Human Capital

A focus on how light can impact educational outcomes this week.

Investing in education adds up… For every US$1 spent on education, as much as US$10 to US$15 can be generated in economic growth (UNESCO 2012). If 75% more 15-year-olds in forty-six of the world’s poorest countries were to reach the lowest OECD benchmark for mathematics, economic growth could improve by 2.1% from its baseline and 104 million people could be lifted out of extreme poverty (UNESCO 2012). –The contribution of education to economic growth

This fascinating research from a Colorado school district explains that small improvements in Indoor Environmental Quality (measured using Operation Report Card scores) can make the biggest difference to the students who struggle the most. ‘A one unit increase in ORC for Latinx students was associated with up to a 2.7% increase in math score at the 90th percentile of the score distribution.’ (i.e those at the bottom). It goes on to note a slight deterioration (0.4%) at the same percentile for White students but offers some explanations for variations that warrant further study. – Sociodemographic variations in the association between indoor environmental quality in school buildings and student performance

According to the World Bank, there are 85 million teachers in the world. Schools are workplaces too… According to this UK study, “teachers appear to be aware of the ‘hard’ aspects of the physical environment, but less conscious of the impact of ‘softer’ aspects, especially those with impact on the level of stimulation created.” Perhaps it’s time to take a look at the lights so they can get on with the amazing job they do? – Teachers’ views of their primary school classrooms

And this piece suggests that you can improve lighting and save money too… 

LED Lighting Saves Money and Helps Autistic Students

Perhaps we need to go back to school!