Creating Positive Learning Environments

Creating Positive Learning Environments promotes a friendly and student-centered physical, emotional and social school climate that fosters learning. A safe, clean, and well-maintained school with a positive psychosocial climate and culture can boost student and staff self-esteem and health as well as students' educational achievement. The entire community sets the values that lead to positive learning environments in schools. Schools and teachers cannot do it alone.

In order to create a positive learning environment physical, psychological and social hazards, as well as other distractions must be minimized. Distractions such as poor lighting or inadequate ventilation can interfere with learning and prevent teachers and students from doing their best work. Hazards in schools range from asbestos, lead-contaminated water, chemical agents and poorly manufactured playgrounds to bullying and violence. Unfortunately, the relationship between a school's physical appearance and its psychological climate is often ignored (Hathaway, 1988). Deterioration of morale and performance among both students and teachers often accompanies deterioration of the physical plant and equipment, leading to lowered expectations.

On the other hand, a safe, clean and well-maintained school that is environmentally sound sends a clear message to students and staff that education is valued. Positive learning environments improve social relationships among students, and school faculty and staff, and promote more positive attitudes towards school. They reduce absenteeism and boost students' and staffs' self esteem. A healthy school environment depends on policies.

Schools that want to minimize hazards and distractions to teaching and learning, create a climate in which students and school staff can do their best work, and expect that all students can succeed will ensure that the necessary policies are in place. Programs such as the Bullying Prevention Program have been shown to have positive outcomes. Schools simply need to start implementing programs which set high expectations for success, create positive attitudes toward school, and develop meaningful social relationships.

Funding Available to Assist with Recovery from a Violent or Traumatic Event

 

Best Practices in Drug/Violence Prevention

The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence - Blueprints for Violence Prevention has identified 11 prevention and intervention programs that meet a strict scientific standard of program effectiveness. An additional 21 programs are identified as promising. Further information on these best or promising practices can be found at: www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC's) Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action (September 2000) looks at the effectiveness of violence prevention practices in four key areas: parents and families; home visiting; social and conflict resolution skills; and mentoring. This publication can be found at: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/bestpractices.htm.

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning-Safe and Sound: An Educational Leader's Guide to Evidence-based Social and Emotional Learning Programs (March 2003), identifies 80 multiyear, sequenced Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs designed for use in general education classrooms. The guide is available at: www.casel.org/projects_products/safeandsound.php.
Drug Strategies, Inc.- Making the Grade: A Guide to School Violence Prevention Programs (rev. ed., 1999), is a comprehensive guide that identifies key elements of drug prevention programs. The findings of 14 programs are compared. The guide can be ordered online at: www.drugstrategies.org/pubs.html

Hamilton Fish Institute-The 1999 Annual Report on School Safety, a joint report of the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice, was researched and developed by the Hamilton Fish Institute. Chapter 3 presents summary information on school violence and related programs. www.ed.gov/PDFDocs/InterimAR.pdf

Institute of Medicine-Reducing Risks for Mental Disorders – Frontiers for Preventive Intervention Research (1994), integrates research on the prevention of mental illness with recommendations for improving prevention research. It is available through the Institute of Medicine National Academy Press: www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/rrmd

National Institute of Drug Abuse-Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: A Research-based Guide offers updated principles, questions and answers, program information, and references and resources regarding the consequences, prevention, and treatment of drug abuse. It is available at: www.drugabuse.gov/pdf/prevention/RedBook.pdf

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREPP)-SAMHSA's NREPP recognizes evidence-based programs in three categories: promising, effective, and model. More information can be found at: modelprograms.samhsa.gov.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (2002)-Safe and Drug-Free Schools Exemplary and Promising Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-Free Schools Programs, 2001 identifies nine programs as exemplary and 33 as promising. The guide can be downloaded at: www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/exemplary01/exemplary01.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (1997)-Denise C. Gottfredson's chapter 5, School Based Crime Prevention, in Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising, provides a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of school-based crime prevention strategies. www.ncjrs.org/works/chapter5.htm