Development of an instrument to measure student behaviour and attitudes

This report describes how the behaviour and attitudes of Danish students at primary and lower secondary schools can be measured. The report does not analyse the differences in student behaviour, but rather how it is possible to develop instruments to make valid measurements of student behaviour and their attitudes towards school. In connection with a major evaluation of the Danish school reform, in 2014 the Danish National Centre for Social Research carried out data measurement among Danish students throughout Denmark before the reform entered into force. The measurement collected knowledge about students' behaviour and their attitudes towards school and experience of teaching. The report accounts for the development and validation of quantitative measuring instruments in the form of an index, in order to assess these factors using data from this baseline measurement. The indices presented in the report can be used to monitor student development and examine any changes in attitudes and behaviour following the reform. The analyses were commissioned and financed by the Danish Ministry of Education.