Greenspace at a Glance: Assessing the Causal Effect of Classroom Views on Elementary Student Outcomes

• In Event: Neighborhood Contexts and Educational Opportunity: Exploring Local Determinants of Student Success

Abstract

1.1.  Introduction/Background:

The physical environment of classrooms plays a significant role in shaping students’ academic and socio-emotional development. Recent research highlights the positive effects of greenspace exposure on children's mental health, stress reduction, and cognitive functioning. However, much of this work is limited by non-causal designs, and existing interventions often include components that aim to build appreciation for nature or increase the frequency of visits to greenspaces. Little is known about the specific role of visible green space, such as views from classroom windows, and whether these views causally affect students’ academic achievement and behavioral outcomes.

 

1.2.  Purpose/Research Question:

This study investigates whether classroom-assigned exposure to visible greenspace improves elementary students’ academic and behavioral outcomes. Specifically, whether being assigned to a classroom with a window view of greenspace causally affects students’ test scores and disciplinary incidents. We aim to contribute to the literature on school environments, attention restoration theory, and the role of natural settings in educational contexts.

1.3.  Methods:

We leverage unique geospatial and administrative data from Portland, Oregon public schools, covering school years 2006–2022. We created a novel dataset that codes classroom window orientation and elevation, linking it with high-resolution satellite-derived vegetation data (NDVI) to estimate the amount of visible greenspace for each classroom over time. We exploit biweekly variation in NDVI data across the study period to capture dynamic greenspace exposure. These data are merged with longitudinal student-level administrative records, including standardized test scores and disciplinary incidents. We focus on elementary students, who have limited agency in class selection and classroom assignment within their schools. Our analytic strategy uses child fixed effects to compare students to themselves across years as they move between classrooms with different greenspace exposure. This approach controls for all time-invariant student characteristics and minimizes selection bias. We explore heterogeneity by student demographics and consider various definitions of greenspace, including tree canopy and public greenspace.

 

1.4.  Conclusion/Implications:

Our design aims to isolate within-student variation and provide robust causal evidence regarding the effects of visible greenspace in classrooms. The findings have potential implications for school sitting, classroom assignment practices, and urban planning efforts to integrate nature into educational environments. We seek to establish a benchmark for future research to investigate further potential mechanisms, such as attention restoration and stress reduction, and assess greenspace exposure's long-term impacts across diverse educational contexts.

Author

• Juan Camilo Cristancho, University of California Irvine
  Presenting Author