Beyond the Classroom Walls: The Case of Israeli Youths’ Sense of Group Climate in Online and Offline Educational Environments

The study examined Israeli youths’ sense of group climate in online and offline educational settings, i.e., in Instant Messaging (IM) groups organized by homeroom teachers for their respective students and in the physical classroom environment. Participants included 550 students (152 boys, 398 girls), of ages 10-18, who completed an online survey. The findings reveal that the students perceived the classroom climate to be more positive than that of the IM group in which the homeroom teacher is present. Furthermore, the more positive the perceived face-to-face (FtF) classroom climate was, the more positive the perceived IM group climate. In addition, when both class and IM group climates were perceived to be highly positive, a sense of non-violence among the participants was found to be the highest. These findings shed light on the unique phenomena of homeroom teachers who participate with their students in IM groups. Based on the findings, implications for educators and school counsellors are discussed.