Can an Outdoor Learning Environment Improve Children’s Academic Attainment? A Quasi-Experimental Mixed Methods Study in Bangladesh

IF 5.2 2区心理学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Environment and Behavior Pub Date : 2020-12-01 DOI:10.1177/0013916519860868

Matluba Khan, Sarah McGeown, Simon Bell

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引用次数: 15

Abstract

The present study adopted a quasi-experimental mixed method approach to investigate the influence of an improved school ground on children’s academic performance. In total, 123 children from two (intervention and control) primary schools in Bangladesh participated. In the intervention school, a barren school ground was redesigned with several behavior settings (e.g., gardens and amphitheater) for teaching and learning. Treatment group children (n = 29) received math and science classes outdoors, while a comparison group (n = 32) received usual indoor classes. A control school with no changes to the outdoor environment was included (n = 62). The redesigned school ground was associated with higher levels of academic attainment. Furthermore, all intervention schoolchildren perceived more opportunities to explore in the redesigned school ground. Qualitative insights suggest the diverse settings provided more opportunities to explore, experiment, and work collaboratively. These results highlight the potential for school ground design to contribute to improvement of children’s academic attainment in developing countries.

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户外学习环境能提高孩子的学业成绩吗？孟加拉国的准实验混合方法研究

本研究采用准实验混合方法，调查改良学校场地对儿童学习成绩的影响。孟加拉国共有来自两所（干预和控制）小学的123名儿童参加了活动。在干预学校，一个贫瘠的学校场地被重新设计为几个行为环境（如花园和圆形剧场），用于教学。治疗组的儿童（n=29）在户外接受数学和科学课程，而对照组（n=32）则接受普通的室内课程。包括一所室外环境没有变化的对照学校（n=62）。重新设计的学校场地与更高的学术水平有关。此外，所有接受干预的学童都认为有更多机会在重新设计的校园里探索。定性见解表明，多样化的环境提供了更多探索、实验和合作的机会。这些结果突出了学校场地设计有助于提高发展中国家儿童学业成绩的潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Environment and Behavior Multiple-

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

1.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Environment & Behavior is an interdisciplinary journal designed to report rigorous experimental and theoretical work focusing on the influence of the physical environment on human behavior at the individual, group, and institutional levels.