Teacher Support, Professionalism, and School Climate: An Exploratory Factor Analytic Approach to Learning Environment Quality

International audience Despite the growing recognition of school climate and teacher–student interaction as critical determinants of learner engagement and academic success, contextually validated instruments for measuring these constructs within Ghana’s basic education system remain scarce. Most existing tools are imported or unidimensional, limiting their contextual relevance and psychometric robustness. This study addresses this gap by validating a multidimensional model of learning environment quality using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability diagnostics. Data were collected from 1,024 pupils across multiple schools using Likert-scale items representing five hypothesised constructs: Teacher Support (TS), Instructional Quality and Engagement (IQE), Classroom Climate and Belonging (CCB), Teacher Professionalism and Standards (TPS), and School Support Services (SSS). While five constructs guided instrument design, empirical analysis revealed a six-factor structure, reflecting the emergence of an additional moral-behavioral professionalism dimension specific to the Ghanaian context. Parallel analysis and minimum residual EFA with oblimin rotation were used to determine factor structure. Item refinement retained indicators with |loading| ≥ .35. A six-factor solution emerged, explaining 43.2% of the total variance. Reliability analysis demonstrated acceptable to high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.612 to 0.807 and McDonald’s omega from 0.716 to 0.877. Mean scale scores ranged from 3.73 ± 0.73 (SSS) to 4.51 ± 0.45 (TPS), indicating generally positive perceptions of classroom and school environments. The refined model exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties and conceptual clarity, confirming the multidimensional nature of learning environment quality. This framework provides a robust psychometric foundation for assessing teacher–student relationships and school climate in Ghana and offers actionable insights for policymakers and educators seeking to foster supportive, data-driven learning environments in sub-Saharan Africa.