The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
The Effects of Students’ Environment on Academic Performance
By:
Allyssa Little
Prof. Dixi Dougherty
Psychological Foundations of Education
Learning Theories
Little 1
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
Abstract:
When a student is doing poorly in their academics, it is important know the
cause of this behavior and not jump to conclusions. There are numerous
variables that affect a student’s academic performance. Some variables, the
friends they choose etc., the students have control over, but others,
socioeconomic status, parental influence etc., are out of their hands.
Although the factors are many, the three environmental factors or variables
that will be discussed in this research are parental support and involvement,
peers/friends, school facilities and how those factors affect academic
performance.
Little 2
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
When a student is doing poorly in their academics, a teacher may
wonder why the student isn’t performing to the best of their ability. It is
important to know that there are many factors that can influence the
student’s academic performance. Some variables like the friends they
choose etc., the students have control over, but others like socioeconomic
status, parental influence etc., are totally out of their hands. Although the
factors are many and vast, the three environmental factors or variables that
will be discussed in this research are parental support and involvement,
peers/friends, school facilities and how those factors affect academic
performance.
Teachers will suggest to parents that they should be actively involved
in their children’s education often, but just how important is parental
involvement and support to the students’ academic success. How do the
students of parents that are involved compare to the students of parent who
are not. According to research done by William H. Jeynes and the Harvard
Family Research Project, parental involvement is connected to highest
student achievement. This pattern is consistent throughout the whole student
body, all races, all socioeconomic statuses, everyone. “This academic
advantage for those parents who were highly involved in their education
averaged about .5– .6 of a standard deviation for overall educational
Little 3
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
outcomes, grades, and academic achievement.” (Jeynes) In other words, the
students with parental involvement had a substantially higher range of scores
than the students with little parental involvement. Certain aspects of
involvement affect academics more. Things that require more time, reading
with your child, communicating with you child, high expectations, had more
of an effect than did demonstrative aspects, household rules etc. Out of the
aspects that affect the students’ performance academically greatly, the aspect
that has the greatest influence is parental expectations. The more you expect
your child to succeed, the more likely they are to believe they can. (Jeynes)
The results of this research prove that the impact of parental
involvement is consistent across all racial and ethnic groups. Parents can
receive help with becoming more involved in their child’s academics
through parental involvement programs. Through these programs, the parent
becomes more involved in the educational process. Schools should
implement strategies to enhance parental involvement. “Given the
substantial influence of parental involvement, educators should consistently
encourage parents to become more involved in their children's schooling.”
(Jeynes)
A statement often heard from the mouths of parents is, “Pick your
friends carefully because it will affect how you are seen.” As a child, one
Little 4
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
would simply shrug it off, but guess what? Parents are right. As a child gets
older, parents become less influential as the influence of peers gains
momentum. The peers a student surrounds themselves with make a
difference in that student’s academic success. It is important to monitor
certain peer groups to prevent bad things from possibly happening. “The
demands and opinions of friends can overwhelm the needs of family and, at
times, can overwhelm the individuals themselves.” (Majeed) Who a student
chooses to spend time with will determine the student’s motivation to
succeed in school. Peer pressure can stem from these peer group.
“Peers are people who are part of the same social group, so the term
"peer pressure" refers to the influence that peers can have on each other”
(Majeed) Although many initially think of the negatives or peer pressure,
there are both positive and negative aspects of peer pressure. Depending on
the peer, you can learn good things from your peers and possibly analyze
yourself and bring about a positive change in your life. Peers should not
pressure the student to change but rather inspire the student to change
themselves. Positive peer pressure can push students in the right direction.
Good peer pressure is leading you to do something that you didn’t have the
courage to do before or you hadn’t thought about it. Peer pressure can also
have its negatives. When a student doesn’t like something but goes through
Little 5
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
with it because of their friend; that is the wrong kind of peer pressure.
Teachers need to advise students to be their own person and to not simply
hop on the bandwagon. Negative peer pressure can lead to less originality
and individuality. (Majeed) Differences should be celebrated not lamented.
A variable that some might not consider a factor in students’ academic
performance is the school facility. The room, the chair, the air, the
temperature, and even the aesthetics of the classroom factor in on the
students’ academic performance. Poor indoor air quality is a widespread
problem; in 1995 the U.S General Accounting Office found that 15,000
schools had poor indoor air quality. This means that eight million children or
one in five school children are being subjected to these conditions. Certain
symptoms come with poor indoor air quality like; “irritated eyes, nose and
throat, upper respiratory infections, nausea, dizziness, headaches and fatigue,
or sleepiness” (Schneider) The compilation of these symptoms have together
been referred to as sick building syndrome. Simply put, poor indoor air
quality (IAQ) leads to teachers and students becoming sick, and if one is
sick, they are not performing to the best of their abilities, thus decreasing
academic performance. Poor IAQ also is associated with students being
absent. If students are not present at school there is no learning happening,
and when absent often, students can fall behind.
Little 6
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
Air quality matters but the ventilation in the learning environment also
does. It is obvious that if one is shut up in a room with no air ventilation one
would suffocate, school classrooms are not any different. If a school is not
properly ventilated there can be a buildup of carbon dioxide, which is cause
by human respiration. An excessive amount of carbon dioxide can cause
headaches, drowsiness, and the inability to concentrate. Those three
symptoms can cause very low academic performance; if a student is too tired
to concentrate and has a head ache, how likely are they to succeed on what
they are doing. “Schools need especially good ventilation because children
breathe a greater volume of air in proportion to their body weight than adults
do.” (Schneider) Temperature in the classroom also plays a part in the
students’ academics. Researchers have been studying the temperature ranges
where students are more efficient and successful and they have found that
the best temperature range for learning is from 68 degrees to 74 degrees
Fahrenheit. Also, students will be negatively affected in their studies if the
temperature in higher than 74 degrees. If it is too warm of an environment,
students report a greater discomfort and their performance in academics fall
due to a shortened attention span caused by the heat. Not only can the
temperature affect the way students learn, but it can also affect the teacher.
“Teachers seemed to hold a basic expectation that they would be able to
Little 7
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
control light levels, sun penetration, acoustic conditions, temperature, and
ventilation in their classrooms.” (Schneider)
Classroom light plays a very important role in student performance.
Students will obviously not be able to study effectively if there is not enough
light for them to see properly. Appropriate lighting can improve test scores,
reduce off-task behavior and aids in the student’s achievement compared to
classes with not appropriate lighting. Natural daylight can be more beneficial
to the student that man-made light. In 1997, there were 53 studies pertaining
to school facilities conducted and it was found that daylight aids higher
student achievement. “Students with the most classroom daylight progressed
20 percent faster in one year on math tests and 26 percent faster on reading
tests than those students …that received the least amount of natural light”
(Schneider) The environment of a teacher’s classroom is important and
should not be looked over too quickly.
There are so many physical aspects of the learning environment that
can be influential in a student’s academic performance as well as factors like
the friends a student chooses to be around, how much their parents are
involved in their academics and the parents view on education in general.
Teachers are expected to create the best learning environment possible for
their students; there are many things that teachers can control but not all are
Little 8
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
for the teacher to handle. Parent-teacher conferences would help in finding
out about the parental support in each family and observing the students at
school will aid the teacher in deciding how to help each different student
strive for greatness. The goal of a teacher is to provide learning opportunities
for all students, and the environment of a student is where a teacher should
start looking for answers.
Little 9
The Effects of Students’ Environments on Academic Performance
References
Eggen, Paul D., and Donald P. Kauchak. Educational Psychology: Windows
on Classrooms. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2009: Pearson/Merrill/
Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
Jeynes, William H. "Parental Involvement and Student Achievement: A
Meta-Analysis / Browse Our Publications / Publications & Resources
/ HFRP - Harvard Family Research Project." HFRP Home / HFRP Harvard Family Research Project. Web. 05 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-ourpublications/parental-involvement-and-student-achievement-a-metaanalysis>.
Majeed, Aneela. "Peer Effects on Academic Achievement." Scribd. Web. 05
Dec. 2011. <http://www.scribd.com/doc/26716720/Peer-Effects-onAcademic-Achievement>.
Schneider, Mark. "Do School Facilities Affect Academic
Outcomes?" National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. Nov.
2002. Web. 5 Dec. 2011. <http://www.ncef.org/pubs/outcomes.pdf>.
Little 10