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The Impact of the School Environment on Learning and Teaching
Even as some question the role facilities play in student achievement, a growing literature investigates the link between facility quality and student achievement and is reviewed elsewhere (Earthman, 2004; Earthman & Lemasters, 1996, 1998; Lemasters, 1997; Higgins, Hall, Wall, Woolner, & McCaughey, 2005; Schneider, 2002). Specific building feature s and conditions, relating to human comfort, have been shown to influence student achievement. These include building age (Bowers and Burkett, 1998; Chan, 1979; Earthman & Lemasters, 1996; McGuffey & Brown, 1978; O’Neill, 2000; Phillips, 1997; Plumley 1978); non-modernized versus modernized and refurbished buildings (Maxwell, 1999; McGuffey & Brown, 1978; Plumley 1978); climate control and indoor air quality (Cash, 1993; Earthman, 2004; Hines, 1996; Lanham, 1999); lighting (Heschong Mahone Group, 1999; Kuller & Lindsten, 1992; Mayron, Ott, Nations, & Mayron, 1974; Wurtman, 1975); acoustical control (Evans and Maxwell, 1997 ; Haines, Stansfeld, Job, Berglund & Head, 2001; Hygge, Evans, & Bullinger, 2002; Maxwell & Evans, 2000); overall impression (Tanner, 2000); and design classifications including flexible classroom arrangements, clearly defined pathways, positive outdoor spaces, large-group meeting rooms, instructional neighborhoods, and ample egress (Tanner & Lackney, 2006). Although a study of the relationship of school building quality to student achievement in Wyoming found little correlation, the results may have been influenced by a restriction of range, as only seven percent of the schools were rated as in need of immediate attention (Picus, Marion, Calvo, & Glenn, 2005). Studies that have applied expert assessments of building conditions and features and those that have relied on participants’ subjective assessments have rendered comparable results (Berner, 1993; Branham, 2004; Buckley, Schneider, & Shang, 2004).
Students are not the only ones affected by poor quality buildings. The nature and quality of the built learning environment also has been shown to affect teacher attitudes, behaviors, and performance (Buckley, et al., 2004; Dawson & Parker, 1998; Lowe, 1990; Schneider, 2003). As well, the quality of the building influences the community’s ongoing engagement with a school. Berner (1993) found that parent involvement was related to the condition of school buildings in Washington, D.C. Likewise, Hawkins and Overbaugh (1988) studied exemplary Japanese and American schools finding increased learning in the schools designed to reflect community values. In these schools, cleanliness and care emerged as the most important factors.
The manner in which a school building is designed, managed, and maintained sends a message to its occupants and the community beyond, speaking volumes about the value placed on activities transpiring within its walls. The physical properties of a school building are the tangible context within which teaching and learning take place (Willower, 1998). We have the capacity to influence these properties practically and artfully on behalf of the students and teachers whose performance we wish to support and improve (Uline, 2000).
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