Review of Research at Virginia Tech on the Relationship Between School Building Condition and Student and Teacher Performance and Attitudes

The research study is a review of research at Virginia Tech on the relationship between school building condition and student and teacher performance and attitudes. There have been several reviews or synthesis studies of the research in the field of school facilities over the last 65 years. One institution, Virginia Tech has produced several research studies in this area of scholarly work over the past two decades. With this large corpus of research directly related to Cash's theoretical model, first used in 1993, it becomes necessary to find out what the research has shown and also to find out what these researchers have advocated for further research.

The study extracted 84 findings from the 20 studies reviewed with 67% being statistically significant. Only eight of the 20 relationships in the theoretical model had related findings. Building Condition and Faculty Attitude and Building Condition and Student Achievement had the highest number of related findings. The study states that a better Building Condition has a positive relationship on higher student achievement and attitudes. The synthesis of the findings also drew seven conclusions that should be factored into future research decisions.

The study also extracted 74 recommendations for further research. The three relationships that had the greatest number of related recommendations for further research were Building Condition and Student Achievement, Building Condition and Student Attitudes, and Building Condition and Faculty Attitude. The relationships that were either not investigated or were investigated by one or two research studies are the areas that need more research.

The theoretical model produced several propositions for further research. The propositions follow the logical progression of the model from the decisions of the school authorities and financial ability of the school system in determining the condition of the school building to the eventual effect the school building conditions have upon student and teacher performance and attitudes. The presented taxonomy of research needs, through the propositions, serves as a guide in determining the needs for filling the gaps in the research related to Building Condition and Student and Teacher Performance and Attitude at Virginia Tech and other institutions.