
95% CI for mean lower=2.82 95% CI for mean lower Upper=3.18
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the Sexual Activity Scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of 0.256 (SE=0.393) and kurtosis of - 0.750 (SE=0.796) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of - 0.313 (SE=0.374) and kurtosis of 0.319 (SE=0.733) for Grade 11 learners. No outliers were removed.
B Substanc e use/subst ance abuse scale (Centre for Substanc e Abuse and mental Health Centre for Substance Abuse and mental Health Services, Sexual risk profile, 2007 5 individual questions measuring substance abuse and substance use in conjunction with sexual activity. Youth aged 13 - 18 years old
None of the items out of all the items (15.8e-15.8i) were reverse coded due to them all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
Inter-item reliability co-efficient = 0.73. Minimum=1,
Maximum=4, N=600 Mean=2.51, SD=0.453, Scale range=3
95% CI for mean lower=2.46 95% CI for mean lower Upper=2.56
A Shapiro-Wilk’s test (p>0.05), (Shapiro and Wilk, 1965), and a visual inspection of their histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots indicated that the Substance Use/Abuse scale scores were approximately normally distributed for Grade 9 and Grade 11 learners with a skewness of 0.136 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of 0.270 (SE=0.281) for Grade 9 learners, a skewness of -- 0.292 (SE=0.141) and kurtosis of -0.717 (SE=0.281) for Grade 11 learners. No outliers were removed.
120 Services, 2007) Learner- educator Relations hip Index California school climate survey, 2012 3 individual questions measuring Learner- Educator Relationship quality. Youth aged 13 - 18 years old
None of the items out of all the items (8a,8b,8c) were reverse coded due to them all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
Dichotomous – The Learner- Educator Relationship Index Cronbach’s alpha α = 0.84. Inter- item reliability co-efficient α=0.86 n/a B Educator Expertise Index California school climate survey, 2012 2 individual questions measuring Educator Expertise. Youth aged 13 - 18 years old
None of the items out of all the items (13d-13e) were reverse coded due to them all loading in a positive direction (the higher the score, the more positive the result on the item).
Dichotomous - The Educator Expertise Index Scale Cronbach’s alpha α = 0.76. Inter-item reliability co-efficient α=0.83
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Scales were constructed by recoding the items which required to be reversed-coded in order to load in the same direction as the rest of the items in the scale. Psychometric properties of the scale were assessed in terms of their inter-item reliability analyses which were the Cronbach’s alpha for scales with more than 10 items and the inter-item correlation coefficients for those scales which consisted of less than 10 items. Upon obtaining satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha coefficients/inter-item correlation coefficients, scales were developed by summing the relevant items in order to collate them to form individual scale measures. Normality of the new constructs was assessed using the Explore function of SPSS version 23.0 for Windows (IBM SPSS Inc., Chicago IL, USA) and outliers were removed with the intention of improving normality. Shapiro- Wilkes tests and a visual inspection of the histograms, normal Q-Q plots and boxplots were conducted to confirm normal distributions and homogeneity of variance of the DVs for the purposes of parametric testing. The scales constructed with relevant above-mentioned details are
in Table 9 above.
Data was coded and thereafter entered onto SPSS version 23.0 for Windows (IBM SPSS Inc., Chicago IL, USA) for analysis. The study is descriptive and inferential in nature and therefore the possible relationships between various independent variables (IVs) as impacting on sexual activity and perceptions of the school environment, as set out by the cross-sectional survey, has been examined. Each item and topic was entered into SPSS version 23.0 for Windows (IBM SPSS Inc., Chicago IL, USA) individually in the sequential nature it appeared in the cross-sectional survey. A data check was conducted via frequencies to ensure that all data was entered and that it was entered correctly. Recoding of certain variables was conducted to improve the response categories for analysis. The demographic data regarding age was recoded into specific age categories i.e. 13-15 years, 16-17 years and 18 – over 20 years in order to obtain categorical data and run Chi-squares against the various DVs i.e. “Feel able to apply LO messages about sexuality