Lessons in a Green School Environment and in the Classroom: Effects on Students’ Cognitive Functioning and Affect

Lucia Mason (), Lucia Manzione, Angelica Ronconi and Francesca Pazzaglia
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Lucia Mason: Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy
Lucia Manzione: Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy
Angelica Ronconi: Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy
Francesca Pazzaglia: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-16

Abstract: The positive impact of short-term exposure to nature during a green recess in a school day is documented in the literature. In this study we investigated cognitive, academic, and affective effects of a single contact with nature during a regular school lesson in the greenness, compared to an usual classroom lesson, on young students in second and third grades (N = 65). In a within-subjects design, for the cognitive effects we examined children’s (a) selective and sustained attention and (b) math calculation performance in common school tasks. For affective effects we considered (c) their positive and negative mood and (d) the perception of environmental restorativeness. Findings revealed that after a single lesson taught in the green school garden, children had greater selective attention and math calculation performance in two tasks than after a similar lesson in the classroom environment. Moreover, children with higher self-reported emotional difficulties showed greater selective attention and reported a statistically significant increase in positive affect and a tendency to a significant decrease in negative affect after the lesson in the greenness than in the classroom. Students also perceived the green space as more restorative than the classroom environment. Results are discussed against theories on the benefits of exposure to natural environments, highlighting the theoretical and practical significance of the study.

Keywords: green environment; classroom environment; school lessons; attention; math performance; positive affect; negative affect; emotional difficulties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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