Bitesize Research: Impact Of Pollution On Learning

By Jaya Carrier

I hope you’re all having a good week so far - we’re so nearly at the end of term! Sustainability and climate change is an urgent priority for our world, and we know that this is being reflected in UK education policy - see here for the DfE document published in 2022. At WA, we’re looking to make sure we’re on the front foot with this, and we’ve collaborated with the IoE Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability since its inception, and we’re now part of their network of schools. Divisha has also published some great work on our blog around this theme - see here. 

As such, following a long standing and established correlation between pollution and poor health, I was interested to see the following article about how pollution may also impact learning as reported by TES. 

Objectives: To understand the possible impact of pollution on learning.

Summary: 

• There have been clear and established links between air pollution and physical health for a long time.

• One particular academic at the University of Warwick has been looking at the correlation between air pollution and student attendance. She notes that there is increasing evidence to point to a correlation between student absences and rising pollution levels.

• Another study from the US in 2020, found that after a ‘red air day’ (where ambient or outdoor air quality levels were deemed to be unhealthy) that school absences tended to double the next day.

• Other early indications from studies around the world tentatively suggest that air pollution impacts the working memory, behaviour, attention and academic outcomes of pupils of all ages.

• Further studies on exactly how air pollution particulates impact brain function are being proposed to see exactly what mechanisms are interrupted and therefore how we may best combat this. 

  
  

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflections arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

• How am I incorporating ideas about climate change, pollution and sustainability into my lessons and conversations with students?

• How could you spend time in finding out about students' living conditions and suggest actions they could to help their exposure, such as nurturing house plants? 

• What do I need to know to move forward with understanding this and incorporating this into my practice?

 

Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!