Environmental stressors
From WikEd
Environmental stressor is a term used in the field of psychology. It refers to any force or event in the human or natural environment that may cause a person to experience stress. Some examples of environmental stressors include: noise, air pollution, crowding, traffic congestion, terrorism, natural disasters and extremes of temperature. Studies on the effect of different environmental stressors on people indicate that they can impact people's behavior, mood, cognitive function, physical health and/or psychological well-being.
Environmental stressors is a term also used in the field of biology. It refers to any physical or chemical change in the natural environment that impacts the growth, development, reproduction or physiology of organisms in that environment.
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[edit] Application in and effects on classrooms
Several studies have looked at the impact of environmental stressors in the work place. Relatively fewer studies have looked at the impact of environmental stressors in the classroom setting. Studies on environmental stressors in the classroom have focused on environmental stressors such as noise, crowding and temperature and have attempted to measure the impact of these environmental stressors on student learning.
[edit] Noise
Noise is defined as unwanted sound. In schools settings this may include: chatter in the classroom, sounds from the hallway, scraping sounds from chairs and tables, sounds from adjacent classrooms, ventilation, sounds from the schoolyard and traffic noise (Bowman & Enmarker, 2004).
Various studies that have compared students in noisy schools or classrooms with students in quieter schools or classrooms have found a correlation between long-term exposure to noise and scholastic performance. Students in noisy environments scored lower on measures of reading skills, were less likely to complete a problem solving task and showed impaired auditory and visual discrimination (Cohen and Weinstein, 1982). While most studies have looked at noise in the schools caused by road traffic or air traffic, a survey conducted by Bowman and Enmarker looked at a variety of other noise sources such as chatter in the classroom to sounds from the schoolyard (2004). According to surveys completed by the students, classroom chatter was rated most annoying. Students also reported the noise in the classroom caused symptoms of stress; irritation, tension, headache, tiredness and energy loss.
[edit] Crowding
Crowding is a complex phenomenon. Stress associated with crowding is not due just to density of people or numbers of people in a space. Whether an environment seems crowded and elicits a stress response depends on the social setting, the physical setting, the goals of each individual in the space and whether the goals conflict, perceived threats to personal control, level of intimacy of people occupying a space, personal characteristics of each individual in the space and the coping assets of each individual in the space (Baum and Paulus, 1987, Epstein, 1982).
In schools the notion of class size is related to the concept of crowding. It has has long been assumed that smaller class sizes would lead to greater student achievement. This is based on the notion that a smaller class size will lead to more individualization of instruction, less teacher stress and fewer behavior problems in students (Weldon, et al., 1981). There have been numerous studies on class size and student achievement, but the results are often complicated and contradictory (Gump, 1987, p. 705). Different meta-analysis studies of the class size literature shows small positive gains in achievement in smaller classes. It was noted in a meta-analysis by Glass and his associates that class size seems to make less of difference in achievement in class sizes of 20 and up and class size made more of a difference in achievement when enrollments were around 15 or fewer. (Gump, 1987, p. 708).
[edit] Temperature
Extremes changes of temperature either too hot or too cold put physical demands on the body. Studies have found extremes of temperature can impact performance level. Studies have also found that as temperature increases aggression increases (Rathus and Nevid, 2002).
A review of literature on temperature in the classroom by King and Marans (1979) found that "temperature, humidity and air movement all were determined to have an impact on academic achievement and task performance. As temperature and humidity increased, achievement and task performance deteriorated, attention spans decreased, and students reported greater discomfort. Cooler temperatures, whether created by mechanical means or not, were associated with increased comfort, activity and productivity. Results were based on studies of teachers’ perceptions as well as studies of students’ performance on assessments."
[edit] Evidence of effectiveness
Studies have established a correlation between environmental stressors and academic performance. A few studies have attempted to also changed the environment to measure the impact on learning. These studies have also showed a correlation between learning and environmental stressors. For example, in one study students were compared after spending one year in noise-abated classrooms with students in nonabted classrooms. The study reported that the students in the noise-abted classrooms had better math scores than students in the nonabted classrooms. (Cohen and Wienstein, 1982).
[edit] Critics and their rationale
The research on school environments is considered limited for several reasons (adapted from Ahrentsen, et. al., 1982).
- Overemphasis on achievement as an outcome which ignores the impact the environment has on behavior and the effects of individual differences in student intelligence.
- Tendency to ignore possible mediators of stress such as the perception that a stressor is annoying.
- Sample biases due to small sample sizes (e.g. comparisons where only made between two classrooms or between two schools and the conclusions from such studies could be due to other differences between the classrooms).
- Tendency to focus on one stressor when classroom environments often contain more than one stressor.
[edit] Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
There is relatively little research on environmental stressors and cross-cultural differences. There are some indications that environmental stressors may impact cultural groups differently. For example, crowding seems to negatively effect children in Western cultures but appears to have no negative effects on individuals in Hong Kong (Epstein, 1982).
[edit] Signed "life experiences", testimonies and stories
I think there is a very true problem when it comes to crowding. In our building we have class sizes that fairly regularly reach beyond 30 students per period. When 33 student desks are in the classroom with one teacher desk, at least one file cabinet and a storage cabinet, those rooms are amazingly full. Now this is a typical room for a newish teacher. Teachers that have been around for more than 5 years will often have additional file cabinets. If a teacher is involved in an extracurricular activity there may be a second cabinet in the room. A teacher cannot physically walk down the rows of her classroom because the desks are too close together. Students are sitting as close to each other as they would on the bus, practically. This does not promote personal space or a quiet zone from desk to desk. This is definitely affecting the student's ability to learn. In my opinion no class size should be above 20, but at this point 25 would be great. -V.C.
I have taught in the same school for four years. Last year I switched classrooms. Prior to switching classrooms, I was in a large room with high ceilings. It was located in the main hallway, near the bathroom. It was also next to a copy machine the teachers used regularly and the hallway outside my room was often used as a space to meet with children in small groups. The room I moved into was about the same size but was more square than rectangular. It also had much lower ceilings. It is located at the end of a hallway off the main hallway of the school. I immediately noticed a difference in the acoustics of the two rooms. My old room with high ceilings echoed and it felt like my voice got lost in all the open space. My new room was quieter and my voice projected into the space much better. I also wasn't competing with the constant noise and activity from students using the bathroom; teachers making photocopies; students walking on their way to lunch, p.e., art, music, etc.; students working with other adults in the hallway. In my mind it made a difference in the feel of my classrooms. My new classroom seemed much quieter and calmer and the kids did too. While, I can't contribute it all to the classroom - I had different kids and I am probably a better teacher - having a quiet, calm space probably helped. E. Elrick preschool/elementary teacher for 7 years.
I think this is an important point. We often put kids through situations that we wouldn't do to adults, and expect teachers and students alike "just to deal with it". Things such as air quality, lighting, access to fresh air and reasonable temperatures, are very important to developing youngsters, and we need to do everything possible to make school a place one WANTS to be. --Emily Cox
When there are too many students in a school or classroom the children seem to become agitated more easily than when they have space to spread out. Our school's enrollment has declined dramatically over the last 5 years. We even have one empty clasroom! When the school was filled beyond capacity (music was held in the teacher's lounge) kids tended to be more territorial about lockers and desks and supplies. Now that kids feel no space constraints they seem to be much more easy going about sharing whatever space they have. Intersting... Carolyn St
[edit] References and other links of interest
Ahrentzen, S. (1982) School Environments in n Evans, G. (ed) Environmental stress pp. 224-255. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Bowman, E., Enmarker, I. (2004) Factors Affecting Pupil's Noise Annoyance in Schools: The Building and Testing of Models. Environment and Behavior 36(2) 207-228.
Cohen, S., Winstein, N. (1982). Nonauditory effects of noise. in Evans, G. (ed) Environmental stress pp. 45-74. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Epstein, Y. (1982) Crowing Stressin Evans, G. (ed) Environmental stress pp. 133-150. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Gump, P. (1987). School and Classroom Environments in Stokols, D., Altman I (eds) Handbook of Environmental Psychology Volume 1. pp. 691-732. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
King, J., Marans, R. (1979) The Physical Environment and the Learning Process: A Survey of Recent Research Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
Rathus, S., Nevid, J. (2002) Psychology and the Challenges of Life: Adjustment in the New Millennium 8th edition. pp. 158 - 167. John Wiley & Sons.
Weldon, et al. (2002) Crowing and Classroom Learning. Journal of Experimental Education. 49(3) 160-176.
