School Building Condition, Social Climate, Student Attendance and Academic Achievement: A Mediation Model

While previous research investigating student academic achievement has examined either the relation of the physical environment or the social environment to student academic outcomes, the premise of this study is that the quality of the social and the physical environment are linked to each other and both are linked to student academic outcomes. This study uses data from 236 New York City middle schools to examine the possible role of the social climate and student attendance as mediators of the relation between the school’s physical environment and student academic achievement. The findings indicates that the relationship between school building condition and academic achievement is mediated by student perception of the school’s social climate and student attendance. The authors note that this study helps to further our understanding of the school as a micro-system and the mechanisms by which the physical environment can impact a school’s learning environment.