Why Relationships Within a School Matter to Learning

Statistical analysis of the survey data discussed in Chap. 6 revealed several significant correlations between students’ perspectives and opinions about their school experience. There were significant (at 0.01 level) positive correlations between three of the emergent scales within the school perceptions survey and students’ scores on the Biggs’ deep learning approaches scale in four schools, as measured by the Revised Study Process Questionnaire Two Factors (R-SPQ-2F). Within three of the schools, there was also a significant (at 0.001 level) negative correlation between the school perception scale of ‘Meeting for Worship and the use of silence’ (MWS) and Biggs’ surface learning approaches scale. The analysis also showed several other significant relationships between students’ school perception survey (SSPS) dimensions and their learning approach. This chapter returns to the qualitative data, group interviews with students and their teachers, to understand the how and why these statistical relationships occurred. We begin with consideration of the qualities of relationships perceived as existing within the schools, both peer-to-peer and student-teacher, exploring why schools experienced as ‘friendly’ places are important to learning.