EDU1010 Week 9 Lecture 10 - Schools

How Well Did You Know Your School?

• Schools influence us in subtle ways that we often overlook.
• We become accustomed to the common features of schools, such as teachers, buildings, students, noise, and activity.
• The school environment significantly impacts student success and teacher wellbeing.
• The appearance and atmosphere of a school can create an inviting environment or not.

What Did Your School Look Like?

• Consider the school's physical appearance and whether it seemed inviting.

Architecture – How a School Looks

• Physical space influences interactions between teachers and students, and student learning.
• Ideal physical learning space: approximately 106 cm per person.
  • Less space can make students feel threatened.
  • More space can make students feel isolated (Tanner, 2008).

Lighting

• Harmful lighting (e.g., fluorescent) may drain energy and trigger seizures (Hughes, 1980).
• Natural light can improve student test performance by up to 20\% (Tanner, 2008).

Paint Colors

• Warm colors can raise blood pressure, while cool colors lower it (Grangaard, 1995).

Classroom Settings

• Designed settings should evoke positive behaviors, making students feel at ease, comfortable, and secure (Proshansky, Ittleson & Rivlin, 1976).
• Classrooms should be light, airy, colorful, and roomy.

Room Arrangement Principles (Marsh, 2010)

• Arrange the room to facilitate your teaching style.
• Keep high-traffic areas open and uncongested.
• Ensure clear lines of sight between students and teachers.
• Keep frequently used materials readily available.
• Optimal room arrangement varies by subject area.

Other Factors

Noise

• Unwanted sound (noise) can cause physical and psychological responses.
• Ideal speaking volume for teachers is around 40dB.
• Speaking at 45 or 50dB can cause stress, irritation, and fatigue.
• Vocal health is crucial for teachers, who may speak up to 6.3 hours per day (Marsh, 2010).

Temperature

• Temperature stress can affect students, especially in schools without adequate climate control.

Seating

• Comfortable seating is important for concentration and positive attitudes (Emmer, Everton & Worsham, 2008).
• "The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure" (Lieble, 1980).

Class Size

• Smaller class sizes have a positive effect on younger children (Davies et al., 2003).
• Smaller classes increase student visibility, connectedness, and group cohesiveness (Finn et al., 2003).
• Smaller class sizes may not significantly affect achievement among upper middle/secondary students (Jensen, 2004).
• Benefits of smaller classes depend on teachers adapting their teaching methods (Hattie, 2006).
• Rapid formative assessment can be more cost-effective than reducing class size (Yeh, 2007).
• Recommended class sizes in Western Australia:
  • Years 7–10: 32
  • Years 11–12 (academic subjects): 25
  • Years 11–12 (practical subjects): 16–22

The School and Your Subject

• Schools significantly influence student attitudes toward subjects (Olsson, 1996).
• Consider:
  • Written documentation (advertising materials)
  • Informal values placed on the subject
  • Staffing levels and visibility
  • Quality and range of resources
  • Quality and location of facilities
• Hidden messages about subject importance can be conveyed through these signals.
• Example: A drama program in demountable buildings at the back of the school might suggest it is less valued.

What Did Your School Feel Like?

• Was it a good place to be?
• Did you feel comfortable and safe?
• Were you encouraged to learn?
• Were interests outside academics supported?

School Culture: Definitions

1. Beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes, and written/unwritten rules that shape school functions.
2. Concrete states, such as physical/emotional safety, orderliness, and the embrace of equity and diversity.

Culture vs. Climate

• Culture: Deep-seated whole-school values, shared assumptions, meanings, and beliefs (what the school "stands for").
• Climate: Teacher and student perceptions/experiences, emphasizing shared perceptions within the organization (how the school "feels").
• Changing the culture can change the climate.

Your School Culture

• What did your school encourage and celebrate?
  • Academic excellence (ATAR focus)?
  • Pastoral care (student welfare)?
  • Vocational focus (work skills, VET programs)?
  • Sporting success?
  • Success in the arts?
• Schools are more than just buildings; this is a widely researched idea.

More Than Just Teaching?

• A school helps children learn what they need to become functioning members of society (Ryan & Cooper, 2008).
• This includes learning:
  • How to succeed
  • How to accept failure
  • How to persevere
  • How to get along with others
  • How to work collaboratively
• Strong, positive school cultures engage children's hearts and minds, challenging them physically, intellectually, morally, and socially (Ryan & Cooper, 2008).

Developing a Positive School Culture

• Based on Queensland Department of Education guidelines:
  1. Individual successes of teachers and students are recognized and celebrated.
  2. Relationships are characterized by openness, trust, respect, and appreciation.
  3. Staff relationships are collegial, collaborative, and productive, with high professional standards.
  4. School leaders, teachers, and staff model positive, healthy behaviors.
  5. Mistakes are seen as learning opportunities.
• Focus 2023 in Canvas (Week 10) offers further insights (WA).

Classroom Culture

• The classroom as a socio-emotional environment (classroom climate).
• Shared beliefs, customs, attitudes, and expectations of students and teachers.
• Consider power dynamics:
  • Pre-existing cultural meanings (students of different ethnicities)
  • Power of expectations
  • Power of position
  • Power of marketplace

Developing Positive Relationships (Groundwater-Smith et al., 2007)

• Strategies:
  • Speak to students individually.
  • Conduct interest inventories.
  • Use "get-to-know-you" activities.
  • Observe students.
  • Share yourself evenly among students.
  • Learn student names quickly.
  • Let students get to know you as a person.
• “If a teacher hides behind their professional role…then no relationship whatsoever will develop. Therefore…the teacher has to present themself as a person” (Lippitz & Levering, 2002).
• “The teacher is the key.”

In What Other Ways Can a School Affect Student Learning?

Single-Sex vs. Coeducational Schools

• Arguments for and against are based on underachievement and disadvantage.
• Growing concerns over:
  • Boys' underachievement compared to girls
  • Girls' disadvantage in some academic areas
• Evidence suggests:
  • Boys are more willing to share emotions in single-sex environments.
  • Girls benefit in stereotypically male areas (math, science) in single-sex environments.
• Teaching practices must be adjusted accordingly (Younger & Warrington, 2006).

Private vs. Public Schools

• Rise of low-fee paying private schools.
• Factors cited by parents include:
  • Better discipline
  • Smaller classes
  • More individual attention (Buckingham, 2000)

Summary

• Schools are complex places, more than just buildings.
• The way a school looks can affect student learning.
  • You have some control over this, especially in your classroom.
• The way a school feels can affect student learning。
  • You have more control over this, especially in your classroom.
  • What “climate” do you want to promote?
• Schools are physically changing.
• What will schools of the future look like?

Additional Resources

• Reading list on Canvas.
• Set reading: Groundwater-Smith, p. 111–121.
• Additional: Marsh, p. 71–86; Scott, 2020; Schleicher, 2020; Tanner, 2008.