The walls speak: the interplay of quality facilities, school climate, and student achievement

Journal of Educational Administration - Tập 46 Số 1 - Trang 55-73 - 2008
Cynthia L. Uline1, Megan Tschannen‐Moran2
1San Diego State University, San Diego California, USA
2The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Tóm tắt

PurposeA growing body of research connecting the quality of school facilities to student performance accompanies recent efforts to improve the state of the educational infrastructure in the USA. Less is known about the mechanisms of these relationships. This paper seeks to examine the proposition that part of the explanation may be the mediating influence of school climate.Design/methodology/approachTeachers from 80 Virginia middle schools were surveyed employing measures including the School Climate Index, a seven‐item quality of school facilities scale, as well as three resource support items. Data on student SES and achievement were also gathered. Bivariate correlational analysis was used to explore the relationships between the quality of facilities, resource support, school climate, student SES, and student achievement. In addition, multiple regression was used to test school climate as a mediating variable between the quality of facilities and student achievement.FindingsResults confirmed a link between the quality of school facilities and student achievement in English and mathematics. As well, quality facilities were significantly positively related to three school climate variables. Finally, results confirmed the hypothesis that school climate plays a mediating role in the relationship between facility quality and student achievement.Originality/valueAs we face fundamental issues of equity across schools and districts, leaders struggle to convince taxpayers of the need to invest in replacing and/or renovating inadequate facilities. Deeper understandings of the complicated interplay between the physical and social environments of school, and how these dynamics influence student outcomes, may help educators build a compelling case.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Abramson, P. (2006), “11th annual school construction report”, School Planning & Management, available at: www.peterli.com/spm/resources/rptsspm.shtm.

American Society of Civil Engineers (2005), 2005 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, April, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, available at: www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/ (accessed July 18, 2005).

Anderson, C. (1982), “The search for school climate: a review of the research”, Review of Educational Research, Vol. 52, pp. 368‐420.

Argon, J. (2005), “Challenging times: the 34th Annual M and O Cost Study”, American School and University, available at: www.asumag.com/research/index.html.

Berner, M.M. (1993), “Building conditions, parental involvement, and student achievement in the District of Columbia public school system”, Urban Education, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 6‐29.

Bosch, S.F. (2006), “Research priorities: how facilities affect learning outcomes”, in Tanner, C.K. and Lackney, J.A. (Eds), Educational Facilities Planning: Leadership, Architecture, and Management, Pearson Education, Boston, MA, pp. 323‐49.

Bowers, J.H. and Burkett, C.W. (1988), “Physical environment influences related to student achievement, health, attendance and behavior”, Council of Educational Facility Planners Journal, Vol. 26, pp. 33‐4.

Brookover, W., Schweitzer, J., Beady, C., Flood, P. and Wisenbaker, J. (1978), “Elementary school social climate and school achievement”, American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 301‐18.

Buckley, J., Schneider, M. and Shang, Y. (2004), The Effects of School Facility Quality on Teacher Retention in Urban School Districts, National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, Washington, DC, available at: www.edfacilities.org/pubs/teacherretention.htm.

Buckley, J., Schneider, M. and Shang, Y. (2004), LAUSD School Facilities and Academic Performance, National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, Washington, DC, available at: www.edfacilities.org/pubs/LAUSD%20Report.pdf.

Cash, C.S. (1993), “Building condition and student achievement and behavior”, unpublished PhD thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

Chan, T.C. (1979), “The impact of school building age on the achievement of eighth‐grade pupils from the public schools in the state of Georgia”, unpublished PhD thesis, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Chan, T.C. (1996), Environmental Impact on Student Learning, ERIC Document Reproduction Service, No. ED 406 722.

Dawson, C. and Parker, J.R. (1998), “A descriptive analysis of the perspective of Neville High School teachers regarding the school renovation”, paper presented at the Mid‐South Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

DiPaola, M.F. and Tschannen‐Moran (2005), “Bridging or buffering: the impact of schools' adaptive strategies on student achievement”, Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 43, pp. 60‐71.

Earthman, G.I. (2004), Prioritization of 31 criteria for school building adequacy, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Maryland, Baltimore, MD

Earthman, G.I. and Lemasters, L. (1996), “Review of the research on the relationship between school buildings, student achievement, and student behavior”, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, Tarpon, FL, October.

Earthman, G.I. and Lemasters, L. (1998), “Where children learn: a discussion of how a facility affects learning”, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of Virginia Educational Facility Planners, Blacksburg, VA, February.

Evans, G.W. and Maxwell, L. (1997), “Chronic noise exposure and reading deficits: the mediating effects of language acquisition”, Environment and Behaviour, Vol. 29 No. 5, pp. 638‐56.

Giles, C. and Hargreaves, A. (2006), “The sustainability of innovative schools as learning organizational and professional learning communities during standardized reform”, Educational Administration Quarterly, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 124‐56.

Haines, M.M., Stansfeld, S.A., Job, R.F.S., Berglund, B. and Head, J. (2001), “Chronic aircraft noise exposure, stress responses, mental health and cognitive performance in school children”, Psychological Medicine, Vol. 31, pp. 265‐77.

Hallinger, P. and Heck, R.I. (1996), “Reassessing the principal's role in school effectiveness: a review of empirical research, 1980‐1995”, Educational Administration Quarterly, Vol. 32, pp. 5‐44.

Hayden, J. and Cauthen, K. (1996), Children in America's Schools, South Carolina ETV, Columbia, SC.

Heschong Mahone Group (1999), Daylighting in Schools: an Investigation into the Relationship Between Daylighting and Human Performance, Heschong Mahone Group, Fair Oaks, CA.

Higgins, S., Hall, E., Wall, K., Woolner, P. and McCaughey, C. (2005), The Impact of School Environments: a Literature Review, The Design Council, London, available at: www.designcouncil.org.uk/resources/assets/assets/pdf/Publications/The%20Impact%.

Hines, E.W. (1996), “Building condition and student achievement and behavior”, unpublished PhD thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

Hoy, W. and Feldman, J. (1987), “Organizational health: the concept and its measure”, Journal of Research and Development in Education, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 30‐7.

Hoy, W. and Hannum, J. (1997), “Middle school climate: an empirical assessment of organizational health and student achievement”, Educational Administration Quarterly, Vol. 33, pp. 290‐311.

Hoy, W. and Sabo, J. (1998), Quality Middle Schools Open and Healthy, Corwin Press, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Hoy, W.K., Tarter, C.J. and Bliss, J. (1990), “Organizational climate, school health, and effectiveness”, Educational Administration Quarterly, Vol. 26, pp. 260‐79.

Hoy, W., Tarter, C.J. and Kottkamp, R. (1991), Open Schools/Healthy Schools, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.

Hoy, W., Hannum, J. and Tschannen‐Moran, M. (1998), “Organizational climate and student achievement: a parsimonious view and longitudinal view”, Journal of School Leadership, Vol. 8, pp. 336‐59.

Jarman, D., Webb, L. and Chan, T.C. (2004), “A beautiful school is a caring school”, School Business Affairs, available at: www.sba_june_04_beautiful_school.pdf/.

Kozol, J. (1991), Savage Inequalities, Crown Publishers, New York, NY.

Lackney, J.A. (1996), “Quality in school environments: a multiple case study of the diagnosis, design, and management of environmental quality in five elementary schools in the Baltimore City public schools from an action research perspective”, unpublished PhD thesis, The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.

Lanham, J.W. (1999), “Relating building and classroom conditions to student achievement in Virginia's elementary schools”, unpublished PhD thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

Lemasters, L.K. (1997), , “A synthesis of studies pertaining to facilities, student achievement, and student behavior”, unpublished PhD thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

Lewis, M. (2000), Where Children Learn: Facility Condition and Student Test Performance in Milwaukee Public Schools, Council of Educational Facility Planners, International, Issuetrak, Scottsdale, AZ.

Lowe, J. (1990), “The interface between educational facilities and learning climate in three elementary schools”, unpublished PhD thesis, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX.

McGuffey, C. (1982), “Facilities”, in Walbert, H.J. (Ed.), Improving Educational Standards and Productivity, McCutchan, Berkeley, CA, pp. 237‐88.

McGuffey, C.W. and Brown, C.L. (1978), “The impact of school building age on school achievement in Georgia”, Council of Educational Facility Planners Journal, Vol. 16, pp. 6‐9.

Maxwell, L. (1999), School Renovation and Student Performance: One District's Experience, Council for Educational Facility Planners International, Scottsdale, AZ.

Maxwell, L.E. and Evans, G.W. (2000), “The effects of noise on pre‐school children's pre‐reading skills”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 20, pp. 91‐7.

Mead, S. (2005), “Schooling's crumbling infrastructure: addressing a serious and underappreciated problem”, Education Week, available at: www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/06/15/40mead.h24.html.

National Education Association (2000), Modernizing Our Schools: What Will it Cost?, National Education Association, Washington, DC.

O'Neill, D. (2000), “The impact of school facilities on student achievement, behavior, attendance, and teacher turnover rate at selected Texas middle schools in region XIII ESC”, unpublished PhD thesis, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX.

O'Neill, D.J. and Oates, A.D. (2001), “The impact of school facilities on student achievement, behavior, attendance and teacher turnover rate in central Texas middle schools”, Council of Educational Facility Planners Journal, Vol. 36 No. 3.

Office of Education Research and Improvement (2000), Condition of America's Public School Facilities: 1999, US Department of Education, Washington, DC, June.

Phillips, R.W. (1997), “Educational facility age and the academic achievement and attendance of upper elementary school students”, unpublished PhD thesis, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Plumley, J.P. (1978), “The impact of school building age on the academic achievement of pupils from selected schools in the state of Georgia”, unpublished PhD thesis, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Preacher, K.J. and Leonardelli, G.J. (2006), Calculation for the Sobel Test: An Interactive Calculation Tool for Mediation Tests, available at: www.psych.ku.edu/preacher/sobel/sobel.htm.

Schneider, M. (2002), “Do school facilities affect academic outcomes?”, National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, available at: www.edfacilities.org/pubs/outcomes.pdf.

Schneider, M. (2003), “Linking school facility conditions to teacher satisfaction and success”, National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, available at: www.edfacilities.org/pubs/teachersurvey.pdf.

Tanner, C.K. (2000), “The influence of school architecture on academic achievement”, Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 309‐30.

Tanner, C.K. and Lackney, J.A. (2006), “The physical environment and student achievement in elementary schools”, in Tanner, C.K. and Lackney, J.A. (Eds), Educational Facilities Planning: Leadership, Architecture, and Management, Pearson Education, Boston, MA, pp. 266‐94.

Tarter, C.J., Sabo, D. and Hoy, W.K. (1995), “Middle school climate, faculty trust, and effectiveness”, Journal of Research and Development in Education, Vol. 29, pp. 41‐9.

Tschannen‐Moran, M., Parish, J. and DiPaola, M.F. (2006), “School climate and state standards: how interpersonal relationships influence student achievement”, Journal of School Leadership, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 386‐415.

Uline, C. (1997), “School architecture as a subject of inquiry”, The Journal of School Leadership, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 194‐209.

Uline, C. (2000), “Decent facilities and learning: Thirman A. Milner Elementary School and beyond”, Teacher College Record, Vol. 102 No. 2, pp. 442‐60.

Willower, D. (1988), “Synthesis and projection”, in Boyan, N.J. (Ed.), Handbook of Research in Educational Administration, Longman, New York, NY and London, pp. 729‐47.

Wuensch, K.L. (2007), Statistical Tests of Models that Include Mediating Variables, available at: psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/∼ shackman/mediation_moderation_resources.htm#Resources_ for_ Mediation_and_Moderation_A.

Wurtman, R.J. (1975), “The effects of light on the human body”, Scientific American, Vol. 233 No. 1, pp. 68‐77.

Moore, D.P. and Warner, E. (1998), Where Children Learn: The Effect of Facilities on Student Achievement, available at: www.cefpi/cefpi/issue8.html.