Browsing by Subject "yleisen struktuurin vaihtuvuus"

Aims: Previous research has shown that high instability of home, work, or daycare environment is associated with poorer cognitive achievement. This topic, however, has not been investigated in school environment. This study investigated (1) whether instability of school environment is associated with students’ school achievement and (2) whether students’ temperament traits modify these associations. Method: The data included a representative sample of Finnish 9th grade students (N=1835–1915). The instability of school environment was measured with three instability scales: instability of social relationships, learning spaces, and general structure. School achievement was measured with school grades. Standardized cognitive tests were performed for a subsample of the data (N=121–137). Students’ temperament traits were assessed using questionnaires fulfilled by teachers. Results: High instability of social relationships was related to poorer school grades independently of student’s temperament traits. High instability of learning spaces was associated with poorer grades in students with low (vs. high) task orientation or high (vs. low) flexibility. Instability of school environment had no main effects to standardized cognitive tests. High instability of learning spaces was associated with poorer cognitive achievement in students with high task orientation (vs. low) or high reactivity (vs. low). Conclusions: High instability of school environment appears to be associated with students’ poorer school achievement. These associations are modified by students’ temperament traits. The results indicate that there should not be excessive instability of students’ social relationships or learning spaces to provide optimal and equal opportunities for school achievement for students with different temperaments.