No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
School building condition, social climate, student attendance and academic achievement: A mediation model
... Jose Manuel Cordero et al. [8] find that the performance of students in school depends on teacher characteristics such as their experience, qualification and pedagogy; student variables such as socioeconomic characteristics, cognitive ability and individual learning capability; parental involvement; and geographical location. Several studies investigate aspects such as building and school infrastructural resources [12,21,24,28,33,36], teacher qualification, experience and pedagogy [5,7,[24][25][26]34], classroom instruction time [1,2,25], quality of instruction including the latest technologies [24,36], students' socioeconomic background and demographics [5,16,25,29,33], parents education level and involvement [16,25], school and class size, pupil teacher ratio [1,16,25,38], school location [3,4,16,27], school attendance [10,12,15,16,33], peer-peer interaction [19,33], inspection, accountability and visits by external officials [9,11], and sports [23,38]. ...
... Jose Manuel Cordero et al. [8] find that the performance of students in school depends on teacher characteristics such as their experience, qualification and pedagogy; student variables such as socioeconomic characteristics, cognitive ability and individual learning capability; parental involvement; and geographical location. Several studies investigate aspects such as building and school infrastructural resources [12,21,24,28,33,36], teacher qualification, experience and pedagogy [5,7,[24][25][26]34], classroom instruction time [1,2,25], quality of instruction including the latest technologies [24,36], students' socioeconomic background and demographics [5,16,25,29,33], parents education level and involvement [16,25], school and class size, pupil teacher ratio [1,16,25,38], school location [3,4,16,27], school attendance [10,12,15,16,33], peer-peer interaction [19,33], inspection, accountability and visits by external officials [9,11], and sports [23,38]. ...
... Jose Manuel Cordero et al. [8] find that the performance of students in school depends on teacher characteristics such as their experience, qualification and pedagogy; student variables such as socioeconomic characteristics, cognitive ability and individual learning capability; parental involvement; and geographical location. Several studies investigate aspects such as building and school infrastructural resources [12,21,24,28,33,36], teacher qualification, experience and pedagogy [5,7,[24][25][26]34], classroom instruction time [1,2,25], quality of instruction including the latest technologies [24,36], students' socioeconomic background and demographics [5,16,25,29,33], parents education level and involvement [16,25], school and class size, pupil teacher ratio [1,16,25,38], school location [3,4,16,27], school attendance [10,12,15,16,33], peer-peer interaction [19,33], inspection, accountability and visits by external officials [9,11], and sports [23,38]. ...
This paper aims to provide insights into improving school performance through a twofold analysis: identifying the schools and zones most suitable for carrying out interventions, and determining the key factors that affect education delivery in schools. Over the last few years, India's central and state governments have started to collect data on several aspects of education at the school level. These data are available in raw form as well as descriptive reports and need to be explored for key policy insights. Hence, this study adopts a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical analysis to identify the improvement areas. The study uses box plots, chi-squared test, geotagging, and multiple linear regression analysis on three years of data from about 800 government schools in Delhi, India. The results indicate that the school's performance depends on its location, as evident from chi-square tests carried out over three academic years. Some zones experience deteriorating performance over the analysis horizon, while some remain consistent. Multiple regression analysis reveals seven statistically significant terms that explain approximately 35% variation in test scores. There is a statistically significant association between school performance and the existence of playgrounds, number of inspections, the primary medium of delivery instruction, number of books in the library, student attendance in the initial months, and proportion of female teachers. The measures suggested here incorporate both strategic and operational aspects that affect education delivery.
... De este modo, si los estudiantes experimentan bienestar personal y apego al lugar donde pasan gran parte de su vida diaria, esto se traduce en un impacto positivo en su atención, motivación y aprendizaje (Hopland y Nyhus, 2015). Maxwell (2016) enfatiza que el diseño, la calidad y la adecuación de los espacios de aprendizaje favorecen que los estudiantes mantengan emociones positivas, se sientan integrados y valorizados. Por otro lado, Oblinger (2005) destaca la incidencia que tiene el diseño en los espacios de aprendizaje, al considerar que el espacio interviene en la conexión social de los alumnos, fomentando así la colaboración, la reflexión, el intercambio y la interacción. ...
... En este diálogo donde se relacionan el nivel de bienestar y las posibilidades funcionales ofrecidas por el espacio, el impacto en el proceso de aprendizaje de quienes lo habitan de poder ser positiva si las condiciones lo son (Fraser, 2018;Stanton, Zandvliet y Rosie, 2018) o, todo lo contrario. En este sentido, existen investigaciones que reconocen determinados factores de diseño y su nivel de impacto, tanto en la motivación (Lim y Fraser, 2018;Lin-Siegler et al., 2016) como en las relaciones sociales del alumnado (Maxwell, 2016). Göttler (1955) manifestó la influencia de las características físicas y ambientales del medio escolar en las interacciones sociales y otros aspectos psicosociales del estudiante. ...
... De igual modo, la revisión de la literatura reconoce la importancia que adquieren las metodologías a la hora procesar la información, siendo muchas veces obstaculizada por los elementos físicos (Daniels et al., 2007;Maxwell, 2016). Además, es necesario mencionar la presencia de internet como elemento transformador del comportamiento humano en lo relativo a la comunicación, emociones, autonomía, distracción e identidad (Abad-Segura y González-Zamar, 2019b; Sobaih, Moustafa, Ghandforoush y Khan, 2016). ...
En los últimos años, los cambios acontecidos en el sector educativo y social se han visto reflejados en el creciente interés por definir cómo afectan los atributos del espacio educativo en el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje de los estudiantes. En este contexto, el aula se caracteriza por combinar variables físicas, ambientales y espaciales; de modo que, junto con el diseño y la organización, se considera un elemento facilitador del aprendizaje. El objetivo de este estudio es identificar las publicaciones científicas relacionadas con el impacto del diseño del espacio educativo en el proceso de aprendizaje de los estudiantes de educación superior, durante el período entre 2005 a 2019. Las búsquedas analizadas incluyenla red de colaboración entre autores, países e instituciones, además de las relaciones entre las palabras clave. Se realizó un análisis bibliométrico de la literatura científica con la base de datos Scopus. Se identificaron 2.173 documentos sobre la temática de investigación. Los resultados del análisis revelaron que, la productividad se incrementó considerablemente desde el año 2010. Asimismo, se detectan como principales tendencias de investigación el análisis del efecto que induce el diseño del aula en los procesos cognitivos y emocionales del estudiante.
... In Chinese urban high schools, it has been exposed that the academic stress was the major mental problem among students, which occurs with the higher pressure to pass the national university entry exam (Luo et al., 2020). As high school students spend a substantial amount of time on studying indoors, their mental health and satisfaction can be significantly affected by the environmental conditions of classrooms (Maxwell, 2016). Some physical aspects of classroom environment have been broadly investigated, including thermal, lighting, acoustic, and air quality (Maxwell, 2016). ...
... As high school students spend a substantial amount of time on studying indoors, their mental health and satisfaction can be significantly affected by the environmental conditions of classrooms (Maxwell, 2016). Some physical aspects of classroom environment have been broadly investigated, including thermal, lighting, acoustic, and air quality (Maxwell, 2016). In addition, the impact of classroom architectural features on students' mental performance was studied, such as seating location, windows, furniture, and facilities (Maxwell, 2016;Shernoff et al., 2017). ...
... Some physical aspects of classroom environment have been broadly investigated, including thermal, lighting, acoustic, and air quality (Maxwell, 2016). In addition, the impact of classroom architectural features on students' mental performance was studied, such as seating location, windows, furniture, and facilities (Maxwell, 2016;Shernoff et al., 2017). However, proofs that how perceived environmental qualities take effect on students' satisfaction in current Chinese high schools are limited. ...
This article presented an online survey of how perceived environmental qualities affect Chinese students’ satisfaction in urban high schools. Key findings were as follows: 1) There was an association between students’ satisfaction and classroom environmental qualities including perceived qualities of facilities, furniture and wall decoration, indoor climate, indoor plant, and window view. 2) However, social capital and being away can fully mediate the effects of window view and indoor plants, while effects of perceived qualities (facilities, furniture and wall decoration) and indoor climate can be just partially mediated by them.
... 24,26,[196][197][198][199][200][201][202][203][204][205][206][207][208] 5. Building disrepair has been associated with student performance and absenteeism. [209][210][211][212][213][214][215][216][217][218] 6. Green schools haven't been directly associated with increased student performance, but their enhanced IEQ, relation to nature and energy efficiency are beneficial for students. 213 9. Ergonomic furniture positively impacts student health. ...
... The quality of the facilities mediates perceptions of the facility by different actors (teachers, students, parents, school leaders), affecting school climate, which ends up producing an impact on student achievement. [209][210][211][212] Student success depends on a built environment which then creates social interactions in adequate spaces inside large institutions. 212 For example, a study found that 70% of the variance in academic achievement was linked to the building condition and mediated by attendance and school climate. ...
... They also found that many students perceived their social climate as a positive experience affected by the physical space. 210 In another study, perceptions of the quality of the facilities were strongly correlated to the assessment of resource support. Similar to the previous study, the quality of the facilities was significantly related to the school climate index, and perceptions of the quality of the facilities were significantly related to student achievement and mathematics. ...
... School is an essential context for adolescent development (e.g., Roeser, Eccles, & Sameroff, 2000). Schools are rich, multidimensional spaces wherein the social and relational dynamics, academic opportunities, extracurricular activities, financial resources, and building quality collectively help (or hinder) students to flourish academically, emotionally, and socially (e.g., Maxwell, 2016;Roeser et al., 2000;Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & Higgins-D'Alessandro, 2013). Yet, schools are also nested within and shaped by a larger sociopolitical system, which, in the United States is structured by race, gender, and social class, and more specifically white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism (e.g., Garc ıa Coll et al., 1996;Rogers & Way, 2018). ...
... Physical space: "[t]his building is literally falling apart". The final theme highlights how the quality of school building-and specifically the lack of structural pathways for funding and broader socioeconomic inequities-shaped girls' social and learning opportunities in this space (e.g., Maxwell, 2016). The Juniors explained: "[W]e just need a different building, 'cuz this building is literally falling apart." ...
... The structural space was also salient, and from Black girls' points of view insufficient across an array of dimensions. These observations align with previous research suggesting that school conditions are unequal and impact learning and socioemotional wellbeing (e.g., Darling-Hammond, 2004;Maxwell, 2016;Roeser et al., 2000). As argued in PVEST (Spencer, 1995), centering societal systems and phenomenology in developmental research is essential as Black girls perceive and make sense of their school experiences through these structures. ...
A robust literature shows that (parental) ethnic‐racial socialization (ERS) influences Black youths’ identity development. Other sources of socialization, like media, are acknowledged but scarcely represented in empirical studies. In this study, we conceptualize #BlackGirlMagic (#BGM), a social media hashtag, as a media‐based ERS message and examine its association with identity outcomes among Black adolescent girls (N = 63; Mage = 16.17). Analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, we show that Black girls interpret #BGM as a message of: (a) Affirmation; (b) Societal Oppression; (c) Collectiveness; and (d) Being Seen/Heard. Furthermore, girls’ interpretations of #BGM were significantly associated with racial identity measures and the content of their racial and gender identity interviews. Implications for socialization and identity research and the study of Black girls’ development are discussed.
... School is an essential context for adolescent development (e.g., Roeser, Eccles, & Sameroff, 2000). Schools are rich, multidimensional spaces wherein the social and relational dynamics, academic opportunities, extracurricular activities, financial resources, and building quality collectively help (or hinder) students to flourish academically, emotionally, and socially (e.g., Maxwell, 2016;Roeser et al., 2000;Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & Higgins-D'Alessandro, 2013). Yet, schools are also nested within and shaped by a larger sociopolitical system, which, in the United States is structured by race, gender, and social class, and more specifically white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism (e.g., Garc ıa Coll et al., 1996;Rogers & Way, 2018). ...
... Physical space: "[t]his building is literally falling apart". The final theme highlights how the quality of school building-and specifically the lack of structural pathways for funding and broader socioeconomic inequities-shaped girls' social and learning opportunities in this space (e.g., Maxwell, 2016). The Juniors explained: "[W]e just need a different building, 'cuz this building is literally falling apart." ...
... The structural space was also salient, and from Black girls' points of view insufficient across an array of dimensions. These observations align with previous research suggesting that school conditions are unequal and impact learning and socioemotional wellbeing (e.g., Darling-Hammond, 2004;Maxwell, 2016;Roeser et al., 2000). As argued in PVEST (Spencer, 1995), centering societal systems and phenomenology in developmental research is essential as Black girls perceive and make sense of their school experiences through these structures. ...
In a racially stratified and oppressive society, Black youth must figure out who they are and what they can achieve while navigating dehumanizing stereotypes that devalue and disregard Black lives. In the current paper, we analyze focus group interviews with Black students at a predominately Black, all-girls high school to understand the meaning, significance, and potential of Black girl space through an intersectional and developmental lens. Results revealed the challenges and opportunities particularly with regard to the relational space (peers, sexuality, identity) and the structural space (extracurriculars, policies, and building structure). We discuss the potential of Black girl space and the broader implications for educational spaces to support Black girls’ development to create a more equitable and impactful developmental science.
... Using various measures of school building quality, a growing body of comprehensive studies has provided some indication of relationships between deleterious facility conditions and decreases in standardized test scores [2,3,6], grades [7], and attendance [8,9]. Most of the evidence indicates that environmental stressors found in buildings with inadequate infrastructure result in low motivation and learned helplessness [10], which affects student academic achievement [11,12]. ...
... As school buildings tend to reflect characteristics of their location [1,11], the facility qualities are largely representative of their community's socioeconomic status. Major discrepancies exist in the funding of schools across the USon average, high poverty school districts spend approximately 15.6% less per pupil compared to low poverty school districts [13]. ...
... Beyond studies on school IAQ, the preponderance of school IEQ studies have relied on characterizing the effects of particular aspects of the school facility IEQ like thermal, visual, acoustic factors [11,12]. Understanding the impact of individual IEQ factors is of obvious importance, and these types of studies have provided helpful insights into the advantages of improving IEQ measures. ...
Environmental and building characteristics of educational facilities are associated with student learning and achievement. We examined the effect of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in schools on standardized test scores, accounting for individual and community-level sociodemographic factors.
We explored data from a Colorado school district which included individual student achievement metrics (reading and math test scores), and IEQ characteristics of school buildings measured by Operation Report Card scores (ORC). We estimated associations between ORC increase and changes in test scores using mean-based and quantile regression (QR) models, and examined heterogeneity of associations within sex and racial/ethnic subgroups.
Confounder-adjusted QR models revealed differences across test distributions suggesting overall that improved IEQ may mitigate negative effects on academic achievement among students who experience social and economic risks. For example, a one unit increase in ORC for Latinx students was associated with up to a 2.7% (95%CI: 0.4%, 5.1%) increase in math score at the 90th percentile of the score distribution but a 0.4% (95%CI: 3.1%, 2.2%) decrease at the same percentile for White students.
Our observations provide evidence not only on the overall importance of school IEQ on academic achievement, but also suggests a greater vulnerability or response to improved IEQ among socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
... Productive learning environments may be further hampered in school buildings with other measures of poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ), including lack of control of the thermal environment, adequate lighting, or adequate acoustic quality [9,10]. Multiple intervention studies have demonstrated that improvements of building facility conditions may be associated with decreased prevalence of adverse health symptoms and medical system encounters [11]; p.; [7,[12][13][14], and positively impact school attendance [5], and student behavior [15,16]. ...
... In a study of NYC public elementary schools, Durán-Narucki [30] reported that student attendance mediated the relation between building condition and English language arts and math standardized test scores [23]. Similarly [16], used structural equation modeling to demonstrate that academic achievement was impacted by school building conditions, mediated by the student attendance and social climate [16]. Although the research questions were similar, our approach and subsequent results in the current study differed, limiting comparability. ...
... In a study of NYC public elementary schools, Durán-Narucki [30] reported that student attendance mediated the relation between building condition and English language arts and math standardized test scores [23]. Similarly [16], used structural equation modeling to demonstrate that academic achievement was impacted by school building conditions, mediated by the student attendance and social climate [16]. Although the research questions were similar, our approach and subsequent results in the current study differed, limiting comparability. ...
We evaluated student absenteeism as a potential mediator of the association between indoor environmental quality (Operations Report Card, ORC) on the outcomes of reading and math standardized test scores. Test scores from 2016 were available for over 18,000 students in grades 3–9 from 47 schools in Colorado. Exposures of interest were indoor air quality plus a composite ORC score for five measures of school building conditions. Mediation was analyzed using mixed effects linear regression models with school ID as a random effect, adjusted for school and student characteristics. There was no observed effect of absenteeism as a mediator on the associations between exposures and test performance. Further, there was no association between indoor air quality or the composite ORC score on test scores. Indicators of socioeconomic status, such as a school's percentage of Free/Reduced Price Lunch Program and student race/ethnicity, were the key influencers of test performance. In addition, student absenteeism evaluated as an independent variable and not as a mediator was an important driver of test performance.
... One approach works with a large data set to correlate some measure of the quality of the building with student outcomes, often relating to academic achievement (e.g. Uline and Tschannen-Moran, 2008;Maxwell, 2016), but alternatively to attendance (Durán-Narucki, 2008) or behaviour (Kumar et al., 2008). Much of this research has been conducted in the US, where state or district level databases of buildings assessment results and student test scores across schools lend themselves to secondary data analysis. ...
... The larger scale correlational study from which these case studies were chosen showed that 'school climate plays a mediating role in the effects of the quality of school facilities on student achievement' (Uline and Tschannen-Moran, 2008: 66). A more recent study (Maxwell, 2016), also in the US context, similarly proposes a model where the school 'social climate' mediates between the school build quality and student achievement. Implicated in any discussion of school ethos or climate are leadership decisions and approaches, and we will now briefly consider research that has investigated leadership in the context of new school designs. ...
The purpose of this reflection paper is to present a new framework to guide the process of investment in education infrastructure through participatory planning, and to consider its application to the development of innovative spaces. Financing education infrastructure provides an opportunity to innovate to support student learning, but for this to happen infrastructure and education investments need to be conceived from the beginning as a single, intertwined process. The Constructing Education framework is based on research evidence about the effects of educational environments and theoretical understanding of change. It draws on the issues identified in a series of in-depth reviews carried out in the cities of Espoo, Finland, the department of Seine-Saint Denis, France and Malmö, Sweden, to explore the links between construction and education during the investment process.
... There is previous literature to support the association between air quality at school and student attendance rate. Maxwell (2016) reported that higher air quality (fewer potentially hazardous air-borne pollutants through heating, ventilation, etc.) significantly increased middle school student attendance rate in NYC (direct effect of 0.26 under mediation analysis model). Shendell et al. (2004) explored the association between student attendance rate and the difference between outdoor and indoor carbon dioxide concentrations (dCO 2 ). ...
... We found that increasing attendance rate significantly reduced the probability of receiving low test scores. Maxwell (2016) reported a significant impact of attendance rate on ELA scores (direct effect is 0.39 under mediation analysis model) for middle school students in NYC. Attending school is one of the most important times during which students gain knowledge. ...
Background
Little is known regarding whether environmental programs affect student academic performance. We examined if the association between EPA Tools for School (TfS) policies or other environmental programs and student test scores were mediated by student attendance.
Methods
The 2015 School Building Condition Survey (BCS) was linked with School Report data provided by the New York State Education Department (NYSED). BCS includes school building information from 2,956 public schools while School Report data provides school attendance and test scores for different subjects in NYS. We conducted causal mediation analysis to investigate direct and indirect effects of TfS or other programs, via improving attendance, on test scores for each course while controlling for school-level socio-demographics.
Results
EPA TfS policies were significantly associated with a lower percent of “low total score” for overall math, overall science, and multiple specific subjects (all P <0.05). Furthermore, the associations between TfS and test scores in algebra II, trigonometry, and chemistry were significantly mediated by student attendance rate (-1.376 and -0.563 respectively). Other IAQ programs were also associated with a smaller percent of low-score students in multiple subject tests (all P <0.05). We found a mediated proportion of 6% to 43% by attendance in the association between other IAQ programs and high score academic performance. Implementing TfS and other programs can reduce the proportion of students receiving overall low scores by 2.66% and 1.37%, respectively.
Conclusion
EPA TfS and other IAQ programs improved student test scores in multiple subjects in NYS public schools and was partially mediated by improving attendance rate.
... Most studies of educational performance tend to examine student and family, teacher, curricular, and instructional components of schools' opportunity structures. Research from developed nations has established that school built environments also impact educational outcomes (Maxwell, 2016;Duran-Narucki, 2008). However, there are very few studies that investigate the relationship between school built environment and student learning in developing countries, including Pakistan. ...
... In contrast, scholarship relying on micro system theories focuses on the within school environments. Such studies tend to investigate, for example, the mediating effects of attendance (Duran-Narucki, 2008) or school social climate (Maxwell, 2016) on relationship between school built environment and educational outcomes. Such frameworks are different than the current study. ...
We investigate the relationship between school built environment factors including available water, toilet facilities, and electricity access, and Pakistani students’ achievement. Data from a representative sample of 72,843 students attending 5296 schools are analyzed using multilevel modeling. The findings suggest that ceteris paribus, built environment factors have statistically significant effects on achievement. The effects of several of these factors are moderated by student gender such that female students’ achievement is more likely to be affected by the of lack of water and sanitation facilities while male students’ achievement is more likely to be affected by access to electricity. Implications of the findings regarding built environmental effects on educational achievement are discussed.
... The projects were designed to be delivered as the first session of the morning to support the motivation to attend school as it is their chosen subject (not ruling out core subjects as a driver) and potentially improve the emotional engagement and a result the attendance figures of the students, which increases engagement in learning (Maxwell, 2016). Following the first two hours of the day being spent on the projects, a wellbeing lesson and then core subject lessons will be delivered. ...
... Student 2PA illustrated this saying 'as a result, it made lessons much more enjoyable and more reason to go to school every day'. School attendance increased by 4.16%, up to 87.68% with more time in school benefiting learning across all subjects, suggesting a rise in engagement (Maxwell, 2016). ...
This study looks to address the challenges of engagement in learning for those with additional needs in the UK in the 21st century. In doing so, the model’s aim is to improve access to roles of social value and address the 6% employment rate through better educational outcomes and future opportunities. The meaningful, mastery project-based learning (MMPBL) curriculum model was designed to best facilitate the psychological needs of Ryan and Deci (2000) Self Determination Theory (SDT) and enhance engagement, enhancing student agency. It was tested on Key Stage 4 students (n51) in a secondary special education needs or disability (SEND) school. They chose one of six MMPBL projects and dedicated 350hours towards ‘mastery’ of their strengths. The mixed-method methodology sought to explore what impact, if any, the MMPBL would have compared to the previous ‘typical’ delivery of the national curriculum. Secondary data was drawn from typical academic outcomes and stakeholder voice through focus groups and surveys, using coded analysis of the presence of motivational components and observations of engagement. As an exploratory piece of research, the study was also left open to spontaneous data. The results showed an increase in the presence of competence, relatedness and autonomy, but also built conceptual and applied learning into education. The model led to a positive spiral in outcomes, including engagement (behaviourally- 83% reduction in negative behaviour incidents and +4.16% attendance), improved academic outcomes (cognitively- increasing 0.4 qualifications per student and quality, 0.5 in level), improving autonomy in transition choices (those who went on to subject specific college courses increased by 32% and 2 students gained employment). Stakeholders highlighted a positive impact on culture, perceptions (including identity), development and connecting networks locally and globally (entrepreneurially supporting 29 causes). The research will benefit practitioners, policy makers and academic research as it is the first whole curriculum based on SDT and agentic engagement in SEND. Future studies look to explore if sustainable projects can be built into post-19 social entrepreneurship in SEND.
... The authors propose that a crucial aspect of understanding the determinants of learner engagement is to have knowledge of the language learner's language learning goals. Currently, the prevailing perspective in the realm of foreign language motivation research posits that motivation can be construed as a continuum of varying degrees of intensity, ranging from 0% to 100% (Maxwell, 2016). ...
Motivation plays huge role in improving the performance of foreign language learners in developing different language skills. Various factors have been discussed to stimulate motivation in foreign language learning. Artificial intelligence tools have significantly permeated almost all the aspects of our daily functionality, with glaring impact on the education system. This study pursues an understanding of the role of various artificial intelligence tools for teaching foreign languages in stimulation motivation and improving the performance of undergraduates. Using a stratified survey design, 250 respondents were pooled for this study, including 50 lecturers, and 200 undergraduates in foreign language education. Questionnaires were distributed electronically to the participants who were pooled across different universities. Analysis was conducted using relevant statistical measures, and the findings were presented in descriptive statistics tables. The findings indicate that over 80% of the undergraduates and lecturers acknowledge that they have used AI models in facilitating foreign language teaching and learning. Also, over 70% of the lecturers affirm that the performance of their students has significantly improved since they integrated AI models in foreign language education. Over 70% of the lecturers affirm that real-time feedback mechanisms, Chat Bots, automated reward systems, and other tools have solved the limitations of traditional teaching tools, and enhanced speaking, writing and reading efficiency of the learners. Over 75% of the undergraduates Journal of Namibian Studies, 34 (2023): 7059-7077 ISSN: 2197-5523 (online) 7060 that AI models have stimulated them, motivated them, and assisted them to show more interest in their foreign language courses, and also help them to practice their foreign language skills out of class. It is thus concluded that AI exhibit huge potentials to mitigate the limitations of conventional teaching and learning tools.
... Filardo (2016), for instance, found that new and renovated educational spaces are positively related to academic achievement, and Rudd et al. (2008) reported that students in newer facilities have more positive attitudes toward learning. These findings have been confirmed by subsequent studies (Byers at al., 2018;Maxwell, 2016;Wijayasundara et al., 2020). ...
This study investigates the extent of portable classroom use in the province of Ontario between the years 2010 and 2020. The research uses administrative data obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Education and from the 27 largest school boards in the province. The findings reveal that portable classrooms are used as long-term solutions to address enrolment pressures in schools, which is symptomatic of the austerity-driven policies in the funding of Ontario’s public education. In addition to providing new evidence of the effects of funding cuts in education, this study repositions infrastructure planning as a critical concern for education policy research.
... Notably, among these factors, the role of social climate remains relatively understudied in the literature. Social climate pertains to the collective perceptions of a shared social environment within a group of individuals (55). Research has highlighted that a positive social climate holds the potential to impact the academic performance of school students (56) and is linked to favorable cognitive and emotional outcomes in children (57). ...
Background
The social climate within educational settings has been recognized as a significant factor influencing students' psychological well-being, behaviors, and overall quality of life. In the context of Chinese universities, where physical training classes play a crucial role in the holistic development of undergraduate students, understanding the relationship between the social climate of these classes and students' mental health engagement in physical activities, and lifestyle choices becomes paramount.
Objectives
This study aims to investigate the correlation between the social climate of physical training classes/ environment in Chinese universities and various aspects of undergraduate students' physical activities, healthy lifestyle, and mental health.
Method
384 undergraduate students from …. University in China were selected through connivence sampling. The participants attempted mental health, healthy lifestyle, caring climate and physical activities scales. Pearson correlation was used for analyzing the data (p < 0.05).
Results
Results show that there is a significant negative correlation between the students’ perceived social climate and their mental health. However, the correlation between the social climate and the students’ physical activities, healthy lifestyle, and dimensions of lifestyle were significantly positive.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intricate relationship between the social climate of physical training classes within Chinese universities and the multifaceted dimensions of undergraduate students' well-being.
Implications
The implications of these findings are noteworthy for educators, policymakers, and practitioners involved in the design and management of educational settings. The negative correlation observed between students' perceived social climate and mental health underscores the need for concerted efforts to create supportive and nurturing environments within physical training classes. Strategies aimed at fostering a sense of belonging, emotional safety, and positive social interactions could contribute to enhanced mental well-being among students.
... Although there are adequate facilities, the condition of the facilities, the time and personnel required to maintain and manage those facilities may affect instructional opportunities at the school farm. Poorly maintained facilities effect student learning and relay negative messages and feelings (Cheryn et al., 2014;Duran-Narucki, 2008;Maxwell, 2016). High quality facilities are linked to student and teacher success (Barbra, 2006;Lavy & Nixon, 2017;Uline et al., 2009). ...
... For example, environmental psychologists demonstrate that the architectural environment of American primary schools predicts both attendance and academic achievement after controlling for other predictors such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, school size, and teacher quality (Durán-Narucki, 2008). There is also a positive association between academic achievement and middle-school building conditions, mediated by social climate and student attendance (Maxwell, 2016). The destruction of school settings following natural hazard events prevents children from returning and receiving education (e.g., Mudavanhu, 2014;Adeagbo et al., 2016;Kousky, 2016). ...
... La revisión crítica de las investigaciones evidencia ciertas regularidades, orientaciones y consideraciones generales con un alto grado de coincidencia que pueden incidir de una forma más directa que otras en la mejora de los procesos educativos, a saber: impulsar espacios bien acondicionados, acogedores, versátiles y atractivos a nivel estético; disponer de espacios escolares con posibilidad de interacción y generación de oportunidades flexibles de aprendizaje; reflexionar sobre el espacio escolar de forma colectiva y a partir de la propia realidad de cada centro; y, por último, fomentar espacios con posibilidad de realizar diferentes agrupaciones de estudiantes e innovaciones metodológicas (Barrett et al., 2013;Brooks, 2011;Byers et al., 2018;Davies et al., 2013;Galán et al., 2020;Könings et al., 2017;López, 2018;Maxwell, 2016;Montgomery, 2008;National Research Council, 2007;OECD, 2013;Woolner et al., 2007;Zandvliet y Frase, 2018). ...
El objetivo del artículo es identificar hallazgos significativos reportados por la literatura científica sobre las implicaciones didácticas del espacio escolar. Se pretende dar respuesta a la siguiente pregunta de investigación: ¿cuáles son las implicaciones didácticas del espacio escolar en las etapas obligatorias de la enseñanza? Inicialmente se realizó una revisión histó-rica, siguiendo el método propio de la investigación histórico-educativa. Posteriormente, se llevó a cabo un estudio documental, concretamente un análisis crítico de textos con base en una revisión sistemática de la producción científica, siguiendo la declaración PR ISMA. El artículo se inscribe en un proyecto de investigación financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España (proyectos de I+D+i). Los resultados muestran el impacto didáctico positivo de espacios polivalentes, adapta-dos, bien acondicionados, estimulantes y con oportunidades flexibles de aprendizaje. Las conclusiones discuten algunos interrogantes y exponen líneas de investigación prospectiva que contribuyen al desarrollo de la investigación en este campo
... For example, environmental characteristics have been shown to relate to aspects of cognitive performance such as memory and concentration (Bakó-Biró, et al., 2012), problem behavior such as truancy and drug use (Kumar et al., 2008), and the adoption of more beneficial learning strategies (Edgerton et al., 2011). While the term "school environment" has been conceptualized in terms of both physical characteristics (Higgins et al., 2005) and social characteristics (Thapa et al., 2013), it is important to recognize that the social and the physical environment are closely connected, and both are related to student academic outcomes (Maxwell, 2016). ...
This paper investigates the relationship between the school environment and senior pupils' identity development in a secondary school in Scotland. The study used semi-structured interviews and Photovoice along with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, to explore senior pupils' experience of the social places within their school. The findings reveal the relationship between the places that pupils can access for social interaction and their sense of identity, and their use of territoriality to protect these specific places. The findings are considered in the context of the role of the school environment, pupils' needs and their implications for school design and planning.
... Moreover, different preventions or interventions was developed to thoroughly understand and tackle the complexity of school truancy problem (Foote et al., 2015;Gonzálvez et al., 2018;Ingul et al., 2012Ingul et al., , 2019Ingul & Nordahl, 2013;Kearney, 2002;Rasasingham, 2015).Many earlier studies have identified common groups of these risk factors and its consequences on school-going adolescents, such as child, family, parent, peer, school, and society factors which enhances risk of school truancy issue in school-going adolescents (Gonzálvez et al., 2018;Havik et al., 2015;Ingul et al., 2012;Kearney, 2008a;Skedgell & Kearney, 2018). These kinds of risk factors regularly tandem work, particularly related to chronic school truancy problem and school refusal behavior (Burrus & Roberts, 2012;Caldarella, 2016;Freeman et al., 2016;Maxwell, 2016;Ready, 2010).Many previous studies found that male and female students almost equally reported school truancy but a few studies demonstrated that male school-going adolescents were shown more prevalence of school truancy as compared to male (Byrne, 2013;Kronholz, 2011;Olson, 2008;Olson, 2014). ...
Background: School truancy is remain an unresolved and a major persistent problem in high schools for public health globally for last many years. Commonly, school truancy is considered one of the most important as a risk factor for parenting styles and social adjustment that leads to other negative outcomes for school-going students. The association between social adjustment and parenting styles in school student is well known. However, there is a lack of researches on this unique topic as well as the interaction among school truancy, social adjustment, and parenting styles. This present study examined the association between social adjustment and parenting styles in punctual, truant, and high achieving school going students. Methods: A purposive sampling technique and cross-sectional research design were used to carry out this research. One hundred fifty three participants (truant students, n =51; punctual students , n= 51; high achieving students , n= 51), with age ranged from 12 to 18 (M = 16.82, SD = 1.01) years were enrolled from public schools of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. Results: This study's results demonstrated that there was found statistically positive or negative association between social adjustment and parenting styles in punctual, truant, and high achieving school going students. Additionally, this study illustrated that truancy's types moderated on the association between subscales of social adjustment and parenting styles. Conclusions: This present study's results suggested that complex moderating interaction between truancy's types and parenting styles can be enhanced to sustain and promote social adjustment issues in school-going students. Prospectively, permissive and authoritarian parenting styles with truancy's types significantly positively predicts the social adjustment issue in Pakistan's school students. Further, this current research clearly illustrated the need of early screening for comprehending and recognizing nature of parenting styles and social adjustment problems for management and treatment of the emerging issues in Pakistan schools.
... The learning environment, student academic performance, and student behavior were impacted by the building design, its appearance, and its maintenance (O'Neill & Oates, 2000). Maxwell (2016) determined that there existed a link between physical school building conditions and academic achievement, student behavior, students' perceptions of themselves, and the school's social environment. Even though family background, socioeconomic status, and school attendance could be confounding factors that affect academic performance and behavior, facility conditions could have a stronger effect on student performance (Lyons, 2001). ...
COVID-19 caught the world off-guard, bringing disruption and chaos to all sectors, including education. Within Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the experiences were varied, as were the responses of educational stakeholders at all levels to the crisis of the pandemic. Stakeholders’ experiences and responses should inform educational planning and policy, and it is against that backdrop that this research was conducted. This research captures the insights from three webinars sponsored by the Caribbean Centre for Educational Planning, which focused on challenges faced by educational institutions at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of the education system. The transcripts from those webinars were used to construct this paper using a generic qualitative research design. The webinars pulled on the expertise of panellists from across the Caribbean and North America. The findings reveal that most stakeholders were unprepared for the challenges occasioned by COVID-19, which translated into further difficulties adapting to online/blended teaching/learning, psycho-social stresses, heightened economic challenges, and disruptions to examinations. In response to these challenges, among the stakeholders, training was implemented, open communication increased, technical and infrastructural resources were upgraded, health and safety protocols were enforced/reinforced, and domestic and international groups collaborated to bolster access for all students. Lessons learned included the need for
collaboration, equity, access, and opportunities, and exercising the courage to radically rethink the region’s ‘educational futures’ by incorporating the shared perspectives of key stakeholders in educational planning and policy making.
(https://isep.info/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/220725-Journal-29-2_web.pdf#page=7)
... For example, environmental psychologists demonstrate that the architectural environment of American primary schools predicts both attendance and academic achievement after controlling for other predictors such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, school size, and teacher quality (Durán-Narucki, 2008). There is also a positive association between academic achievement and middle-school building conditions, mediated by social climate and student attendance (Maxwell, 2016). The destruction of school settings following natural hazard events prevents children from returning and receiving education (e.g., Mudavanhu, 2014;Adeagbo et al., 2016;Kousky, 2016). ...
Disasters incurred by natural hazards affect young people most. Schools play a vital role in safeguarding the wellbeing of their pupils. Consideration of schools’ psychosocial influence on children may be vital to resilience-building efforts in disaster-vulnerable settings. This paper presents an evidence-based conceptualization of how schools are psychosocially meaningful for children and youth in disaster settings. Drawing on Social Representations and Place Attachment Theories, we explore the nature of group-based meaning-making practices and the meanings that emerge concerning school environments in disaster settings. We contribute a novel understanding of how schools may mitigate psychosocial risk for young people by considering how schools are conceptualised at four levels: (1) as physical environment, (2) as social arena, (3) as a place with individual and (4) group-based significance. In each of these domains schools can foster disaster resilience in young people. This paper highlights the evidence concerning the functions of schools beyond their capacity as educational institutions, critically considering their social and physical functions in their communities. This evidence can inform stakeholders involved in disaster resilience building.
... Respecto a la relación entre los logros académicos y el clima escolar, la evidencia señala que un clima escolar apropiado genera un espacio social de aprendizaje que favorece resultados académicos positivos en los centros educativos (Maxwell, 2016). Asimismo, el clima escolar dentro del aula puede ser un factor mediador y protector en contextos educacionales adversos, como en escuelas de NSE bajo (Berkowitz et al., 2017) y en estudiantes que provienen de estructuras familiares con condiciones sociales de riesgo (O'Malley et al., 2015). ...
En educación física, el movimiento y la educación deben ir de la mano y retroalimentarse mutuamente, ocupando un gran espacio en el contexto educativo. En la actualidad esto no sucede y de ahí la necesidad de un cambio. Este libro propone una reflexión sobre el sistema educativo actual desde el punto de la innovación, esto es, adecuar la enseñanza al nuevo modelo social, empleando recursos metodológicos que permitan dar respuesta a los objetivos planteados por este junto con evidenciar la importancia que tiene el movimiento como herramienta educativa.
... The impact of learning space on student education has undergone numerous different conversations with regards to design of the space, technology adopted and the impact spaces have on student learning (Lomas C and Oblinger D, 2006, Montgomery, 2008, Wijayasundara M et al., 2020, Maxwell, 2016. Although there is not much empirical data to evaluate the impact of teaching and learning, emerging evidence shows that there is a positive impact on student's learning from better educational spaces (Byers et al., 2018, Durán-Narucki, 2008. ...
Purpose
School infrastructure is one of critical factors that significantly contribute to the educational outcomes, and therefore, maintaining the high quality of school infrastructure becomes of critical importance. Due to the ageing of school assets over time in combination with budget constraint and rapid growth of student enrolment, many public schools are currently struggling to maintain the required standard for long term. However, to date, the goal of providing the best maintenance practices to public schools has not been achieved.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study focuses on studying the balance between the asset and maintenance management strategies and the funding model through conducting state-of-the-art literature review and qualitative analysis in the context of public schools in Australia and other developed countries around the world. Review of journal articles, different government reports and other available resources were used to collect and analyse the data in this study.
Findings
As part of this review, significant under investment in maintenance and asset renewals were identified as main challenges in asset management in public school facilities. Although different maintenance strategies were used in school infrastructure, adequate funding, adequate robust asset management plans (AMPs) and the involvement of private sectors have been identified as the key factors that govern the success in school infrastructure maintenance. It also shows that funding of approximately 2–3% of asset replacement value (ARV) on school infrastructure is required to maintain school facilities for long-term. Further, the procurement methods such as public private partnership including private finance initiatives (PFIs) have shown great improvements in maintenance process in school infrastructure.
Originality/value
The study provides a review of different AMPs and funding models in school infrastructure and their efficiencies and shortcoming in detail. Different states and countries use different maintenance models, and challenges associated with each model were also discussed. Further this study also provides some conclusive evidence for better maintenance performance for school buildings.
... Second, the survey was selfadministered on students' perceptions of flow experience and performance. Future studies can explore other factors such as the classroom environment, social climate, the actual academic performance, and instructor evaluation measuring student performance (Maxwell, 2016). Lastly, the online learning may continue in the future as an alternative platform for students in need. ...
Owing to a swift shift in hospitality and tourism (H&T) education from physical to online since the breakout of COVID-19, quality assurance measure is required to gauge effectiveness of students’ online learning. This study aims to explore the influence of H&T students’ personality traits on flow experience and performance in online classes. It further assesses the cross-regional comparison among three regions in Greater China (including Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao). A questionnaire instrument was developed and distributed in the abovementioned three regions. From a total of 895 respondents, results showed that the students’ personality traits influenced their experience and performance in online classes in a few ways. In addition, regional differences in education were used as a moderator to examine potential learning behavior differences in the three regions, and result confirms their existence. Theoretical and managerial implications were then discussed.
... This finding has far-reaching consequences on teaching and learning. A previous study has established that a safe school environment is critical to optimizing learning as it protects learners, teachers, and staff and engenders trust among stakeholders [56]. However, the pervasion of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the safety of so many working environments, including the schools where teachers work. ...
Several professionals, including teachers, have been engrossed in fear of the worst happening due to COVID-19 and the rapidly evolving nature of the virus affecting the perception of safety in any working environment. This study examined teachers’ perception of classroom safety, anxiety, and coping strategies during instructional delivery in senior high schools in Ghana. Adopting the cross-sectional survey design with a quantitative approach, a convenient sample of 174 senior high school teachers in the Cape Coast Metropolis completed a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression. The findings showed that teachers perceived their classroom environment as unsafe during instructional delivery amidst COVID-19 and reported modest to extreme levels of anxiety. Further, teachers with a high level of COVID-19 anxiety were found to utilize active coping strategies to manage stressful situations. The reported unsafe working environment in schools during pandemic times highlights the critical role of supportive working environments for teachers’ mental and psychological wellness. School counseling psychologists, school welfare officers, and school health coordinators should collaborate to implement interventions (e.g., social emotional learning; resilience strategies) that promote the wellbeing of teachers and a safe working environment.
... A number of studies around the world have shown that the condition of and facilities available in the school building are positively correlated with the school culture [175,176] [95] [148,177]. For the purposes of this study, which is concentrating on sustainability, examination of school culture has been limited to its relationship to sustainability, including meaning conveyed, inclusivity, relationship to community and support for local culture and diversity. ...
This review contributes to the debate regarding feedback needed by architects and building designers to improve the sustainability of their building designs. It utilizes the Integral Sustainable Design framework to harness a more comprehensive definition of sustainability to examine the breadth of currently possible feedback to building designers. The review acknowledges the multiple stakeholders that partake in different stages of a building project and focusses specifically on feedback from completed buildings for architects and designers. This review has endeavoured to summarize the range of current feedback which may be available to architects and draw conclusions regarding the usefulness of some of the assessment methods. There are some aspects of sustainability that have well developed and agreed feedback measures, such as energy use, embodied energy, and Indoor Air Quality. Other aspects about which there has been some research but no agreement on feedback include feeling safe, ecosystem services, and inclusiveness. This review reveals important feedback aspects not covered by either research, sustainability ratings schemes or post occupancy evaluation methods. Indeed, there are many aspects of the sustainability of school buildings about which very little is known, such as physical externalities and community services and the building's effect on socialisation and sense of place. Direct feedback in these areas will increase the pace of sustainability improvement in school design. However, further research is required to determine aspects about which architects desire feedback would find most useful and to develop efficient feedback methods. t.
... Hurwitz and Schmitt (2020) Intergenerational skills Mendez (2015) Motivation (engagement, dedication, vigor) Cadime et al. (2016), Castillo-Merino and Serradell-López (2014), Babić and Baucal (2011), Radovan and Makovec (2015) Neighborhood effects Lindahl (2011), Perl (1973 School characteristics and resources Maxwell (2016), Ellison and Swanson (2016), Deming et al. (2014), Krassel and Heinesen (2014) Working Darolia (2014), Goulart and Bedi (2008) in grade 7 or above in participating countries/economies. The information in Table 2 and Table 3 is collected by authors from various OECD reports. ...
Using panel data from the last five PISA cycles and data on various institutional variables, the role of ICT resources, parents’ occupation, school characteristics and institutions in student attainment was explored. The data were collected from 2.5 million students in 94 countries/economies representing more than 140 million students worldwide. Fixed-effects (FE) models with robust standard errors were constructed and analyzed. The main findings included (i) students with mothers that attained a higher occupational status are more successful in all subjects but the same predisposition does not hold true for fathers; (ii) an effective government does not necessarily mean an effective education system; (iii) “relax” environment in politically and economically freer countries may hinder academic success; (iv) internet connections at schools may not be used properly and/or for educational purposes; (v) students in overcrowded classes perform worse than those in lightly populated ones; and (vi) use of ICT resources at schools contributes to success in mathematics. The urgent need for uniform and better micro-level data on education in terms of quality, quantity and frequency is highlighted.
... School climate factor is multifaceted since it includes quantitively measured attributes such as student record, teacher record, safe environment, substance free, as well as perceived attributes such as teacher and parent surveys. According to some researchers it is one of the leading contributors in explaining student learning and test scores (Maxwell, et al., 2017;Dulay & Karadağ, 2017;Maxwell, 2016) as well as student emotional and behavioral achievements (Newland, et al., 2019). Furthermore, there is overwhelming evidence in research that per pupil expenditure (PPE) is positively correlated to student learning and standardized test scores (Jackson et al., 2016;Sun, 2014;Hanushek & Woessmann, 2017;Ostrander, 2015). ...
This study examines the effect of teacher (race, salary, and experience), school (climate and Financial Efficiency Star Rating), and student (attendance and mobility) factors on student Math and ELA standardized test scores in elementary (n = 1140) and middle (n = 451) public schools across the state of Georgia. The data used in this study was collected by Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) during the 2018-2019 school year. Three multivariate linear regression models are utilized to explore the main and interaction effects within and between factors. The first model analyzes the main effects of the three independent variables (teacher, school, and student) separately and then in a single combined model accounting for all factors. Individual model approach reveals strong positive correlations with Math and ELA test scores for all factors. However, the impact of each factor is greatly diminished in a combined model approach. The second model reveals that the interaction effects within factors does not impact student test scores significantly. Meanwhile, results from the third model show that the interactions between the three independent variables yield a modest impact on student test scores. Findings from this study can guide educators and policymakers to focus on factors that can improve student standardized test scores and meet the accountability mandate for school achievement as set by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 and its predecessor No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.
... The recent applied studies focus on the relationship between academic achievement and various indicators that are assumed to determine the level of academic success, such as academic self-concept (Hansen & Henderson, 2019), crime (Gimenez & Barrado, 2020), engagement (dedication and vigor) (Cadime et al., 2016;Heo & Han, 2018), EU accession (Bergbauer, 2019), excess time to degree (Brugiavini et al., 2020), family background (Niehaus et al., 2017), gender (Autor et al., 2016;Torrecilla Sánchez et al., 2019), homework (Kalenkoski & Pabilonia, 2017), ICT (Baş & Baştuğ, 2021;Checchi et al., 2019;Hu et al., 2018;Hurwitz & Schmitt, 2020;Skryabin et al., 2015;Srijamdee & Pholphirul, 2020), personal characteristics (Tzafilkou et al., 2021), school quality (Deming et al., 2014;Ellison & Swanson, 2016;Krassel & Heinesen, 2014;Maxwell, 2016), social media (Feng et al., 2019), and video gaming (Dindar, 2018;Drummond & Sauer, 2020;Hartanto et al., 2018). ...
The main drive for this study is to look into potential predictors of educational achievement using OECD’s original Pisa 2018 dataset. This paper explores (i) access to ICT, (ii) physical characteristics of learning environment at school, (iii) quality of teaching staff and educational material, (iv) student characteristics and learning climate, and (v) political and economic structure of the country as potential true predictors of academic achievement. Our sample covers 41 countries and data used in our analysis are collected from 282,461 students distributed in 9,317 schools worldwide. Multiple linear regressions are developed and analyzed using stepwise estimation techniques. The results indicate that (i) availability of internet connection and enjoyable pastime activity at home have positive impacts on student’s success, (ii) a strong correlation exists between high test scores and student characteristics & learning climate, i.e. students’ sense of belonging at school, students’ fear of failure and disciplinary climate, (iii) there is a negative relationship between academic performance and teacher enthusiasm & support, (iv) student success is negatively correlated with income level and political and economic freedoms but positively associated with economic competitiveness of a country, and (v) the students in lightly populated classes are more successful than those in overloaded ones and inadequate or poor educational material deteriorates educational outcomes.
... In fact, the organizational climate is linked to the characteristics or characters that are felt and contained within the scope of work and that can influence the actions of organizational members (Permarupan, Al-Mamun, Saufi, & Zainol, 2013). The organizational climate, including the school organization, can be defined as a physical and nonphysical situation encountered and perceived by members of the organization as an organizational condition (Maxwell, 2016). A harmonious organizational environment will help and have a positive effect on the success of individuals within the organization in running or doing tasks. ...
The present study aimed at assessing the organizational climate of the Biliran Province State University-Naval, Biliran Philippines from a sample of 76 faculty members of the university. The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ-RS) develop by Hoy, Tarter, & Kottkamp in 1991 was the instrument used in this study, which is composed of six dimensions (Supportive behaviour, directive behaviour, engaged behavi our, frustrated behaviour, and intimate behaviour). The results of this study showed that the university"s standardized scores for the dimensions supportive behaviour and frustrated behaviour are on range where the university is 84% higher than the schools from the normative samples. Further, the dimension s directive behaviour, engaged behaviour and intimate behaviour are on range where the university is 97% higher than the schools from the normative samples. Moreover, the general openness index of the university is university falls within the average range for openness. The study provided recommendations mechanism to improve the behaviours of both the administrators and faculty. Keywords:organizational climate; supportive behaviour; directive behaviour; intimate behaviour; engaged behaviour; frustrated behaviour; intimate behaviour.
... Bajo el supuesto de que la percepción del centro constituye un activo de destacada influencia para la adaptación al medio y al desarrollo de competencias, especialmente académicas (Baños et al., 2017;Durán-Narucki, 2008;Maxwell, 2016), en esta investigación se han analizado las diferencias en PCFC en estudiantes de Educación Secundaria y Bachillerato en función del curso, la edad, el sexo, el tipo de centro y el rendimiento académico. Los resultados han puesto de manifiesto un importante descenso de las distintas dimensiones de la escala con el aumento de la edad y de los cursos. ...
Las vivencias de los adolescentes en los centros educativos son determinantes en su rendimientoacadémico y adaptación al mismo. Este artículo compara las diferencias en tornoa la percepción del clima y funcionamiento del centro según curso, edad, sexo, titularidady ámbito del centro y rendimiento académico. El estudio analiza las diferencias enuna muestra de 1208 estudiantes adolescentes sobre la escala de Percepción del Clima yFuncionamiento del Centro (PCFC), y las dimensiones que la conforman. Estas dimensionesson clima, vínculo con el centro, claridad de normas y valores, y empoderamientoy oportunidades. Entre los resultados se hallaron diferencias significativas en la escalaPCFC en función del curso, edad, sexo, tipo de centro y rendimiento académico. Se observaen las mujeres, una mejor percepción en las dimensiones de Vínculo y Claridad de las normas del centro educativo. La percepción global del centro disminuye con elaumento del nivel educativo y de la edad, pero aumenta con mayor rendimiento académicoy en centros de titularidad privada-concertada frente a la pública. Con base enlos hallazgos, proporcionamos orientaciones para centros y elaboradores de políticaseducativas. A lo largo de la adolescencia, los estudiantes requieren mayor responsabilidady participación en la toma de decisiones del centro educativo, así como queeste les proporciones mayores oportunidades para su desarrollo.
... Common environmental psychology research settings are hospital, neighborhood, home, school and work environments (e.g. Andrade et al., 2013Andrade et al., , 2017Maxwell, 2016;Haapakangas et al., 2019;Mueller et al., 2019;Tobia et al., 2020). The bulk of environmental psychology research focuses on stress and stress-reducing effects of physical environments. ...
Exposure to environmental stressors has physical and psychological consequences. A demanding physical environment involves the allocation of additional attentional resources and an increase in psycho-physical stress. This study illustrates the process of a research-intervention aimed at designing a workplace, using a participatory design approach, and considering the beneficial effect of restorative environments in reducing stressful elements and improving well-being at work. Stressful situations occur daily, compromising proper functioning while causing the occurrence of physiological and/or psychological disorders. To be able to safeguard their psycho-physical well-being, people normally adopt coping strategies, i.e., remedies that allow them to cope and manage situations that generate stress. One of these strategies is the exposure to natural environments, which promotes recovery and sustains psycho-physical well-being. The restorative properties of natural environments have been scientifically proven. However, even built spaces can be thought of as restorative environments, in particular when certain conditions are granted. An applied science, known as biophilic design, provides useful indications from this perspective. This project involved 57 employees of the Italian site of an international non-governmental organization, in the transition from a site no longer adequate to a new site requiring renovation. In a first phase, a survey was conducted, to verify the perceived quality of the current workplace and to detect the unmet workers' needs, and to assess some other important psychological constructs connected with perception of restorativeness and well-being. In a second phase, the findings emerged from the survey was analyzed in depth through a participatory interior design process, together with an interdisciplinary team of architects, technicians of the organization and environmental psychology researchers. The team, together with some representatives of employees, worked together through possible scenarios, adopting a biophilic design approach, to design the new workplace. At the end, the same survey of the first phase was conducted, to detect differences in perceived quality in the new workplace compared to the previous one.
... Also, the correlation test showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between social conditions and academic achievement (r = 0.668; p <0.01). This result is consistent with the results in some other reseach (Duran-Narucki, 2008;Barrett et al. 2013;Maxwell, 2016). The correlation between meta-cognitive and self-directedness skills was also positive and significant (r =0.766, p <0.01). ...
... El instrumento se califica a partir de una escala Likert de 5 puntos que oscila entre nada importante y muy importante. Maxwell (2016) utilizó la encuesta de evaluación y condición de edificaciones, la cual contiene 23 ítems que se puntúan de 1 a 5, donde 1 indica una buena condición y 5 indica una mala condición. Ackah-Jnr y Danso (2018) desarrollaron un cuestionario para evaluar la naturaleza del ambiente físico en escuelas inclusivas, el cual está dirigido a docentes y valora ventilación, iluminación (natural y artificial) en el aula, disposición de los asientos, decoración, color y pintura, instalaciones, seguridad y comodidad para los niños, y unidades sanitarias. ...
... At the school level, researchers have shown that structural factors such as school size (Wilson, 2004;Low & Ryzin, 2014), enrollment (O'Brennan et al., 2014), student-teacher ratio (Voight et al., 2015), and school building condition (Maxwell, 2016) can shape student perceptions of the school climate. Others have looked at student body demographics such as socio-economic status composition (Gustafsson et al., 2016) and racial/ethnic composition (Brault et al., 2014;Fan et al., 2011;Juvonen, Kogachi, & Graham, 2017) to examine variation 7 in student perceptions of school climate. ...
In this study, we examine which student and school characteristics predict students’ perceptions of the school climate. Our data come from a survey administered to nearly 3,000 students in grades 4-12 in 18 charter schools throughout the country. The survey asks students about their perceptions of seven distinct aspects of the school’s culture and climate: cultural and linguistic competence, learning strategies, rigorous expectations, school safety, sense of belonging, student engagement, and teacher-student relationships. We find substantial within-school variation in student perceptions of the school climate, which is explained in part by differences in student race/ethnicity and grade level. This finding suggests that among our diverse sample of charter
schools, school climate surveys may be better suited to capture group-level differences in student experiences within a school as opposed to school-level differences. Although there is far less variation in student perceptions of school climate between schools, school composition, as measured by the racial/ethnic diversity of the school, is a meaningful predictor of student perceptions of the school’s cultural and linguistic competence, student engagement, and sense of belonging. While further analyses are needed, our findings suggest that schools with more diverse student bodies may be better able to foster positive student experiences.
Motivation has remained a significant factor in foreign language learning; however, attention of researchers has consistently been focused on how motivated students perform exceptionally in foreign language learning. Lecturers also need motivation to effectively teach the students and communication efficiently with them, which is also a significant predictor of lecturers’ attitude towards the undergraduates. This article pursues an understanding of how motivation of lecturers correlates with undergraduates’ performance in foreign language learning. The article further gains insight on how lecturers’ positive or negative attitudes affects performance of learning in foreign language lecture halls. The study community include 250 lecturers in the department of foreign languages drawn across different universities globally, and 300 undergraduate students in foreign languages across different universities. Questionnaire was distributed electronically to the study respondents, and the responses were analysed using various statistical measures such as the calculation of the frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviations and test of hypotheses with linear regressions. The findings indicate that over 74% of the study sample acknowledged that exceptional performance by undergraduates in their foreign language courses is indicative of a highly motivated lecturer. The result further revealed that 73% of respondents acknowledge that lecturers who exhibit strong motivation have a positive impact on fostering an interactive foreign language learning environment, ultimately resulting in improved academic outcomes. The findings of the study further revealed that more than 55% respondents acknowledged that the motivation level of lecturers is a robust determinant of their positive or negative attitudes in foreign language educational environments. It is thus recommended that university administrators must prioritize the motivation of lecturers in foreign language, if they must produce highly performing undergraduates.
The ideal of U.S. public education as “a great equalizer” remains unrealized across large swaths of the country. Young people in schools are at varying levels of educational advantage and disadvantage owing to wide gaps in learning opportunities and disparate access to high-quality curriculum. Unequal educational achievement has also been linked to inequities affecting some students before they enter school due to socioeconomic circumstances, prejudice, and discriminatory social systems and structures. In this study, we begin to partition the various factors that account for inequality in student outcomes in the context of U.S. geography education. Using large-scale data sets provided by the National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Department of Education, we developed a two-level statistical model to analyze the extent to which geography achievement in eighth grade varies systematically with contextual opportunity to learn (OTL) factors and the relative poverty level of neighborhoods around schools. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to account for data clustering, producing an achievement estimate for each predictor and controlling for the effects of all other predictors. Statistically significant OTL predictors included instructional exposure, taking geography prior to eighth grade, teaching experience, and the availability of computers in classrooms. Schools located in neighborhoods with higher income-to-poverty ratios outperformed schools in neighborhoods closer to the federal poverty threshold. Controlling for OTL and school neighborhood effects accounted for some of the geography achievement disadvantage associated with race and other student characteristics. Geographers can further explore these relationships with formal mediational models and educational programs based on equity-oriented frameworks.
In the study of second language learning, one of the most critical components is unveiling factors that impact on motivation in the classroom. Proficiency in foreign language learning is inextricably tied to motivation, in the understanding that proficiency may not take place if the learners are not strategically motivated. The effectiveness of an L2 learners’ growth may be dependent on various factors that affect motivation in the classroom. This study is an analysis of different factors that influence motivation in foreign language classroom. The study examined how different activities and situations influence the motivation of foreign language learners in the classroom. A total of 119 persons participated in the study, including high school teachers and their students. Questionnaire was used to collect the needed data, and data was analyzed using tables and graphs to discuss the factors that affect motivation in the classroom. Teaching strategy and style of learning, feedback, reward, group, class environment, technology, and punishment are the factors measured. The findings of the study indicate that teaching strategy and learning style exert huge impact on motivation, with over 39.50% of the response rate. This is closely followed by feedback and reward with about 19.32% and 12.60% respectively. The study further revealed that group has the least influence on motivation, with 2.52% value, which is lower than the impact of class environment that stands at 7.56%. It is concluded that both learners and teachers of foreign language accept that teaching strategy and learning style is the most significant factor that impacts on motivation. It is recommended for further studies to use larger study sample from different schools to explore these factors and ascertain their degree of impact on motivation in foreign language teaching and learning.
School violence research has broadly overlooked violence directed at teachers. Despite recent growing acknowledgment of teachers’ workplace victimization and concerns regarding the potential costs of the problem worldwide, teachers’ perceptions of safety and risk of workplace victimization have not been sufficiently studied. To fill this gap, this study employed a socioecological approach using qualitative measures to study teachers’ perceptions of risk and protective factors associated with workplace victimization and safety. Thirty-six in-depth interviews with teachers revealed antecedents of workplace victimization and safety both inside and outside the school setting at the individual, organizational, communal, and societal levels. We highlight practice guidelines involving teachers, students, parents, school social and organizational climates, policy, and societal norms.
The overall aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of applying ISO:9001 on the school climate and satisfaction in schools. This was done by using a Likert-type evaluation instrument consisting of 21 items with an excellent reliability score for the general scale (Cronbach α = 0.955) and specifically for the school climate dimension (α = 0.969) and school satisfaction (α = 0.927). The instrument was applied to a sample of 2189 subjects (1881 teachers and 308 members of the school management team) at 85 schools in Spain where ISO:9001 has been implemented for at least 3 years. The results show that implementation of this QMS has generally had a medium level impact on school climate and on satisfaction among the teachers, students, and families at the schools in the sample. Moreover, descriptive and differential analyses have been carried out to identify any significant differences in the impact of implementing the QMS on improvements in the two dimensions as a function of the position, gender, seniority at the school, ownership, and size of the school, and length of time with the QMS implemented there. In addition, other analyses were carried out using single-variant general linear models that revealed an effect of interaction between the variables of position and age. Furthermore, cluster analyses were also performed to identify three teacher and management profiles attending to the levels of improvement brought about from implanting the QMS on the dimensions under study.
Köyün zorlu coğrafi koşullarına, fiziki yetersizlik ve imkansızlıklarına odaklanarak çoğu zaman öğretmen ve öğrenci bakış açılarını göz ardı eden genel geçer yaklaşımların aksine KODA bu araştırma ile önceliğin öğretmenlere ve onların kişisel ve mesleki değerlendirmelerine verilmesini amaçlar. Sürecin sonundaki beklentimiz köy okulları ve öğrencileri konusunda öğretmenlerin bakış açılarını derinlemesine inceleme fırsatı bulmak, yaşanan problemlerin yanı sıra o bölgeye ait avantajları ve çözüm önerilerini açığa çıkarmak ve yeni bir eğitim reformuna katkı sağlayabilecek bir yol haritası oluşturmaya bir adım daha yaklaşabilmektir.
School facilities are increasingly seen as essential to achieving educational equity. By foregrounding often taken-for-granted school spaces, this conceptual article seeks to situate school design within broader antiracist efforts in education. To that end, I make a few critical contributions: (a) I shift attention to the social construction and contestation of school spaces; and (b) I develop a framework for dealing with racialized imaginaries of school spaces that goes beyond conventional equity applications. Applying this framework to school design literature and planning documents, I derive a blueprint to examine minoritized school spaces that encompasses aspects of culture, wellbeing, and power.
This article focusses on the lessons learnt from the collaborative design of guidance for new build schools in England about the processes of school design, construction and occupation. The study involved headteachers, school building commissioners, teachers and wider school communities thinking about the pedagogic implications of the production of new school buildings. Professionals who had been involved with the development of new school buildings, and those currently involved, engaged in workshops to discuss their experiences of the process and designed guidance for those who would be involved in the future. This collaborative process pointed to possibilities but also significant potential risks involved in innovative school design. Theoretically, an activity theory framework was adopted to explore patterns of interaction and contradictions in the collaborative processes of the design, construction and occupation of new school builds and how these should be captured in a guidance document. We problematise the concept of innovation in the design of new build schools and the related risks. We suggest that collaborative school design calls for a new conception of collective action.
Transgender and gender-diverse students may experience poorer school outcomes due to a threatening school climate. A rapid review using systematic search found 2,111 studies mentioned LGBTQ + students, but only three were peer-reviewed empirical tests of potential interventions to improve school outcomes among transgender and gender-diverse youth: (a) Sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression (SOGIE) inclusive policies were associated with greater school safety, less victimization, less social aggression, and higher teacher support. (b) Among the interventions, the use of the chosen name in school reduced negative health outcomes. (c) Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) reduced reports of frequent gender-based bullying. Several implementation facilitators for school interventions included transgender and gender-diverse students, along with informative families, trained teachers, and supportive principals. Randomized controlled trials focusing on this population would contribute greater certainty when developing school interventions. The lack of high-quality studies should serve as a wake-up call to conduct the necessary research.
To reduce the number of chronically absent students in schools annually, cities and municipalities across the United States have implemented programs, initiatives, and invested resources into educational reforms that would lead to improvement in school attendance. Drawing on ecological systems theory and interview data, we examined how organizations within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania directly worked with students, collaborated with each other, and facilitated opportunities to reduce the impact of chronic absenteeism in the local school district. Interview data revealed how organizations leveraged resources to train key personnel, communicate the importance of daily school attendance, and work directly with students on improving school attendance. Our findings highlight how community approaches to absenteeism require various levels of support from organizations.
Although most individuals pass through adolescence without excessively high levels of "storm and stress," many do experience difficulty. Why? Is there something unique about this developmental period that puts adolescents at risk for difficulty? This article focuses on this question and advances the hypothesis that some of the negative psychological changes associated with adolescent development result from a mismatch between the needs of developing adolescents and the opportunities afforded them by their social environments. It provides examples of how this mismatch develops in the school and in the home and how it is linked to negative age-related changes in early adolescents' motivation and self-perceptions. Ways in which more developmentally appropriate social environments can be created are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A new conceptualization of perceived control was used to test a process model describing the contribution of these perceptions to school achievement for students in elementary school (N = 220). Three sets of beliefs were distinguished: (a) expectations about whether one can influence success and failure in school (control beliefs); (b) expectations about the strategies that are effective in producing academic outcomes; and (c) expectations about one's own capacities to execute these strategies. Correlational and path analyses were consistent with a process model which predicted that children's perceived control (self-report) influences academic performance (grades and achievement test scores) by promoting or undermining active engagement in learning activities (as reported by teachers) and that teachers positively influence children's perceived control by provision of contingency and involvement (as reported by students). These results have implications for theories of perceived control and also suggest one pathway by which teachers can enhance children's motivation in school.
Various studies have reported the physical and mental health benefits from exposure to "green" neighborhoods, such as proximity to neighborhoods with trees and vegetation. However, no studies have explicitly assessed the association between exposure to "green" surroundings and cognitive function in terms of student academic performance. This study investigated the association between the "greenness" of the area surrounding a Massachusetts public elementary school and the academic achievement of the school's student body based on standardized tests with an ecological setting. Researchers used the composite school-based performance scores generated by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to measure the percentage of 3rd-grade students (the first year of standardized testing for 8-9 years-old children in public school), who scored "Above Proficient" (AP) in English and Mathematics tests (Note: Individual student scores are not publically available). The MCAS results are comparable year to year thanks to an equating process. Researchers included test results from 2006 through 2012 in 905 public schools and adjusted for differences between schools in the final analysis according to race, gender, English as a second language (proxy for ethnicity and language facility), parent income, student-teacher ratio, and school attendance. Surrounding greenness of each school was measured using satellite images converted into the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in March, July and October of each year according to a 250-meter, 500-meter, 1,000-meter, and 2000-meter circular buffer around each school. Spatial Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) estimated the impacts of surrounding greenness on school-based performance. Overall the study results supported a relationship between the "greenness" of the school area and the school-wide academic performance. Interestingly, the results showed a consistently positive significant association between the greenness of the school in the Spring (when most Massachusetts students take the MCAS tests) and school-wide performance on both English and Math tests, even after adjustment for socio-economic factors and urban residency.
School climate has been lauded for its relationship to a host of desirable academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes for youth. The present study tested the hypothesis that school climate counteracts youths' home-school risk by examining the moderating effects of students' school climate perceptions on the relationship between family structure (i.e., two-parent, one-parent, foster-care, and homeless households), and academic performance (i.e., self-reported [grade point average] GPA). The present sample consisted of 902 California public high schools, including responses from over 490,000 students in Grades 9 and 11. Results indicated that, regardless of family structure, students with more positive school climate perceptions self-reported higher GPAs. Youths with two-parent, one-parent, and homeless family structures displayed stepwise, linear improvements in self-reported GPA as perceptions of climate improved. Foster-care students' positive school climate perceptions had a weaker effect on their self-reported GPA compared with students living in other family structures. A unique curvilinear trend was found for homeless students, as the relationship between their school climate perceptions and self-reported GPA was stronger at lower levels. Overall, the moderation effect of positive school climate perceptions on self-reported GPA was strongest for homeless youth and youth from one-parent homes, suggesting that school climate has a protective effect for students living in these family structures. A protective effect was not found for youth in foster-care. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
Student perceptions of school climate represent the ways students feel about the school environment. These include perceptions regarding safety, teaching and learning, and relationships within the school. It has been found that student perceptions of school climate are positively correlated with academic achievement (Brookover et al., 1978), and negatively correlated with risky behaviors (Bandyopadhyay, Cornell, & Konold, 2009; Bayar & Ucanok, 2012; Wang, Berry, & Swearer, 2013). The Georgia Brief School Climate Inventory (GaBSCI) is a measure of student perceptions of school climate. The brevity of the 9-item instrument makes it ideal as a general measure that can be used to monitor student perceptions of school climate. The survey was anonymously administered to 130,968 sixth- and eighth-grade students in the state of Georgia. Cronbach's alpha for the scale was 0.71. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses verified the scale's structure. Student perceptions of climate from the GaBSCI varied based on race/ethnicity, gender, and grade. Additional support for the construct validity of the GaBSCI was obtained based on its relationships with several behaviors related to bullying, and the moderating effects of grade and gender on these relationships. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
This study investigated the effects of proximal and distal constructs on adolescent's academic achievement through self-efficacy. Participants included 482 ninth- and tenth- grade Norwegian students who completed a questionnaire designed to assess school-goal orientations, organizational citizenship behavior, academic self-efficacy, and academic achievement. The results of a bootstrapping technique used to analyze relationships between the constructs indicated that school-goal orientations and organizational citizenship predicted academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, school-goal orientation, organizational citizenship, and academic self-efficacy explained 46% of the variance in academic achievement. Mediation analyses revealed that academic self-efficacy mediated the effects of perceived task goal structure, perceived ability structure, civic virtue, and sportsmanship on adolescents' academic achievements. The results are discussed in reference to current scholarship, including theories underlying our hypothesis. Practical implications and directions for future research are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
A growing number of international studies document the importance of well-designed school facilities for children's educational outcomes. However, less attention has been given to the perspectives of teachers and pupils on school design and how the school or classroom can shape the nature of teaching and learning. This article addresses this gap by drawing on an exploratory study of Irish primary schools. Based on teacher and pupil interviews, it focuses on the impact of school size, class size and density, and other factors such as light, noise, and heat. Certain factors, particularly large classes and cramped classroom conditions, were seen as impinging on the effective delivery of the child-centered primary curriculum. While the data relate to the Irish situation, the paper raises a number of issues of interest to an international audience.
For more than a century, there has been a growing interest in school climate. Recently, the U.S. Department of Education, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute for Educational Sciences, a growing number of State Departments of Education, foreign educational ministries, and UNICEF have focused on school climate reform as an evidence-based school improvement strategy that supports students, parents/guardians, and school personnel learning and working together to create ever safer, more supportive and engaging K–12 schools. This work presents an integrative review on school climate research. The 206 citations used in this review include experimental studies, correlational studies, literature reviews, and other descriptive studies. The review focuses on five essential dimensions of school climate: Safety, Relationships, Teaching and Learning, Institutional Environment, and the School Improvement Process. We conclude with a critique of the field and a series of recommendations for school climate researchers and policymakers.
Researchers and reformers have suggested that school climate is an important aspect of effective schools; however, the notion of climate is defined in a myriad of ways, is frequently nebulous, and is often merely a slogan for better schools. The current analysis uses a health metaphor to conceptualize and measure important aspects of school climate and then examines relationships between school health and student achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics in a sample of middle schools. As predicted, dimensions of organizational health were significantly related to student achievement even when the socioeconomic status of the school was controlled.
The objective of this study is to determine if the physical design of learning environments can foster a sense of student ownership in the learning process. Accommodation of permanent student artwork to school interior spaces may enhance student ownership. Sense of ownership incorporates personalization, sense of control, territoriality, and involvement. The authors uncover a significant association between school design and students’ sense of ownership. Furthermore, within a school incorporating permanent artwork, the stronger students’ perceptions are that their artwork can be permanently displayed, the greater their sense of ownership is.
The aim of this study was to explore if there is any evidence for demonstrable impacts of school building design on the learning rates of pupils in primary schools.Hypotheses as to positive impacts on learning were developed for 10 design parameters within a neuroscience framework of three design principles. These were tested using data collected on 751 pupils from 34 varied classrooms in seven different schools in the UK. The multi-level model developed explained 51% of the variability in the learning improvements of the pupils, over the course of a year. However, within this a high level of explanation (73%) was identified at the “class” level, linked entirely to six built environment design parameters, namely: colour, choice, connection, complexity, flexibility and light.The model was used to predict the impact of the six design parameters on pupil’s learning progression. Comparing the “worst” and “best” classrooms in the sample, these factors alone were found to have an impact that equates to the typical progress of a pupil over one year. It was also possible to estimate the proportionate impact of these built environment factors on learning progression, in the context of all influences together. This scaled at a 25% contribution on average.This clear evidence of the significant impact of the built environment on pupils’ learning progression highlights the importance of this aspect for policy makers, designers and users. The wide range of factors involved in this holistic approach still leaves a significant design challenge.
Explanations of school disorder have suffered from at least two deficits: (1) institutional explanations of disorder (that is, school climate) have been largely ignored, and (2) insufficient attention to appropriate measures of disorder has guided research and policy. Like people, schools have their own characteristic personalities, or climates. Using survey responses from students in middle schools in Philadelphia, the author discusses the effects of school climate (such as clarity and fairness of rules) and individual student characteristics (such as age, sex, race, and dimensions of bonding) on different measures of school disorder, including victimization, avoidance, perceptions of safety, misconduct, and offending. The schools varied significantly on all measures of disorder, and school climate provided significant explanatory power for each. Results varied for different measures, though. For example, school climate predicted less serious misconduct more strongly than it predicted serious offending. School climate offers significant potential for enhancing both the understanding and the prevention of school violence.
This study examined the relationship between structure and support in the high school climate and suspension rates in a statewide sample of 199 schools. School climate surveys completed by 5,035 ninth grade students measured characteristics of authoritative schools, defined as highly supportive, yet highly structured with academic and behavioral expectations. Multivariate analyses showed that schools low on characteristics of an authoritative school had the highest schoolwide suspension rates for Black and White students after statistically controlling for school demographics. Furthermore, schools low on both structure and support had the largest racial discipline gaps. These findings highlight the characteristics of risky settings that may not meet the developmental needs of adolescents and may contribute to disproportionate disciplinary outcomes for Black students.
This study explores whether the social support that young adolescents may draw on for their academic activities is related to how much they learn in mathematics and reading over the course of a year. Data came from 1997survey reports collected by the Consortium for Chicago School Research from 30,000 sixth and eighth graders in 304 Chicago public elementary schools about the support these students receive from their teachers, their parents, their peers, and their neighborhoods and from annual standardized tests conducted by the Chicago Public Schools. Using hierarchical linear modeling methods, we found that, on average, social support is positively but modestly related to learning. However, both learning and the relationship between social support and learning are contingent on the academic press of the school students attend. Findings are discussed within the context of school reform policies focusing on increasing social support.
The authors investigated how students’ (N = 233) perceptions of the social environment of their eighth-grade classroom related to changes in motivation and engagement when they moved from seventh to eighth grade. In general, prior motivation and engagement were strong predictors of subsequent motivation and engagement, whereas gender, race, and prior achievement were not related to changes in motivation or engagement. A higher-order classroom social environment factor accounted for significant changes in all motivation and engagement outcomes. Four distinct dimensions of the social environment were differentially important in explaining changes in various indices of motivation and engagement. In general, however, students’ perceptions of teacher support, and the teacher as promoting interaction and mutual respect were related to positive changes in their motivation and engagement. Students’ perceptions of the teacher as promoting performance goals were related to negative changes in student motivation and engagement. Implications for recent educational reform initiatives were also discussed.
In this article, Jonathan Cohen argues that the goals of education need to be reframed to prioritize not only academic learning, but also social, emotional, and ethical competencies. Surveying the current state of research in the fields of social-emotional education, character education, and school-based mental health in the United States, Cohen suggests that social-emotional skills, knowledge, and dispositions provide the foundation for participation in a democracy and improved quality of life. Cohen discusses contemporary best practices and policy in relation to creating safe and caring school climates, home-school partnerships, and a pedagogy informed by social-emotional and ethical concerns. He also emphasizes the importance of scientifically sound measures of social-emotional and ethical learning, and advocates for action research partnerships between researchers and practioners to develop authentic methods of evaluation. Cohen notes the gulf that exists between the evidence-based guidelines for social-emotional learning, which are being increasingly adopted at the state level, and what is taught in schools of education and practiced in preK-12 schools. Finally, he asserts that social, emotional, ethical, and academic education is a human right that all students are entitled to, and argues that ignoring this amounts to a social injustice.
This article examines various aspects of school physical characteristics relat- ing to problem behavior among students. We hypothesize that an attractive physical environment will be associated with less truancy, cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, whereas a negative physical environment will be associ- ated with higher levels of these behaviors. Analyses use data from nationally representative samples of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students who partici- pated in annual surveys conducted by the Monitoring the Future project from 2000 to 2003. Analyses also use data collected from principals and field inter- viewers of the same schools. Results based on multilevel logistic and linear regressions indicate that students are sensitive to schools' ambience and that the association of various aspects of the school's physical environment with students' problem behaviors is greater for 10th-grade students than for 8th- and 12th-grade students. The implications of these findings for school policies and practices are discussed.
Background/Context
Educators have written about and studied school climate for 100 years. School climate refers to the quality and character of school life. School climate is based on patterns of people's experiences of school life and reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures. However, school climate is more than individual experience: It is a group phenomenon that is larger than any one person's experience. A sustainable, positive school climate fosters youth development and learning necessary for a productive, contributive, and satisfying life in a democratic society. This climate includes norms, values, and expectations that support people feeling socially, emotionally, and physically safe. People are engaged and respected. Students, families, and educators work together to develop, live, and contribute to a shared school vision. Educators model and nurture an attitude that emphasizes the benefits of, and satisfaction from, learning. Each person contributes to the operations of the school and the care of the physical environment. School climate refers to spheres of school life (e.g. safety, relationships, teaching and learning, the environment) as well as to larger organizational patterns (e.g., from fragmented to cohesive or “shared” vision, healthy or unhealthy, conscious or unrecognized). These definitions were collaboratively developed and agreed upon at a consensus-building meeting of national practice and policy leaders organized in April 2007 by the National Center for Learning and Citizenship, Education Commission of the States, and the Center for Social and Emotional Education.
Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study
This article examines the relationship between school-climate-related research findings on the one hand and educational policy, school improvement practice, and teacher education on the other.
Research Design
This article uses several research methods to understand the current state of school climate research, policy, practice, and teacher education: historical analysis, a review of the literature, a national State Department of Education policy scan, and a national survey (N = 40) of building, district, and state educational leaders about school climate measurement and improvement practices.
Findings/Results
A review of the literature reveals that a growing body of empirical research indicates that positive school climate is associated with and/or predictive of academic achievement, school success, effective violence prevention, students’ healthy development, and teacher retention. There is a glaring gap between these research findings on the one hand, and state departments of education, school climate policy, practice guidelines, and teacher education practice on the other.
Conclusions/Recommendations
We detail how the gap between school climate research, policy, practice, and teacher education is socially unjust and a violation of children's human rights. We now have research-based guidelines that predictably support positive youth development and student learning. If we do so, we are supporting children, educators, parents, communities, and the foundation for democratic process, but as a country, we are not doing so. Our children deserve better. A series of detailed recommendations are suggested for policy makers, practice leaders, and teacher educators to narrow this gap and support student's healthy development and capacity to learn.
Many fields of study are concerned with children’s development or with the built environment. Only early childhood education, however, has focused attention on both of these topics. The concern with development was recently impressed upon me when I searched for a preschool for my 3-year-old daughter, Laura. Each school I visited thrust into my hands a written statement of its philosophy and objectives. Consider a small sample:
Our goal is to offer a well-balanced program for preschool-age children, which will enrich the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development of each child.... We try to meet the individual needs of each child, while helping the child to develop self-confidence, self-esteem, a constructive approach toward learning, and a sense of curiosity and independence.
Our objectives—joy in learning, concentration, self-confidence, respect for others and the equipment, self-control and courtesy, coordination, intellectual growth.
Why your child should attend our school—
It helps him to mature emotionally: he is helped to overcome his shyness; he loses some of the fears and anxieties common to little people; he enjoys working and playing with other children; he acquires pleasure in his own accomplishments.
It helps him to mature socially: he learns to show consideration and respect for others, to give and to accept help from others, to participate and to lead in group activities, to accept responsibility.
It helps him to mature intellectually: he learns to express himself, to create in many ways, to use his initiative and imagination, to be alert to the world around him.
It helps him to mature physically: he develops better control of his large muscles; he improves his posture; he develops good health habits.
This chapter discusses indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools. IAQ in schools can have an important impact on health. Four factors determine IAQ in schools: sources of indoor air pollution; heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems; pollutant pathways; and the people themselves. The EPA's Tools for Schools program can be used to identify IAQ problems. These problems may be mitigated and managed with a variety of strategies including controlling sources and exposures and educating teachers, staff, and students.
Developmental psychology and, to a lesser extent, social psychology have taught us that individuals, groups, and still larger aggregates of people change in the patterning of their physical, biological, social, and cultural characteristics over time. This “life-cycle” approach can be applied with equal success to the physical settings that define people’s day-to-day lives. Conceptualizing the changing character of physical settings over extended periods of time requires that the environmental psychologist be very sensitive to and fully informed about the processes of human development.
This chapter describes the scientific parameters of temperature and humidity and the ways in which they affect comfort and health in schools. Thermal conditions-temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity-have direct effects on the human body and on functional outcomes such as performance, learning, and productivity. Thermal conditions can also indirectly affect indoor air pollutant concentrations, as well as human exposure to these pollutants. Regulation of the thermal environment is necessary to maintain optimal conditions and involves routine monitoring and adjustment of the temperature, relative humidity, and air movement.
This chapter describes the breadth of the impact that lighting has on the health, wellbeing, and performance of schoolchildren and staff. Good lighting design can improve health and learning as well as increase safety, reduce vandalism, lower energy use, and help students maintain visual connections with the environment. In contrast, bad lighting design contributes negatively to these issues. A holistic approach to optimal lighting includes provision of daylight and views in all classrooms and work areas, integration of daylight and electric lighting, and the addition of flexible lighting controls. Causes of lighting problems include insufficient or unbalanced light, glare, unnatural lamp characteristics, and annoying side effects. Careful planning early in the building design results in a healthy lighting system while frequent system assessment ensures consistent performance.
This article investigates the impact of different school models (middle school, K-8, and the UK secondary) on young adolescents' perceptions of their school climates. In particular, it analyzes the importance of people and place in the positive and negative attitudes that middle-level students develop about their schools. Based on mixed-method longitudinal research conducted during the 2004-2005 academic year, the study finds that 11- to 12-year-old students' happiness in school is most influenced by their peers, followed by the relationship with teachers. The study also reveals negative implications for students in large, crowded, control-oriented middle schools. On the other hand, it also reveals how larger secondary schools (found in the United Kingdom) include programmatic qualities to promote young adolescents' comfort level in large schools. Effective transition programs in particular can mitigate the negative qualities of large, urban, low socioeconomic status school settings by assisting with student comfort and lessening the feeling of anonymity.
Methods for handling missing data in social science data sets are reviewed. Limitations of common practical approaches, including complete-case analysis, available-case analysis and imputation, are illustrated on a simple missing-data problem with one complete and one incomplete variable. Two more principled approaches, namely maximum likelihood under a model for the data and missing-data mechanism and multiple imputation, are applied to the bivariate problem. General properties of these methods are outlined, and applications to more complex missing-data problems are discussed. The EM algorithm, a convenient method for computing maximum likelihood estimates in missing-data problems, is described and applied to two common models, the multivariate normal model for continuous data and the multinomial model for discrete data. Multiple imputation under explicit or implicit models is recommended as a method that retains the advantages of imputation and overcomes its limitations.
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
This study examines the role of school building quality, both perceived and objective, in the development of self-efficacy and academic success in young adolescents (mean age =14, range 11–17 years old). Previous research related to school building quality used only adult assessment of building quality. The study interviewed public school students in two high schools and three middle schools about their school and their self-perception. Objective school building quality was assessed by a trained researcher. Academic performance was measured by classroom grades (GPA - grade point average) and state-wide standardized test scores. A series of regression equations indicates that objective and perceived school building quality and self-efficacy are significantly related to GPA scores. Neither measure of building quality, however, predicted standardized test scores. Student self-perception of behavioral conduct as measured by the self-perception profile for adolescents (Harter 1988) was marginally related to standardized test scores. Students' perception of building safety (compared to degree of crowding, noise, privacy and clutter/mess) was the best predictor of perceived school building quality as well as predicting perceived scholastic competence, behavioral conduct and self-worth.
Hypotheses about the association of school organizational characteristics with school crime and disorder were tested in a nationally representative sample of 254 secondary schools. Relatively small intra-class correlations suggest that most of the variance in the individual measures of school disorder result from within-school rather than between-school variation. Therefore only a small portion of this variation is potentially explainable by between-school influences. Nevertheless, school climate explained a substantial percentage of the variance in all measures of school disorder, controlling for the effects of community characteristics and school student composition. Schools in which students perceived greater fairness and clarity of rules had less delinquent behavior and less student victimization. Rule fairness and clarity did not influence teacher victimization. Schools with more positive psychosocial climates had less teacher victimization, but climate did not influence student victimization or delinquent behavior.
Over the next seven years, at least 5,000 new schools will be designed and constructed to meet the needs of American students in kindergarten through grade 12. National efforts are underway to encourage the use of daylighting, energy efficiency, and renewable energy technologies in school designs, which can significantly enhance the learning environment. Recent rigorous statistical studies, involving 21,000 students in three states, reveal that students perform better in daylit classrooms and indicate the health benefits of daylighting. This paper discusses the evidence regarding daylighting and student performance and development, and presents four case studies of schools that have cost effectively implemented daylighting into their buildings.
The present study investigates the relationships among a variety of school-level climate variables and mean school achievement in a random, sample of Michigan elementary schools. School-level SES, racial composition and climate were each highly related to mean school achievement; only a small proportion of the between-school variance in achievement is explained by SES and racial composition after the effect of school climate is removed. The climate variable we have called Student Sense of Academic Futility had the largest correlation with achievement. An observational study of four schools with similar SES and racial composition but different achievement tended to support the more analytical findings and suggest the processes by which climate affects achievement.
School climate has been studied with a multitude of variables, methodologies, theories, and models, resulting in a not easily defined body of research. This analysis of the school climate literature, based on over 200 references, uses an organizational theory taxonomy to organize the diverse body of research and to draw conclusions about common findings. The history of school climate research is reviewed, noting the influence of climate instruments developed to study climate in settings other than the total school building, such as business, college, and classroom settings. The difficulty of defining school climate is reflected in the diversity of climate typologies that have evolved, despite their often common roots. The debate about school climate is tied to differences among researchers in theory base, variables to study (and their hypothesized interrelationships), unit of measurement choices, and the validity of subjective and qualitative data (based on participant or observer perception). Some common conclusions about school climate (considered as an independent, intervening, or dependent variable) do emerge in the literature. The paper concludes with a summary of the methodological issues common to school climate studies and suggestions for dealing with the concomitant problems
This article examines various aspects of school physical characteristics relating to problem behavior among students. We hypothesize that an attractive physical environment will be associated with less truancy, cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, whereas a negative physical environment will be associated with higher levels of these behaviors. Analyses use data from nationally representative samples of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students who participated in annual surveys conducted by the Monitoring the Future project from 2000 to 2003. Analyses also use data collected from principals and field interviewers of the same schools. Results based on multilevel logistic and linear regressions indicate that students are sensitive to schools' ambience and that the association of various aspects of the school's physical environment with students' problem behaviors is greater for 10th-grade students than for 8th and 12th-grade students. The implications of these findings for school policies and practices are discussed.
In this study, 149 low-income, ethnically heterogeneous, fourth- and fifth-grade students completed self-report surveys in the fall and spring of 1 academic year. We examined classroom climate (satisfaction, cohesion, friction, task difficulty, and competition) and school belonging in relation to language arts and math and science self-efficacy, taking into account initial self-efficacy. Results revealed that greater satisfaction and school belonging, as well as less friction, were associated with higher language arts self-efficacy; school belonging emerged as the most important contextual influence when all classroom and school environmental variables were examined together. Less difficulty was the only contextual variable associated with higher math and science self-efficacy. These results suggest that student perceptions of the classroom and school environment are important to consider in relation to academic outcomes and that they have differential influences depending on the subject. Findings and implications for teachers and schools are discussed.