Improving the Physical and Social Environment of School: A Question of Equity

Abstract

This study explored the interplay between quality facilities and school climate, charting the effects of facility conditions on student and teacher attitudes, behaviors, and performance within schools slated for renovations in a large metropolitan school district. The research applied a school leadership-building design model to explore how six characteristics of facility quality-movement, aesthetics, play of light, flexible and responsive classrooms, elbow room, and security-interact with four aspects of school climate: academic press, community engagement, teacher professionalism, and collegial leadership. Because the schools were older and participants in the research perceived them as being in great need of maintenance and repair, the school building characteristics were often described as absent qualities. The survey data revealed moderate to strong relationships between the quality of school facilities and school climate. The interviews further explicated these relationships. Two additional themes-counterbalance and equity-emerged as being significant to occupants' interactions with their current facilities. This study used a mixed-methods triangulation designdata transformation model. Specifically, school climate surveys, photo interviews with students, walking tours of the school facility, and formal interviews were triangulated to obtain complementary data and a more complete understanding of the educational facility to be renovated and its impact on occupants. Students, teachers, parents, and community members initially come to understand the primary functions of school through their observations of the buildings and grounds. occupants struggle to perceive a clear focus

The Impact of Seating Location and Seating Type on Student Performance

“…Tanner [21] noted that classroom spaces arranged to promote freedom of movement were related to higher test scores. Another study by Uline et al [22] examined the effect of facility conditions on the overall learning climate for a large, metropolitan high school. The findings showed that physical conditions of the school played a role in shaping student behavior and performance.…”

O ambiente escolar e a importância de um projeto de edificação adequado

“…Quando a estrutura escolar tem qualidade inferior ou é mal mantida, os alunos apresentam maior dificuldade em manter o foco, de modo que o ambiente desencoraja o engajamento deles nas atividades escolares, dificulta o processo de sustentação da atenção e ainda diminui o entusiasmo dos professores por seu trabalho (ULINE et al, 2010). O ambiente construído, então, não pode ser entendido como um mero invólucro onde acontecem as atividades educativas, mas sim como um agente impulsionador e motivador para a atividade, uma vez que interfere ativamente nos processos atencionais dos alunos.…”

Some pennies are more equal than others: Inequitable school facilities investment in San Antonio, Texas

“…A recurring line of research takes up the foundational questions of whether school facilities affect student outcomes like achievements, and thus, whether they warrant significant investment (Bowers & Urick, 2011;Cellini, Ferreira, & Rothstein, 2010;Oakes, 2004;Uline, 1997;Uline, Wolsey, Tschannen-Moran, & Lin, 2010). Davis (2015) noted that the most emphasized dependent variable is student test scores, though "researchers have also looked at the wider macro-social impact of high-quality school facilities on housing prices (Cellini, Ferreira, & Rothstein, 2010) and voters' support for schools" (p. 6).…”