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Category: Dissertations and Theses

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Edwards, N., 2006

This qualitative study examined the ways in which middle school and high school students in an urban school district responded to being educated in facilities in some state of disrepair. The purpose of this research study was to arrive at a level of understanding with respect to urban students’ attitudes, perceptions and beliefs regarding the physical environment(s) in which they had been educated. The core questions which guided this research were: 1.) To what extent do students perceive their academic achievement, motivation and/or personal conduct is positively or negatively affected by the condition of the facility in which they are educated? 2.) In what ways does the condition of an educational facility affect students’ perceptions of the overall quality of the teaching and administrative staffing within their building? 3.) In what ways does the condition of an educational facility affect students’ perceptions of the degree to which their school district values their education and personal safety?

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Thornton, 2006

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between building conditions and student achievement of students identified in the subgroups of poverty and minority in high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The targeted population was identified by using the study conducted by Crook (2006) which included information obtained from seventy-two high schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Building conditions used in the study were based upon the responses received from principals on the Commonwealth Assessment of Physical Environment (CAPE) form.

The scaled scores of economically disadvantaged students and minority students on the Standards of Learning tests administered in grades nine through eleven during the 2004-2005 school year were used to measure student achievement. The status of economically disadvantaged students was controlled by the classification of a student receiving free and reduced-priced lunch during the 2004-2005 school year. The status of minority students was controlled by ethnicity as reported by the individual schools to the Virginia Department of Education for the 2004-2005 school year.

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Bullock, 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between school building condition and student achievement as measured by their performance on the Standards of Learning (SOL) examinations at the middle school level in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Three major data components were used to complete this study. The first component was the condition of the school buildings. To obtain this information, principals were asked to complete the Commonwealth Assessment of Physical Environment (CAPE) assessment instrument. The second component was the percentage of passing scores from SOL examinations for each middle school in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The third component was the socioeconomic status of the students attending the schools as measured by the percentage of students participating in the free and reduced lunch program.

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Al-Enerzi, M.,  2002

This study explored the relationship between school building conditions and the academic achievement of twelfth students in selected public high schools in Kuwait. The population of the study was 56 high schools (28 boys’ schools and 28 girls’ schools) that offered a Sciences and Arts majors. The major research questions in this study were: (a) is there a relationship between overall, cosmetic, and structural conditions and student achievement; (b) does the relationship between building condition and student achievement differ between boys’ and the girls’ schools; and (c) what aspects of physical building components are related to student achievement. The high school principals were given the revised Commonwealth Assessment of Physical Environment (CAPE) to assess building conditions. Student achievement was measured by final examination scores collected from the Information Center at the Ministry of Education.

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Kenneth Phelps, 2013

Of all the influences on educational achievement—e.g., teacher qualifications and motivation, administrative support, and parental and community involvement—among the least recognized is the condition and appropriateness of the school capital facility. Since the state constitution mandates that all students have an equal opportunity to attain a relevant education, a lack—or inequality—of any of those influences would seem to demand rectification. In probing the perceptions of superintendents and finance officers in North Carolina school districts, this research determined that the administrators (1) recognize the importance of capital facilities to educational success, (2) identify capital facility needs within their own district, and (3) attribute those needs to shortcomings of finances. However, a consensus regarding the appropriate process for ensuring greater equity of facilities was not found. In general, there was the perception that funding distribution based on horizontal equity (“headcount”) was not appropriate in many cases, current practice notwithstanding, and such distribution should be to some extent needs-based. This study concludes with a recommendation for increased state involvement in the funding process, with allocations to be made among selected districts each year, and aimed to redress specific extreme deficiencies in capital facilities. Funding is proposed to be derived from an increase in the state sales tax, and allocated primarily according to need.

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Steve Marable, 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the environmental education curriculum which has been utilized within Green Schools. For this study the researcher defined Green Schools as educational facilities with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification or United States Education Department (USED) Green Ribbon recognition. Currently, there is no set standard for the implementation of environmental education in Green Schools or for schools that utilize the building as a teaching tool for students. This descriptive study surveyed Green Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia in order to better understand what common programs and curricula were being utilized. This study will also assist in establishing pedagogical best practices for environmental education while describing how LEED certified buildings are currently being used by educators as a teaching tool to support sustainable practices.

Overall, 14 Green Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia agreed to participate in the study. Once principals gave consent for their school to participate in the study, they were asked to respond the survey instrument and invite teachers to participate in the Green Schools eSurvey also. The survey instrument consisted of 14 multiple choice and open response survey items. Overall, 98 principals and staff participated in the survey. Multiple choice survey questions served as the quantitative data for the research study. Quantitative data were examined to report descriptive statistics to provide parameters about the sample population. The frequency and percentage from each category, mean, and mode were also reported from each quantitative iii survey item. Qualitative data were examined by emerging themes according to pedagogical strategies and programs. The findings from the study indicated that teachers are employing practices that are consistent with current emphases on environmental education. Data also supported that educators take pride in their buildings and incorporate the facility as a teaching tool in a variety of instructional practices throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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McDonald, 2008

The administrations of several universities have developed strategies to reduce the negative environmental effects created by their institutions. Because no single, comprehensive methodology to guide institutions to sustainability exists, these strategies range widely in scope. As well, the definition of “sustainability” differs for these various institutions, resulting in strategies ranging from small-scale recycling programs to major initiatives to incorporate green building and revamping curricula. This study attempts to create the first comprehensive methodology to guide university campuses and processes to become regenerative. Regenerative systems “produce more resources than needed, provide resources for other projects, and enhance [the] environment” (Bernheim 2003), and are synonymous with the “triple top line” of sustainability presented by Braungart and McDonough (2002).

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Gary David Schwartz, 2013

Considering the billions of dollars invested in school buildings and the accountability for improving student achievement, there has been the lingering question about how the physical learning environment impacts student achievement. This study explored the impact of a new 21st-century-designed middle school facility on student academic achievement in mathematics and science.

This case study used a mixed methods approach to examine the student achievement of 158 middle school students and the perceptions from 13 teachers and two administrators about the impact of the new facility on teaching and student learning. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect on middle school student achievement in mathematics and science when students experienced a change in the physical learning environment, from an aging school facility to a new 21st-century-designed school facility.

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Daniel, 2013. This dissertation captures the 10-year contemporary history of implementing the facilities element of New Jersey’s historic Abbott V decision. New Jersey’s Legislature and Governor took this Supreme Court decision and created legislation responding to multiple constituencies and lobbyists while shaping a school construction program to be deposited within a government agency for implementation. While not the largest in nominal dollar value, New Jersey’s program was possibly the widest in geographic scope and most detailed in ambition in the United States. Aspects of program implementation are described and linked to their sources in the political sphere and their implications for the school facilities.

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(Dissertation by Ronald Taylor, 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine the possible relationship between the condition of school facilities in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), as measured by the Facilities Condition Index (FCI), and academic proficiencies in mathematics and reading, as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition, (Stanford 9) in 2005, as well as attendance and truancy rates for the corresponding school year.

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