ILLUMINATING THE FUTURE THROUGH CONDUCIVE LEARNING

ENVIRONMENTS: THE INFLUENCE OF CLASSROOM LIGHTING CONDITIONS ON

STUDENT LEARNING AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Lorma Colleges Basic Education Department

Buenaventura, Kryzler Kaye

Padua, Jericho
Sagun, Irvin

kryzlerkeibuenaventura@gmail.com
irvinjaypsagun@gmail.com
jerichopadua@gmail.com
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Throughout generations, numerous studies have examined the physical learning
environment of educational spaces and its correlation with the overall student learning. In
a classroom setting, Pulay, Read, Tulay, & Lee (2018) claimed that the physical variables
within a classroom environment have a direct influence on student academic success and
development. Among these physical variables, which they have enumerated as room
size, indoor air quality, noise levels, and room temperature, is the appropriate lighting and
illumination that determine a classroom condition.
The Illuminating Engineering Society (2014) attest that lighting quality affects how
humans perceive the ambience and impression of the environment, their alertness, the
quality of the atmosphere, and their productivity. The same can be applied in the school
classroom environment where lighting conditions greatly influence the students’ cognitive
performance (Shishegar & Boubekri, 2019). Thus, it is of utmost importance for every
school to direct their attention into ensuring the proper lighting of their classrooms through
controlled daylight and appropriate artificial illumination to facilitate learning practices.
In a preliminary survey conducted among the Senior High School Students of
Lorma Colleges, students were asked about their perception regarding their classrooms’
lighting condition. 55% find their classroom to be sometimes too dim, 24.3% find it to be
sometimes too bright, and 27% claimed that their room is well-lit at all times. 94.6% of the
population believe that the quality of lighting in the classroom influences their
performance and ability to learn. With over half the population expressing concerns
regarding the poor lighting condition of their classrooms, the results urge the need for an
immediate intervention as to not risk futher undermining learning. Dhand (2019), in his
study on physical condition and classroom learning, stresses the negative implications of
poor lighting conditions on the learning abilities of students. Results show that poorly-lit
classrooms induces sleep, impacts awareness, and negatively affects visibility, posing
further distress for students with eye problems. Likewise, overly bright classrooms
instigates medical repercussions as it strains eyes and triggers headaches.
The problem seems to be mainly rooted in the institutions’ use of artificial light as
a replacement to natural light for classroom illumination over the years. In the conducted
preliminary survey among senior high school students of Lorma Colleges, those with dim
lighting, which comprises over half the population, have classrooms that seemed to suffer
from an insufficient amount of natural light, with clerestory windows positioned along the
top of the classroom walls that only allow a small amount of daylight to pass through.
This, combined with the small room space and only two fluorescent strip lights at opposite
sides of the room that leaves a constantly dim area at the center, makes for a somewhat
dull classroom atmosphere with insufficient lighting to foster productivity and alertness.
As Puteh, Che Ahmad, Mohamed Noh, Adnan, & Ibrahim (2015) elaborated, a
conducive learning environment significantly contributes in promoting learning and
student growth and development, while simultaneously increasing intellectual activities
and encouraging friendship, cooperation and support among the students. Putting this
into consideration, this research aims to examine the physical learning environment of
Lorma Colleges Senior High School, with its focus being on the classroom lighting
condition and its implications to the student learning ability. This is to guarantee a learning
environment with the ability to maximize the full academic potential of its students that
can only be achieved once all the variables requisite to academic success are
successfully integrated.

PRELIMINARY LITERATURE REVIEW

Stimulation Theory
In the 1970s, Carel Germain proposed the life model, which recognizes the
physical environment as an important dimension of the person and environment construct
(Hutchison, 2015). As a result, scholars have begun to pay attention to the relationship
between human well-being and the physical environment in recent years.
The theory of stimulation put emphasis on the physical environment as a source
of essential sensory information for every individual. The stimulation may be as simple as
light, color, heat, texture, or scent, or as complex as buildings, streets, and parks.
Theorists propose that patterns of stimulation influence different aspects of an individual,
such as thinking, feelings, and health. These stimulation varies by amount and by type,
wherein theorists assume that stimulations on moderate levels are the ones optimal for
human behavior. Hence, both stimulus overload and stimulus deprivation impose a
negative effect on human behavior. This coaligns with numerous research findings about
classroom light conditions, in which too much or too little lighting serve as a considerable
hindrance on student performance.
Behaviorism Theory
Okwukwe (2016) relayed that learning, as defined by OECD, is a process that
connects personal experiences and environmental influences for the purpose of
acquiring, enriching, or modifying one’s knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behavior.
Various learning theories were able to describe how this process take place.
Behaviorist perspectives of learning were dated back to the 1900s, when the
theory was formally established with the 1913 publication of John Watson’s paper.
Behaviorism is a learning theory based on the notion that all behaviors are developed
through interaction with the environment, a process also known as conditioning. Theorists
believe that an individual’s response to environmental stimuli, either positive
renforcement or negative reinforcement, ultimately shape their actions. The basic idea
of behaviorism is that learning consists of a change in behavior due to acquisition,
reinforcement, and applictaion of associations between stimuli from the environment and
observable responses of the individual.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to examine the physical learning environment of Lorma Colleges
Senior High School, specifically its classroom lighting conditions, and its impact on the
academic performance of senior high school students. Specifically, the following
questions will be answered:
1. What are the current lighting conditions of classrooms in Lorma Colleges Senior
nnnnniHigh School as perceived by the students?
2. What are the primary factors affecting the lighting conditions of classrooms in
nnnnniLorma Colleges Senior High School?
3. How do these lighting conditions affect the academic perfomance and learning
nnnnniabilities of students from Lorma Colleges Senior High School?

METHODOLOGY
The research is qualitative descriptive in nature. The goal of qualitative descriptive
design, as explained by Lambert (2012), is to provide comprehensive summarization of
specific events experienced by individuals or groups of individuals in everyday terms. This
will provide the researchers more in-depth explanatory data to help them gain insights
and understanding regarding the experiences of students when being subjected to
various classroom lighting conditions.
Context and Participants
The study was conducted at Lorma Colleges Senior High School, with participants
encompassing senior high school students from grades 11 and 12. The grade 11
classrooms, situated in the first floor of the building, appear to be more spacious and
feature wide windows that allow for natural lighting, while the grade 12 classrooms,
situated in the second floor of the building, appear to be more cramped with windows
positioned only along the top of the classroom walls. This variation in classroom design
allows for a much more comprehensive analysis and comparison of data.
Data Gathering Instruments
The researchers utilized interviews and observation as their research instrument.
Specifically, the researchers conducted a semi-structured interview, which was defined
by Gray (2004) as non-standardized and are frequently used in qualitative analysis. In
this type of interview, the researcher has a list of questions to be covered, while having
the freedom to change its order and ask additional questions depending on its direction.
Using this method, the researchers interviewed students individually in their respective
classrooms so as to correspondingly experience and observe first-hand the classroom
lighting conditions, further understanding the situations discussed by the repondents.
Data Gathering Procedure
Before proceeding to gather data, the researchers initially had to follow the
standard procedures in conducting a research, in which they first secured permission from
the School Director by writing a formal letter of request. Once authorization was given,
they proceeded to visit every classroom of the Lorma Colleges Senior High School
Department, where students who had agreed to participate were briefly interviewed. The
interview was recorded and later on transcribed for data analysis. The researchers
guaranteed the quality and integrity of the study by respecting confidentiality and
anonymity of the research respondents and ensuring that the participants will participate
in the interviews voluntarily.
Data Analysis
The research utilized thematization as the method of analyzing and interpreting
gathered data. Braune and Clarke (2006) defined thematic analysis as a method for
identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns within data. They elaborated that the purpose
of thematic analysis is to identify patterns of meaning across a dataset that provide an
answer to the research question being addressed. Patterns are identified through a
rigorous process of data familiarization, data coding, and theme development and
revision. The flexibility of the said analysis will allow the researchers rich, detailed, and
complex description of information.

TIMELINE

What Who Budget Schedule

I. PLANNING
A. Materials Padua Builders Inc. A. PhP 50,000.00 May 21-31,
1. Cement Contractor Firm 1. PhP 5,000.00 2020
2. Hollow Blocks 2. PhP 4,000.00
3. Full-frame glass window A. Engr. Hilmer 3. PhP 35,000.00
(powder coated aluminum Fernandez
frame) 1.5x3.5m Engineer
4. Silicon caux 4. PhP 2,500.00
5. Semi-gloss latex paint B. James Galvina 5. PhP 3,500.00
Foreman
B. Labor B. PhP 100,000.00
1. Engineer C. Construction 1. PhP 30,000.00
2. Foreman Workers 2. PhP 20,000.00
3. Construction 3. PhP 50,000.00
Workers
Total Project Cost:
PhP150,000.00

II. PURCHASING OF A. Engr. Hilmer PhP 50,000.00 June 1-3,

MATERIALS Fernandez 2020
B. James Galvina
Foreman

Purchase Office
C. Salim Shadi
Construction
Expeditor
 III. DEMOLITION WORKS Padua Builders Inc. June 8-30,
2020

IV. INSTALLING OF Padua Builders Inc. July 1-20,

MATERIALS 2020

V. FINISHING OF WINDOWS Padua Builders Inc. July 21-31,

2020

REFERENCES
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative
Research in Psychology, 3 (2). pp. 77-101. ISSN 1478-0887.
Dhand, R. (2019). Classroom Learning: How High School Students Perceive the Physical
Condition to Impact Learning.
Gray, D. E. (2004). Doing research in the real world. London: Sage.
Hutchison, E. (2015). The Physical Environment. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Illuminating Engineering Society. (2014). American national standard practice on lighting
for educational facilities. New York, NY: Illuminating Engineering Society of North
America.
Lambert V, Lambert C. (2012). Qualitative Descriptive Research: An Acceptable Design.
Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research. 1;16(4):255-6.
Okwukwe, N. F. (2016). Learning Environment and Academic Performance of Secondary
School Students in Local Government Areas of Abia State.
Pulay, A., Read, M., Tural, E., & Lee, S. (2018). Examining Student Behavior under Two
Correlated Color Temperature Levels of Lighting in an Elementary School
Classroom.
Puteh, M., Che Ahmad, C. N., Mohamed Noh, N., Adnan, M., & Ibrahim, M. H. (2015).
The Classroom Physical Environment and Its Relation to Teaching and Learning
Comfort Level.
Shishegar, N., & Boubekri, M. (2016). Natural Light and Productivity: Analyzing the
Impacts of Daylighting on Students’ and Workers’ Health and Alertness.