The Impact of Learning Environments
School facilities represent the second largest sector of public infrastructure spending, after highways, and yet there is no comprehensive national data source on K-12 public school infrastructure. More than one-third of public schools have portable buildings due to capacity constraints with 45% of these portable buildings in poor or fair condition. Public schools increasingly serve a secondary function as emergency shelters and community resource facilities during man-made or natural disasters, and facility upgrades are needed to effectively fulfill this important community purpose.
Infrastructure in schools and universities, such as buildings, classrooms, laboratories, and equipment, plays a vital role in creating effective learning environments. There is substantial evidence that having high-quality infrastructure leads to better instruction, improved student outcomes, and lower dropout rates, among other advantages.
For this reason, the City of Stamford and the Simmons administration have fought tirelessly to advocate for state funding to assist in these projects.
(source: ASCE)
Improving school facilities is costly, but the benefits to teachers and students outweigh the investment.
“The capital improvements to Stamford’s public schools will provide students and teachers with modern and safe facilities that will enhance the learning experience for everyone. The Long-Term Facilities Plan allows the school district to properly evolve its facilities to support each student as they go from kindergarten through 12th grade.”
What We Know
School location
Schools are an integral part of a community and are best located close to the learners they serve. The need to travel long distances to school can have a negative impact on enrolment and retention (especially among girls and disabled children), as well as attendance and performance. For example, studies have found that students living less than 1 km from their school perform statistically better than those who walk further (Theunynck, 2009).
School size
Evidence on the impact of school size on learning is mixed. Studies from the USA suggest that smaller schools may contribute to better student outcomes as learners, teachers, and parents see themselves as part of a community (Barrett et al., 2019), while in India small schools with fewer facilities and a lack of specialist teachers may be resulting in lower outcomes (Rolleston and Moore, 2018). Data from Senegal showed that school size had no effect on student performance in the early grades, but that attending a large school had adverse effects on student performance by the fourth grade. This may be due to the fact that fourth graders have spent more time in the education system whereas, at the start of the learning process, schools have not yet left their mark on younger learners, whose learning is shaped more by family environment (Koussihouede, 2020). Barrett et al. (2019) also point to the drawbacks of large schools, citing higher transportation costs, higher administrative overheads, lower graduation rates, higher absenteeism, higher rates of vandalism, and lower teacher satisfaction.
School premises
An ‘inviting physical environment that ensures the safety and health of learners’ helps to enhance the quality of learning (UIS, 2012: 38). Learning assessment data from Latin America shows a clear relationship between school infrastructure and learning even after controlling the socioeconomic level of the families. The two categories that are most clearly associated with learning outcomes are pedagogical and academic spaces, and connection to services (electricity, telephone, and Internet) (UNESCO Santiago Office and IDB, 2017).
The quality of infrastructure affects enrolment and completion rates, and it is an important aspect in parents’ satisfaction with and perception of school quality (Gershberg, 2014). There is evidence to suggest that school construction projects can help raise motivation among students and teachers and improve parental engagement, which subsequently leads to improved academic achievement (Neilson and Zimmerman, 2011). Well-designed schools can increase the productivity of school staff and cut financial waste on unnecessary services and maintenance (RIBA, 2016).
Although the literature does not show a strong relationship between students’ exam results and their satisfaction with the condition of school facilities, some studies have demonstrated convincing links between student outcomes and specific aspects of classroom infrastructure in OECD countries (Barrett et al., 2019).
(source: UNESCO)
