SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

School Environment Analysis Essay

School Environment Analysis Essay

Introduction

A school's environment is made up of psychological, social, and physical dimensions, such as safety, morale and academic growth. These dimensions shape the feelings about and perceptions of a school and whether it is a place where learning can occur. The attitudes of students, teachers, administrators, parents, and the community help shape a school's environment Quality schools are an important element to successful economic development programs. Businesses and households are interested in locating in areas with good schools. It is necessary for the schools to fulfill the needs of both the teachers and students, as both plays a vital role in creating the goodwill of the school, both in the short as well as long run. In the next section, we will conduct a comprehensive analysis of School Environment, we will also describe the environmental, contextual factors, and community needs of our school. For each of the needs, we will identify, research, and describe some potential solutions that could be utilized to address the needs of our school in Texas.

Discussion & Analysis

School Environment Analysis

An effective school environment meets the needs of students and staff. These needs include physiological needs (the school is a comfortable, pleasant place), safety needs (the school provides physical and psychological security), social needs (the school has an atmosphere of acceptance and friendship), achievement needs (the school advocates and recognizes accomplishment), and actualization needs (the school encourages Individuals to reach their goals) (Nathan, 2001).

Schools with positive environments can show evidence of students' active learning with individualized performance expectations, varied learning environments, and flexible curriculum and extracurricular activities. The school's structure is appropriate for the students' developmental stage. In addition, effective schools have clearly articulated goals, documented long- range planning, arid well-defined problem-solving procedures. Rules and policies are cooperatively determined by staff and students, as appropriate (Ward, 2001).

The atmosphere in such schools promotes collegiality among staff and students. Mechanisms for conflict resolution, effective communications, involvement in decision-making, and autonomy with accountability contribute to a vested Interest in making the school succeed. Students, staff, and community take pride in the school.

The Ineffective school on the other hand, presents quite a different picture. Numerous symptoms of school environment problems may exist including high student and faculty absenteeism, student cliques and gangs, negative talk in the faculty lounge, the classrooms, and the community, vandalism, and student disruptions and violence. A poor school spirit and a poor community image concurrently underscore and contribute to a high dropout rate, a large numbers of underachievers, a high Incidence of suspensions/expulsions, low staff morale, and parent and student apathy (Nathan, 2001).

This school environment analysis is a comprehensive set of techniques that assess productivity (e.g. achieving academic proficiency, developing an expanding knowledge base, demonstrating an interest in teaching and learning) and satisfaction (e.g. sense of personal worth, enjoyment of school, and success from participation in worthwhile activities) for both students and staff. Texas School environment analysis is but one step in an ongoing school improvement process (Sanoff, ...