Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire – PTO
Measures teacher morale and its various components across ten distinct school and community dimensions.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire – PTO was developed by Ralph R. Bentley, A. M. Rempel (1970). It is designed to measure Teacher Morale. The scale is intended for use with School teachers.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 100 items organized into 10 factors/subscales: Teacher rapport with principal, Satisfaction with teaching, Rapport among teachers, Teacher salary, Teacher load, Curriculum issues, Teacher status, Community support of education, School facilities and services, Community pressures.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher rapport with principal | 2,3,5,7,12,33,38,41,43,44,61,62,69,70,72,73,74,92,93,95 | 20 |
| Satisfaction with teaching | 19,24,26,27,29,30,46,47,50,51,56,58,60,76,78,82,83,86,89,100 | 20 |
| Rapport among teachers | 18,22,23,28,48,52,53,54,55,77,80,84,87,90 | 14 |
| Teacher salary | 4,9,32,36,39,65,75 | 7 |
| Teacher load | 1,6,8,10,11,14,31,34,40,42,45 | 11 |
| Curriculum issues | 17,20,25,79,88 | 5 |
| Teacher status | 13,15,35,37,63,64,68,71 | 8 |
| Community support of education | 66,67,94,96,97 | 5 |
| School facilities and services | 16,21,49,57,59 | 5 |
| Community pressures | 81,85,91,98,99 | 5 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 4 = Agree, 3 = Probably Agree, 2 = Probably Disagree, 1 = Disagree.
The scale includes 26 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 100 to 400. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Morale: 100 – 200
- Moderate Morale: 201 – 300
- High Morale: 301 – 400
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.96.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.