How the Broken Windows Theory can apply in our classrooms
There is a growing trend in educational research that suggests the learning environment is just as important to academic success as an enriching curriculum and a quality teacher. This trend is based upon the research of Kelling and Wilson (1982) who popularised the theory known as the Broken Windows Theory. This theory was shared with the teaching staff by Mr Zavone who explained that it had real-life application to the students at St Edmund’s College. After reading the article, I began to reflect upon my own teaching practice, and indeed other areas of my life outside of school, and examined ways that the theory has an impact in our lives.
Put simply, the theory suggests that people will react in direct and indirect ways to the environment that they are surrounded by. This is mostly described as the physical environment, but can also be applied to cultural and societal environments. One such example that many of our students are familiar with is the theatre of sport. Teachers and educational experts will often posit the benefit that sport can bestow upon young men, the lessons that are learnt from being part of a team; mateship, courage, humility, discipline and respect are all virtues that we aspire to develop in our boys at Eddies. Being part of a successful team often breeds success in other areas. A well-known sporting cliché says winning teams create their own luck, that a successful team with a strong culture and clear sense of shared purpose often gets on a roll and winning becomes easy. My point is, that when surrounded by a winning mentality, it often rubs off onto the players in that team, they grow in confidence and stature and achieve beyond even their own expectations. The trick then, is to recreate this successful culture off the field and bring some of that confidence into the classroom.
By applying the Broken Windows Theory we can come up with similar conclusions to successful sporting teams, in that when surrounded by success, either physical or cultural, then the mentality and attitude of students can be enhanced. By looking at our physical teaching environments we can make judgments about what sort of mentality we are fostering in our students. I had a look at my classroom from an objective standpoint and tried to deduce what sort of values it is promoting to my students. I was surprised to see how much of the physical classroom space actually reflected my own values, attitudes and beliefs about teaching and learning. My classroom is clean, neat and tidy. Desks are arranged in groups of three so I can move around students while they work and there is no litter, graffiti or rubbish anywhere and if I see any I remove it straight away. I am giving my students some pretty clear non-verbal cues about what to expect from me as a teacher when they walk into my room. I am not suggesting that I have it right, or that I am doing everything I can to maximise my learning environment and its potential impact on my students, but I did see a clear correlation between the learning environment and the attitude of my students. My plan now is to build upon my sense of order and neatness and add some clear non-verbal cues for my students that foster other values like curiosity, wonder, exploration and perseverance. I heard somewhere that geniuses choose green, maybe a green feature wall would do the trick…
Jonathan Hall (Head of Mulrooney House)