The Third International Conference on Government

Education Management and Tourism (ICoGEMT)+HEALTH

Bandung, Indonesia, January 19-20th, 2024

EFFECTS OF CLASSROOM LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON THE

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS AT SECONDARY
LEVEL

Hepsi Nindiasari¹, Muhammad Ardani Samad²

Abstract. Classroom learning environment of educational programmes can be defined as

diverse physical locations, contexts and cultures in which students learn. Learning
environment also encompasses how students interact with and treat one another in the
pedagogical setting. Further, the learning environment which is conducive for effective
learning includes the natural ecosystem, grouping of students, arrangement of desks and
seating order in specific ways, audio, video and digital technologies. The qualities and
characteristics of learning environment are also determined by a wide variety of other factors
such as policies of the institution, governance structures and financial stability. Academic
achievement and the classroom learning environment both seem to be influenced. The ideal
classroom learning environment is one where students feel competent and accomplished
since this foster drive and self-assurance. The objective of this review study was to determine
the effects of classroom learning environment on the academic performance of students at
secondary level. To achieve the intended objectives of the study, a set of 10 previous
published articles related to the classroom learning environment and academic achievement
were searched on different databases by defining the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The
articles have full access and in English language were selected for the review. The findings of
the study indicated that classroom learning environment has a significant influence on the
academic performance of the students at the secondary level.

Key Words: Classroom Learning Environment, Academic Performance, Secondary Level

1. INTRODUCTION
Proper arrangement of classroom environment plays a remarkable role in making
instructional process more effective and establishes an atmosphere favourable and
encouraging to learning. The quality of the physical classroom setting significantly affects
academic achievement of the students. Physical facilities in classrooms ensure effective
and successful teaching learning process. Without these facilities, effective and fruitful
teaching learning process is not possible. Students get more information from their teachers
in well facilitated classrooms and consequently they show good performance (Soheili et al.,
2016).
On the other hand, if students feel uncomfortable in classroom then they will fail to get
more information from their teachers. Poor school facilities adversely impact teachers’
effectiveness and also their performance. Consequently, it negatively affects student
achievement. A well-structured classroom can enhance students’ academic and behavioral
outcomes. Students’ perceptions of classroom environment as an important factor that show
some aspects of students’ outcomes i.e., achievement, motivation and satisfaction (Boz et
al., 2016).
Temperature and ventilation systems inside classroom are crucial factors that affect
classroom learning environment. Classrooms too cold or too hot negatively affect students’
performance and concentration as they feel uncomfortable in such conditions. High
temperature and humidity creates physiological and psychological problems which expedite
fatigue, causes people to work more slowly, apply much efforts and causes to make more
 The Third International Conference on Government
Education Management and Tourism (ICoGEMT)+HEALTH
Bandung, Indonesia, January 19-20th, 2024

mistakes and errors. The classroom climate should be cautiously managed not only to
provide physical comfort but also to serve as a positive factor in the learning process by
stimulating attentiveness and concentration. To maintain such a climate, the atmosphere
must be treated to simultaneously controlled temperature, humidity, cleanliness and
circulation (Gao, 2021).
Temperature, heating and air quality are the fundamental elements for the educational
attainment of students. Lighting is one of the most important physical characteristics of
classroom. He further stated that visual environment can affect the capability of students to
perceive visual stimuli and also affect their mental attitude. Consequently, their academic
performance is affected negatively. Success can be ensured by using visual displays in
classroom. There are numerous aspects of lighting to be kept in mind while taking into
account this environmental characteristic of classroom. Classroom lighting consists of
undetectable light, illumination at a student’s desk, lighting from projection screens and
windows. Improper lighting negatively affects academic achievement and promotes distress
and obstruction for students in the classroom (Will et al., 2020).
Instructional technology plays a vital role in teaching learning process and makes it
more successful, interesting and fruitful. Therefore, it is imperative to arrange instructional
technology in classroom to ensure effective and conducive environment for teaching
learning process. Arrangement of classroom educational facilities and instructional spaces
might be selected for learning rather teaching. Besides, it should ensure to facilitate teacher
in making an atmosphere where quality learning may be promoted. Audio visual aids i.e.,
charts, graphs, maps, globes, radio, mock up, multimedia, computers, overhead projectors
and internet are the part of classroom environment. However, these technologies are not
being utilized in instructional programmes as were expected because the design of
classroom physical environment does not support the integration of technology. In the most
of the developing countries as well as in Pakistan educational technologies are not utilized
effectively during instructional process (Wan & Cheng, 2019).
There are some reasons which are responsible for the unsatisfactory utilization of
instructional materials. Lower quality and less quantity of educational technologies provided
to schools is one of the reasons. Secondly, teachers are not trained properly for the effective
utilization of education technologies for instructional process. Therefore, it is necessary to
design classrooms in such a way that technology may be used effectively. Classrooms
should be equipped with modern technologies to ensure favorable and conducive
atmosphere for teaching learning process. Teacher should be given training in the utilization
of technology as it is a vital component of classroom physical setting (Feng et al., 2020).

Objectives of the Study

The objective of this review study was to determine the effects of classroom learning
environment on the academic performance of students at secondary level.

Research Question
What is the effect of classroom learning environment on the academic performance of
the students at secondary level?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Learning environment of educational programmes can be defined as diverse physical
locations, contexts and cultures in which students learn. Learning environment also
encompasses how students interact with and treat one another in the pedagogical setting.
 The Third International Conference on Government
Education Management and Tourism (ICoGEMT)+HEALTH
Bandung, Indonesia, January 19-20th, 2024

Further, the educational setting (learning environment) which is conducive for effective
learning includes the natural ecosystem, grouping of students, arrangement of desks and
seating order in specific ways, audio, video and digital technologies. The qualities and
characteristics of learning environment are also determined by a wide variety of other factors
such as policies of the institution, governance structures and financial stability (Ndidi &
Effiong, 2020).
Literature on learning environment can be categorized into three broad aspects;
academic environment, physical environment and psychological environment and all these
affect the overall academic success in acquiring second language. Some experts in
education distinguish learning environment as positive or negative. Positive learning
environment includes conducive physical and social settings that facilitate effective learning.
Learning environment that has filled with sunlight, facilities of seating arrangements,
conducive light, podium and the white and black boards in addition to digital and electronic
equipment in the classroom such as multimedia and sound systems belong to positive
learning environment while classroom environments with bare minimal facilities of
accessibility with congested student numbers can be termed as negative (Goodlad et al.,
2018).
Malik and Rizvi (2018) segregate learning environment as physical and human. All the
physical objects that aid to teaching and learning are termed as physical environment while
students and teachers in the classroom are considered as human environment. Scholars in
the field of education have highlighted that the concept of traditional learning environment
of the classroom concept be replaced with the holistic “study labs and exploratory centers.
The era of communicative Language Teaching has placed much emphasis on classroom
interaction. Deviating from the traditional teacher centered classroom to learner-centered
environment in the educational setting, second language teaching methods such as
Communicative Language Teaching have identified the pivotal roles of teacher-student and
student-student interaction to facilitate communication from wider perspectives (Wang et al.,
2020).
In order to facilitate interaction in the classroom, the effect of learning environment is
very important. Learning activities such as group work, pair work, presentations, and activity-
based learning require conducive physical environment in the classroom. Space for student
and teacher movement, flexibility of desks and chairs to form groups, facilities for individual
presentations are some of the determinants of the learning environment. Further, availability
of technology and other resources in the classroom would enhance the effect of teaching
and learning in the classroom (Cheng & Wan, 2017).

There are many factors that may be considered part from psycho-social environment
in classroom environment as discussed by (Thi & Nguyen, 2021).
1. Review Acoustics and Room Temperature
The sound levels in your classroom greatly impact learning. You may need to minimize
background noise or amplify the teacher's voice to create the right sound. You can adjust
sound levels through flooring, baffle boards, notice boards or by adding in soft seating (Yang
et al., 2017).

2. Focus on Effective Lighting

There’s no substitute for natural daylight in a classroom, but if sunlight is limited make
sure that there’s enough artificial light. Correct lighting prevents eye-strain and helps to keep
students alert. When choosing lighting, think about how you may need to alter the lighting
 The Third International Conference on Government
Education Management and Tourism (ICoGEMT)+HEALTH
Bandung, Indonesia, January 19-20th, 2024

for each learning experience - for example in a science classroom, black-out blinds may be
needed for some experiments (Yerdelen & Sungur, 2019).

3. Choose Classroom Furniture Carefully

The furniture in classroom is hugely important to the overall learning experience.
Students must be comfortable, and making sure that chairs are the right size will help to
keep them focused. Classroom furniture should comply with the British and European
Standards for chairs and tables for educational institutions (Alamri, 2019).

4. Innovative Storage for Effective Learning

Storage can make all the difference in classroom design. Clever use of storage helps
to keep the classroom free from clutter and helps students to take pride in their classroom.
There are a lot of evidences to say that while students should be able to see their work on
the walls, at least 20% of wall space should be kept clear (Imms & Byers, 2017).

3. RESEARCH METHODS
Article Selection Procedure
The Prisma diagram was followed for the selection of the articles. Its procedure is
discussed in the following lines:
i. Identification
a. Databases and Time Limit for Literature Search
The researchers searched the articles on the budget policy and financial
performance from January 2013 to November 2023 from the major electronic
databases including ERIC, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus. The key
terms used for literature search for articles were: Classroom Learning Environment,
Academic Performance and Secondary Level.
b. Inclusion Criteria for Literature
The articles were included based on the following inclusion criteria:
• Only those articles were included that reported the effects of classroom learning
environment and academic performance at secondary level. The studies that
have no link between classroom learning environment and academic
performance were excluded.
• The studies that were published in a peer reviewed journal, from the year 2014
to 2023 and written in English were included in the study. The studies that did
not meet this criterion were excluded. So, initially 102 studies were identified.

ii. Screening
After removing the duplicate records of 28 studies, the remaining studies were 74 based
on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Records excluded on the basis of the abstract review
were n=22, not relevant n=13, and not in English n=4.

iii. Eligibility
The total full-text articles assessed for eligibility obtained were n=35. The full-text
articles that have no classroom learning environment and academic performance at
secondary level were also excluded n=25.
 The Third International Conference on Government
Education Management and Tourism (ICoGEMT)+HEALTH
Bandung, Indonesia, January 19-20th, 2024

iv. Included
So, the final studies included in the review were obtained as n=10. The article selection
process followed by the Prisma diagram is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Prisma Diagram for the Selection of Articles

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The objective of this review study was to determine the effects of classroom learning
environment on the academic performance of students at secondary level and the research
question regarding this objective was “what is the effect of classroom learning environment
on the academic performance of the students at secondary level? To achieve the intended
objective of the study and to find the answer of the research question, a set of 10 published
articles were reviewed. The results of the reviewed studies are presented in table 1 as:

Sr. No Reference Country Results

1 Duruji et al. (2014) Nigeria Based on the findings of this study, it was
concluded that the learning environment in
secondary schools has significant
relationship with academic performance of
secondary school students.
2 Malik and Rizvi Pakistan The results of study revealed that
(2018) classroom learning environment and
students' academic achievement has a
significant relationship.
3 Usman and Nigeria It was concluded that a learning
Madudili (2019) environment with accessible and utilizable
facilities will guarantee effective teaching
and learning process as well as academic
achievements of students.
 The Third International Conference on Government
Education Management and Tourism (ICoGEMT)+HEALTH
Bandung, Indonesia, January 19-20th, 2024

4 Jabeen et al. Pakistan Findings show that there was a significant

(2022) relationship regarding the effect of school
environment on students’ performance.
5 Baafi (2020) Hungry The findings of the study confirmed that
the students in senior high schools with a
pleasant physical environment perform
better than those where the learning
environment is not conducive
6 Ozayi et al. (2021) Iran Results showed that perceptions of
learning environment had significant effect
on academic performance.
7 Amaechina and Anambra State It was found that students who feel secured
Ezeh (2019) in a school environment, students who are
supported in school and students with
better socio-emotional health contribute to
a high extent in the performance of
students in school.
8 Kweon et al., USA The study found that the schools that have
(2017) better learning environment achieved
better academic performance.
9 Khan (2023) Pakistan It was concluded that the majority of the
students are satisfied with the learning
environment provided by their schools.
10 Wirussawa et al. Thailand The results of the study indicated that
(2016) learning environment has proved to be an
important parameter for the better
academic performance.

The studies reviewed showed that classroom learning environment has a significant
effect of the academic performance of the students at secondary level.

CONCLUSION
The aim of this review study was to determine the effects of classroom learning
environment on the academic performance of the students at secondary level. The articles
reviewed showed that classroom learning environment is one of the crucial elements for the
academic performance of the students at secondary level.

Conflict of Interest
No competing interest was found between the author/s.

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Bandung, Indonesia, January 19-20th, 2024

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Bandung, Indonesia, January 19-20th, 2024

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