Better School for Improved Learning: Systematic Review on Impacts of School Physical Environment on Student Learning

Homa Pesarakli (Texas A&m University)

Importance and Goal. Children spend about half of their daytime at school and interact with the physical attributes of school buildings. Scientific research has shown the association between schools’ physical environments and students’ learning outcomes. This systematic review synthesized the literature in this field and compared different built environmental interventions for their respective impacts on student learning.

Method. The review process followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched relevant databases and identified studies between 1979 and 2018 that investigated the relationship between physical environment at K-12 schools and student learning outcomes. Literature review articles were also examined. Intervention studies were further analyzed for their impacts on student learning.

Results. Reviewed studies showed that there is a positive correlation between schools’ physical environments and students’ learning outcomes such as engagement and academic performance. However, questions still remain for the exact mechanisms of such relationships because of the multifaceted nature of environments and diverse individual characteristics. Four different domains of influential built environmental factors were identified from the literature, including (1) structural facilities (i.e., air quality, thermal comfort, noise, and lighting); (2) interior design (i.e., furniture design and layout), (3) school facilities (i.e., supporting areas and quality of facilities), and (4) architectural design (i.e., size, open space, form, and circulation). The review showed that most studies focus on the association between student learning and structural and school facilities, while there is little empirical research that considers the effect of architectural and interior design features on students’ learning outcomes.

Future directions. Significant gaps and limitations in the literature raised many questions for future studies. Future studies should examine the influence of architectural and interior design factors on student learning outcomes and consider structural facilities in combination with other environmental factors and individual preferences.