Accumulating evidence of the beneficial effects of contact with nature on children’s mental and physical health suggests that exposure to green spaces can support learning and enhance academic performance in children. A limited number of studies exploring the relationship between vegetation in the school environment and academic outcomes has found positive associations. However, most studies use students’ contextual data and outcomes aggregated at the school level, and therefore are unable to adequately control for individual characteristics of students known to influence academic performance. Furthermore, these studies have been carried out in developed countries of North America and Europe, and therefore the extent to which their findings are generalizable to different socio-economic, cultural, and ecological contexts is not well understood. In this dissertation, we advance our understanding on the use of remote sensing data to assess greenness exposure, in order to evaluate the association between greenness in the school environment and student-level academic outcomes in a country of the Global South. We first estimated the influence of spatial resolution of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) on greenness exposure misclassification. We assessed residential greenness for a large cohort of children in Boston, Massachusetts using NDVI at different spatial resolutions and multiple buffer sizes, following methods commonly used in the environmental health literature. Using a reliability assessment framework, we compared continuous and categorical exposure estimates and found that exposure misclassification was higher with coarser spatial resolution, smaller buffers, and greater number of exposure quantiles. We conclude that greenness exposure assessment is sensitive to spatial resolution of NDVI, aggregation area, and number of exposure quantiles. Then, we linked satellite-derived greenness estimates for 2,931 schools in urban areas in Chile to administrative records of standardized test scores and contextual information at the individual and school level for 541,171 elementary-aged students. We evaluated the association between greenness in the school environment and individual-level academic performance in elementary-aged students in Santiago, Chile. Higher school greenness levels were associated with improved individual-level academic performance, with greater magnitude and strength of associations for students in public schools. Finally, we evaluated the individual-level association between greenness in the school environment and academic performance of students in schools in 16 cities across different climate zones in Chile. School greenness was positively associated with test scores and odds of attaining learning standards in mathematics and reading, although associations held only in public schools. The magnitude of associations varied widely across climate regions, decreasing from the desert region in the north to the more vegetated regions in the south. In light of the growing interest on health effects from urban green spaces, this dissertation provides insights on methodological decisions regarding greenness exposure assessment in environmental health research. Furthermore, it expands the evidence on a beneficial association between school-greenness and academic performance to different cultural, demographic, and climate settings. Our results highlight the nuanced nature of this association and the importance of considering students’ social and ecological contexts in urban greenspace management around schools to provide green spaces that effectively support learning. / 2024-12-05T00:00:00Z

Lighting is one of the most important issues for the perception of the physical environment and the ability to perform. Lighting design of classrooms is therefore crucial to achieve the goals of education. The Swedish school aim to provide a working environment supporting every child. As children are individuals their perceptions and light preferences differ just as adults do. Accessibility to tools to be able to customize for the individual child are therefore important. To support our planet, every new product developed should be considered regarding sustainability.  This is particularly important of products designed for children as they are our future. This thesis will focus on finding a task light option suitable for the classroom environment. By researching literature, performing market research and conducting interviews with school professionals, important characteristics of a school task light were established. Based on the findings, a task light proposal was developed including the defined properties.

Människor påverkas av ljus både fysiskt och psykiskt. Eftersom en stor del av vårt liv tillbringas inomhus, är ljussättningen i innemiljöer en viktig faktor som bidrar till vårt välmående. Barn är särskilt känsliga för ljus och dess effekter, därför är ljussättningen i en skolmiljö speciellt viktigt. Ljussättningen i skolan påverkar eleverna dagligen, och spelar en betydande roll i elevernas välmående och prestation. I dagsläget är inte ljussättning något som prioriteras i kommunala grundskolor i Stockholm - det innebär att ljusplaneringenen inte är optimalt utformad utifrån elevernas behov och lokalens form, funktion och förutsättningar. Riktlinjer för ljussättning och belysningskrav som ställs av BBR och SIS är endast på allmän och grundläggande nivå. Examensarbetet är en fördjupning i ljus och dess planering och gestaltning i skolmiljö. Syftet med arbetet är att omvandla en skolmiljö genom att förändra ljussättningen, med hänsyn till både dagsljusinsläpp och artificiell ljus. Arbetet handlar om att anpassa ljussättningen i ett rum utifrån rummets funktion, egenskaper och behov för att skapa de bästa möjliga förutsättningar för elevernas välmående och fokus. Arbetet innefattar en fördjupning inom ljussättning i skolmiljö, en analys av olika rumstyper, en beskrivning av ljusbehov i de olika rumstyperna, analys av fysiska 3D modeller, illustrationer, ljussektioner, rumsplan samt studier och beräkningar från programmet Relux (datorprogram för ljussimulering). Med den teoretiska fördjupningen inom ljussättning i skolmiljö som grund, skapades fyra koncept för fyra olika rumstyper: matsal, klassrum, korridor och bibliotek. Dessa koncept skapades för att kunna användas som underlag för planering av liknande lokaler i skolmiljö. Arbetet innefattar även en tillämpning av de skapade ljuskoncepten. Koncepten tillämpades i Vällingbyskolan. Resultatet blev då ett förslag på omplanering av ljuset i Vällingbyskolans bibliotek, korridor, matsal och i ett av klassrummen. Detta grundades på en platsanalys (nulägesbeskrivning) och på anpassningen av ljuskoncepten till dessa specifika lokaler. Alla planerade lokaler uppfyller BBR och SIS standard för belysning, samt följer riktlinjerna som anges i planeringsguiden “Ljus och Rum, planeringsguide för belysning inomhus”, utgiven av Ljuskultur. Rummens ljussättning planerades utifrån rummens funktion, egenskaper och förutsättningar. Belysningsstyrka och färgtemperatur anpassades i varje rum beroende på synuppgifterna som tillkommer där. Självstyrd belysning och motoriserade gardiner implementerades i några av rummen. Gestaltning av dagsljus och jämn belysning prioriterades i alla rum. Resultatet presenteras med Illustrationer, ljusplan, ljussektioner, solstudier, beräkningar från programmet Relux och beskrivande text. / Light affects people both physically and psychologically. Since a big portion of our lives is spent indoors, the lighting design of indoor spaces has become an important factor contributing to our well-being. Lighting design in school environments is particularly important, since children are very sensitive to light and susceptible to its effects. The lighting design in schools affects students on a daily basis, and plays an important role in the students’ well-being and performance. Currently, lighting design isn’t something that’s prioritized in public middle schools in Stockholm - the light planning isn’t usually optimally designed to fit the needs of the students nor to fit the function and characteristics of the building. Guidelines and rules for light planning indoors that are set by BBR and SIS are quite general and on a very basic level. Further research is required in order to properly plan indoor lighting for a school environment. This Thesis includes further research in lighting design, with a focus on lighting design for schools. The aim of the project is to transform a school environment through lighting design, considering both natural and artificial light. The project’s goal is to adapt the lighting of a room to fit its function and its characteristics, in order to create the best conditions for students’ well-being and their ability to focus. This project includes an elaboration on lighting design in schools, an analysis of different room types in a school setting, a description of the different requirements the different rooms have, an analysis of the 3D light models, illustrations, light sections, floor plans, and studies and calculations made in Relux (an application for light simulation). Four lighting- concepts for four different types of rooms in school settings were developed. The rooms used for the lighting concepts are a dining hall, a library, a classroom and a corridor. These concepts were created to be used as prototypes in the planning of similar rooms in different schools. The project also includes an application of the concepts/prototype rooms. The concepts were applied to Vällingbyskolan. The result was a proposal of an improved light design plan in the dining hall, library, corridor and in one of the school’s classroom. The proposal was based on a place analysis of the school and on an adaptation of the developed concepts.All the planned rooms meet the standards set by BBR and SIS, while also following the recommendations and of ““Ljus och Rum, planeringsguide för belysning inomhus”, a guideline for the planning of lighting system indoors developed by the light design magazine “Ljuskultur”. The lighting system is planned to fit the room’s function and characteristics. The implementation of natural daylight and evenly distributed lighting are prioritized in all rooms. The intensity of illumination and the color temperature of the lighting system are considered and made to fit the room and its specific function. The result is presented as illustrations, light plans, light sections, sun studies and RELUX calculations and analysis, as well as a descriptive text.

Teacher attrition is a widespread problem in the United States and is most severe in urban and rural schools. High rates of teacher attrition and discontent contribute to budget problems and decreased educational school quality. The purpose of this study is to examine how a variety of environmental factors and teacher background characteristics contribute to teacher attrition and discontent. The school system along with the relationship between teacher background and school organization will be considered. The core research questions guiding this study are: To what degree do school environmental factors and teacher background characteristics explain teachers' discontent and ultimate attrition? What is the relationship between teacher discontent and departure? Logistic regression was used to analyze data from the School and Staffing Survey and the Teacher Follow-up Survey collected by the National Center for Education Statistics to answer the research questions. Significant predictors that increased the odds of teacher discontent include: middle school setting, urban locale, rural locale, teacher perceptions of student problems, and teacher perception of community problems. Significant predictors that decreased the odds of teacher discontent include: school salary, highly qualified status, union membership, classroom control, and principal/colleague support. Predictors that increased the odds of teacher attrition include: certification type, school size, rural locale, teacher perceptions of student problems, and classroom control. Predictors that decreased the odds of teacher attrition include: teacher race and ethnicity, highly qualified status, and minority student enrollment. / Urban Education

Leung Tsan-wing. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The deseg regation of schools in the post-1994 era in South Africa has led to an exodus of African children from township schools to multicultural suburban and inner city schools. This migration places African children in a multicultural school environment where the dynamics pose challenges for coping and adaptation if these children are to succeed academically. The challenge is even greater for adolescents who are also wrestling with critical developmental issues of adolescence in their quest for identity development and consolidation. Goleman (1995: 34) asserts that in order to succeed in any aspect of living, an individual requires emotional intelligence. Likewise, African adolescents who attend school in multicultural environments need to be emotionally literate to cope successfully and to adapt to the demands of the new schooling environment. In the light of this assertion, this study aimed to determine the extent to which emotional intelligence mediates the identity development of African adolescents in multicultural schools. The five domains of emotional intelligence investigated in this respect were: self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy and effective relationships. Six schools were selected for the empirical investigation: three from the townships and three from the suburbs. 226 African adolescents from suburban and 240 from township schools participated: a total of 466 participants. The findings revealed that self-awareness, empathy and effective relationships play stronger mediating roles in the identity development of African adolescents in township schools while self-regulation plays a stronger mediating role for African adolescents in suburban multicultural schools. The two groups did not, however, differ significantly regarding the mediating role of self-regulation in their identity development. Further mediating roles of emotional intelligence to the identity development of African adolescents were investigated according to gender, stage of adolescence and a preferred language for learning and teaching. Finally, a model was proposed for developing empathy among African adolescents who attend schools in suburbs. / (D.Ed. (Psychology of Education))

The research was undertaken to determine the way in which the Black adolescent forms a pupil identity. Special attention was focussed on the various relationships formed by th~ Black adolescent within and outside the school environment. Literature indicates that pupil-identity is one of a variety of identities formed. Once a positive pupil-identity is established, the adolescent is in a position to actualise himself adequately. The empirical research was undertaken by administering a questionnaire to 555 Black secondary school pupils. The questionnaire comprised four categories namely, the adolescent's relationship with the self, parents, peer-group and the school. It was found that each of the four categories showed a significant positive correlation with pupil-identity formation. As this research project could not cover all aspects of the Black adolescent, recommendations for future research have been made. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Psychology of Education)

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The US Department of Education projects that by the year 2030 the total English Learner (EL) population in US schools will exceed 40 percent. Currently, by the time ELs make it to high school, after 6 or more years in English Language Development (ELD) programs, the majority (59 percent), are Long Term English Learners (LTEL). LTEL students represent a variety of ethnicities and language groups, but the focus of this qualitative study is LTEL students who identify as Latino LTEL. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and explain recently graduated Latino LTEL's perceptions of the impact of their school's culture on their academic and affective acculturation. As schools look to improve the educational outcome of Latino EL, listening to voices of former LTEL as they share their high school experiences can provide insights into ways to support the affective learning needs, academic success, and acculturation of Latino EL. Through 10 in-depth interviews with former Latino LTEL and employing qualitative coding analysis, this research explored and analyzed recently graduated Latino EL's perceptions of the impact of school culture on their academic acculturation. Even though schools have for many years attempted to address the needs of their linguistically diverse students, the results of this study indicate that the participants' high schools did not do enough to support their academic and affective learning needs. This lack of support impacted participants' self-perceptions of themselves as learners. To bridge Latino LTEL acculturative gaps, the findings support the need for school cultures to address the affective learning needs of their bi-cultural and Latino EL.