School Greenness and Student-Level Academic Performance: Evidence From the Global South
Raquel B Jimenez1, Matthew Bozigar2, Patricia Janulewicz3
1Engineering Sciences Department School of Engineering Universidad Andres Bello Santiago Chile.
Geohealth
|August 4, 2023
Summary
School greenness positively impacts student academic performance, especially in public schools in South America. This study shows increased test scores and learning standard attainment linked to more vegetation at schools.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Educational Psychology
- Urban Ecology
Background:
- Existing research on school greenness and academic performance is predominantly from Northern Hemisphere ecological studies, yielding mixed results.
- Evidence from the Global South, particularly regarding individual student outcomes, remains limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between school greenness and individual student academic performance in Santiago, Chile.
- To explore variations in this association across different school types (public, charter, private).
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study of 281,695 fourth-grade students across 1,498 schools in Santiago (2014-2018).
- Academic performance measured by standardized test scores and learning standard attainment in math and reading.
- School greenness quantified using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI); statistical models adjusted for sociodemographic factors.
Main Results:
- A 0.1 increase in school greenness correlated with higher math (36.9 points) and reading (1.84 points) test scores.
- Increased greenness was linked to higher odds of attaining learning standards in math (OR: 1.20) and reading (OR: 1.07).
- Associations were stronger in public schools and non-significant in private schools.
Conclusions:
- Higher school greenness is associated with improved individual academic outcomes for elementary students in a South American urban setting.
- School greenness may help mitigate educational and environmental disparities in urban areas.
- Findings underscore the importance of integrating green spaces into school environments to support student achievement.
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