Likert Scales (Summated Rating)

Purpose

To attempt to measure attitudes towards ideas or concepts via a range of relevant statements

Preparation

Resources

Copies of your pre-prepared scale

Teacher time

You need to decide what you want to measure attitudes towards (In the examples given below, one is about staff attitudes to a range of sustainability issues, the other is about peoples' attitudes towards their personal or professional future. For pupils, a scale devised to look at their views of the future and their role in it, or other areas related to sustainability issues, such as the staff one, could be developed).

You then need to draw up a series of statements that you want the interviewees to rate on the highly probable to highly improbable scale. It is best to start with about 50 statements.

Procedure

Carry out a trial using your scale with a number of interviewees and look at the results. Refine the number of questions down to about 30 statements.

Carry out a larger number of interviews and analyse the results. You could then share the results with pupils and / or other members of staff and discuss the implications they have for your teaching.

Extension

The scale could be used with the school staff and other members of the school community and the results compared

Advantages of this methodology

• Once you have found a useful set of statements, the scale can be used again and again
• Easy to carry out
• Fairly easy to aggregate the results
• Gives an idea of peoples' attitudes to chosen issues
  

Disadvantages of this methodology

• Takes time to set up and trial
• Depends on honesty of those filling in scale