High School Landscapes and Student Performance.

Abstract

High school students today are experiencing unprecedented levels of school related stress. At the same time, a growing body of research has linked views of and access to natural features with stress reduction and restoration from mental fatigue. How important are such views and access to students while they are at school? This study investigated 101 public high schools in southeastern Michigan to examine the role played by the availability of nearby natural environments in the academic achievement and behavior of high school students. All analyses controlled for student socio-economic status, racial/ethnic makeup, building age, and size of enrollment. The results reveal that nature exposure beneficially affects student performance. Specifically, views with greater quantities of natural features (e.g., trees, shrubs) from classroom as well as cafeteria windows were associated with higher standardized test scores, graduation rates, and percentages of students planning to attend college, and lower occurrences of criminal behavior. In addition, school policies of allowing students to eat lunch outdoors and to leave campus during lunch were related to enhanced test scores and college plans.

This study also investigated the influences that specific features of the high school and surrounding landscapes can have on students. Greater quantities of viewable natural features near student lunch sites were found to be positively related to test scores, graduation rates, and intentions to attend college. In addition, the results suggest that the trees and shrubs viewed from the lunch sites and classroom windows need to be close to the viewer to be of greater benefit. Finally, large expanses of landscape lacking in natural features had a negative influence on test scores, intentions to attend college, and college plans. Such landscapes included large areas of lawn, parking lots, and bordering farmlands.

Prior research concerning the relationships between school physical environments and student performance has concentrated mainly on indoor characteristics of the school building and kindergarten or elementary school playscapes. This study’s results, however, demonstrate that campus landscape features that are primarily looked at rather than more directly experienced can have just as much influence on high school students’ academic achievements and behaviors.