The Ecology of Opportunity: Environmental Health and Student Achievement

• In Event: Natural Disasters, the Environment, and Educational Outcomes

Abstract

This study investigates the association between multiple dimensions of environmental health and student achievement in order gain a more holistic understanding of how behavioral, social, physical, and socio-emotional contexts may differentially impact learning. We utilize a longitudinal dataset that combines ten years of school-level student achievement with a national scale of community health rankings, including nutrition access, neighborhood violence, social supports, housing quality, and mental health access. We employ a four-level hierarchical linear modeling approach with results suggesting that improvements in environmental health are significantly associated with improvements in student achievement. Results highlight the breadth to which environmental conditions may influence the learning environment, provide further support for a bioecological systems approach to education.

Authors

• Yan Dai, Tuskegee University

• Natasha Mishelle Rabinowitz, Phenix City Schools

• Arlene Godwin, Auburn University

• Okunola Odeniyi, Auburn University

• Kari D. Smith-Murphy, Auburn University

• Andrew Pendola, Auburn University