Learning environments research in English classrooms

Although learning environments research has thrived for decades in many countries and school subjects, English classroom environment research is still in its infancy. This article paves the way for expanding research on English classroom environments by (1) reviewing the limited past research in English classrooms and (2) reporting the first study of English learning environments in Singaporean primary schools. For a sample of 441 grade 6 students, past research in other subjects was replicated in that a modified version of the What Is Happening In this Class? questionnaire was cross-validated, classroom environment was found to vary with the determinants of student sex and ethnicity, and associations emerged between students’ attitudes and the nature of the classroom environment

Evaluation of engineering and technology activities in primary schools in terms of learning environment, attitudes and understanding

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature Because the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education continues to be recognised around the world, we developed and validated an instrument to assess the learning environment and student attitudes in STEM classrooms, with a specific focus on engineering and technology (E & T) activities in primary schools. When a four-scale instrument assessing classroom cooperation and involvement and student enjoyment and career interest was administered to 1095 grade 4–7 students in 36 classes in 10 schools, data analyses supported its factorial validity and reliability. When the new questionnaire and understanding scales were used to evaluate E & T activities, statistically-significant pretest–posttest changes in career interest and understanding (with large effect sizes ranging from 0.70 to 0.81 standard deviations) supported the efficacy of the instructional activities

Parental Involvement in Schooling, Classroom Environment and Student Outcomes

We investigated relationships between students’ perceptions of parental involvement in schooling, their Spanish classroom environment and student outcomes (attitudes and achievement). Modified Spanish versions of the What Is Happening In this Class?, Test of Spanish-Related Attitudes-L1, a parental involvement questionnaire and a Spanish achievement test were administered to 223 Hispanic Grade 4–6 students in South Florida. The factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the questionnaires was supported. Strong associations were found for parental involvement with students’ learning environment perceptions and student outcomes, and for Spanish classroom environment with student outcomes. When the unique and common variances in student outcomes explained by the classroom environment and the home environment were examined, the home environment was more influential than the classroom environment in terms of students’ attitudes, but the classroom environment was more influential than the home environment in terms of achievement