Several decades ago, educators and researchers depended almost exclusively on students’ achievement as the criterion in curriculum evaluation, with much less emphasis on the classroom environment (Fraser, 1998a, 1999, 2012). Recently, however, there has been increasing interest in the conceptualization, assessment, and investigation of students’ perceptions of the psychosocial characteristics of their classroom environments and the relationship it has with students’ affective and cognitive outcomes (Fraser, 1998a, 1998b; Goh & Khine, 2002). Many changes have taken place over the past couple of decades in the focus of investigations of learning environments, with dimensions increasingly becoming diversified and complex (Dorman, 2002) and reflecting constructivist instructional approaches (Fraser, 2001). Dorman (2002) defined the concept of environment in the educational setting as the atmosphere, ambience, tone or climate that pervades a particular setting. A long time ago, Dewey (1938) provided a compelling definition of environment as “whatever conditions interact with personal needs, desires, purposes, and capacities to create the experience which it had” (p. 42). Fraser (1998, p. ) claimed that the learning environment can refer to the “social, physical, psychological, and pedagogical contexts in which learning occurs and which affects student achievement and attitudes”. Therefore, understanding the complexity of learning environments requires identification of various dimensions that collectively interplay for effective learning to take place.
Educational reformers are currently shifting interest towards creating learning environments that are more student-centered (Schneider, Krajcik & Blumenfeld, 2005) and that provide opportunities for positive interactions and discovery learning. Hurst (1996) suggests that active and collaborative science instruction is an effective and efficient way to promote learning and to develop understanding among learners and teachers. Although quite a number of studies have examined different factors
that affect students’ perceptions and attitudes, and thus learning outcomes, my study was primarily designed to evaluate the effectiveness of inquiry-based instruction.
Classroom environment involves the physical, social, and emotional interactions between students as well as between teachers and students (Dorman, 2002). Past reviews of literature (Fraser, 1998a, 1998b, 2012) show that there is a consistent and positive relationship between classroom environment and students’ outcomes. Research has established that academic achievement not only depends on curriculum, instruction, content, pedagogy, and assessment, but also on how students perceive their classroom environments (Fraser, 2001), as well as the quality of interactive relationship between teachers and students throughout the learning process. Therefore, students’ responses towards their learning environments, in addition to other factors such as teacher support, learning expectations, and quality-based, student-centered instructional practices, stand out as underlying influences on learning outcomes (Akey, 2006). A normal and well-structured classroom environment provides an adequate channel for monitoring, evaluating and enhancing instruction, as well as for improving the general classroom climate. Puacharearn and Fisher (2004) assert that the fundamental key to improving student achievement and promoting positive attitudes is to create classroom environments that provide active student involvement and good interpersonal relationship.
The shift from traditional teacher-centered classrooms to more student-centered orientations has sparked research into evaluating the impact of student-centered classroom environments. Remarkable progress has been made in the conceptualization, assessment and investigation of classroom learning environments (Aldridge, Fraser & Huang, 1999) using multiple research methods involving qualitative and quantitative approach as advocated by Fraser and Tobin (1991), Tobin and Fraser (1998) and Aldridge, Fraser and Huang (1999). An integrated system of qualitative and quantitative classroom environment research, through the use of multiple theoretical perspectives and constructs designed to frame students’ and teachers’ perceptions of their experienced and preferred learning environment, have proved increasingly rewarding (Tobin & Fraser, 1998).
A wide array of studies has been undertaken by researchers into the successes, problems, prospects, and interrelationships among stakeholders and the debilitating factors that limit the efficacy of classroom learning environments, as well as the implications of students’ perceptual views for learning within their social environment (Akey, 2006; den Brok, Fisher, Rickards, & Bull, 2005; Fraser, 2001, 2012; Hurst, 1996; Patrick & Ryan, 2003). Students’ outcomes consistently have been found to be better when students perceive the classroom environment to be positive and supportive (Fraser, 2014). This suggests that the quality of classroom interaction, coordination, and involvement between students and teachers in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, among other things, define the quality of learning taking place in the classroom (Patrick & Ryan, 2003). This concept supports Dewey’s (1916) view that effective learning requires social interaction among students and therefore that new knowledge is constructed when learning is made meaningful to the learner (Mvududu, 2003). Fraser (1998a) noted that past research on students’ perceptions of learning environments primarily has had four major foci: associations between students’ outcomes and perceptions of the classroom environment; differences between teachers’ and students’ perceptions; whether students perform better in their preferred classroom environment; and evaluating curricula in terms of their impact on the classroom environment.
Learning is promoted in social, interactive and student-centered classroom environments that place the responsibility for learning on the learner (Patrick & Ryan, 2003). Self-regulated learning environments (Patrick & Ryan, 2003), integrated with proactive student involvement and diverse learning strategies that engage mental processes, are likely to lead to better academic achievement (Young, 2005). Akey (2006) maintained that numerous studies have supported that students’ engagement and collaboration remain the fundamental factors that enhance knowledge acquisition and retention. The central focus of education is to enhance the acquisition of knowledge and skills through classroom interaction between teacher and students. In so doing, Roth, Tobin and Zimmermann (2002) consider that, in interactive learning environments (activity theory), learners are active creators rather than passive reactors in the learning process. Further, Fraser (1998b) recognized the impact of students’ perceptions of classroom environment on their affective and cognitive outcomes. Baek and Choi (2002) considered the extension of classroom
studies to include the assessment of students’ interpersonal and intrapersonal behavior as it relates to their perceptions of their learning environment.
This chapter reviews literature pertinent to my study of inquiry-based science learning environments using the following organization:
Section 2.2 Perspectives on Classroom Environment Research