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Office of Planning and Research

Views of Climate and Learning (VOCAL) Survey Project

Introduction

VOCAL is an annual survey sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Participating students are asked to share their views on three dimensions and nine topics of school climate:

EngagementSafetyEnvironment
Cultural competence
  • The extent students feel adults/students value diversity, manage dynamics of differences, and avoid stereotypes.
 Emotional safety
  • The extent students feel a bond to the school, and the extent adults/students support the emotional needs of students.
 Instructional environment
  • The extent that students feel the instructional environment is collaborative, relevant, challenging and supportive of learning.
Relationships
  • The extent students feel there is a social connection and respect between staff/teachers and students, and between students and their peers.
 Physical safety
  • The extent that students feel physically safe within the school environment.
 Mental health environment
  • The extent that students have access to support systems that effectively support their social, emotional and mental health well-being.
Participation
  • The extent students feel engaged intellectually, emotionally, and behaviorally in the classroom, and the extent that students or their parents are engaged in school life.
 Bullying/Cyber-bullying
  • The extent that students report different types of bullying behaviors occurring in the school and the extent that school/staff/students try to counteract bullying.
 Discipline environment
  • The extent that discipline is fair, applied consistently and evenly, and a shared responsibility among staff, teachers, and students.

Foreign Language Translations

Haitian

Portuguese

Simplified Chinese

Spanish


Information and Upcoming Events

Annual Training Opportunities

The Department will offer VOCAL data usage workshops in late fall. VOCAL trainings will be offered in late fall to demonstrate the new Edwin reporting system for VOCAL data.

Upcoming Events

None at this time

If you have any questions on the VOCAL survey, fall trainings or upcoming events, please email vocalsurveydese@mass.gov.

Prior Years

Last Updated: September 27, 2021

 
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