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