The relationship between school environments and student mental health is similar to the relationship between parental skills and child development--inefficiency in the former creates a gradual decline in the latter. As both a child and a student, it is within my expertise to state that these relationships exist through a chain of circumstances. School environments have had a significant impact on the mental health of students. To understand the distinction of the impact on student mental health forged from school environments, we must first understand the correlation each shares as well as how this distinction has been amplified with the presence of online learning.

The correlation between the school environment and student health is tremendous, as backed by research. Many believe that school environments, especially those of public schools, fail to appeal to students. This is elaborated on in a 2005 literature review from the Design Council titled “The Impact of School Environments”, which cites an argument from Richard Fielden, the late architect and CABE Commissioner Emeritus, who stated that “the science of designing learning environments is currently remarkably under-developed.” This literature review similarly mentions the relative scarcity of research present on learning environments and the lack of updated analyses. This absence of information leaves school officials prone to utilizing the past as a means of dictating the future when it comes to molding educational settings, which can be dangerous for students.

There are several short and long-term effects of inefficient school environments. The most notable quality of these effects is that for the majority, they begin psychologically, such as degenerative behavior patterns like low self-esteem, yet lead to several physically damaging outcomes, such as suicidal ideation. In fact, according to a Psychiatry Advisor article by Laura Stiles titled “Study Protocol: How Does School Affect Adolescent Mental Health?”, researchers from Sweden are currently compiling a data set of over 3,600 high school students to measure over the years that will examine “how teaching methods, teaching leadership, and teacher-student relations in school might affect the risk of mental health issues and psychiatric disorders in adolescence, (b) the direct effects of teaching and environment in schools on mental health as well as the effects mediated by students’ individual academic achievements, and (c) if school is associated with mental health issues by studying genes that regulate stress response” (Laura Stiles, 2016). This study will indicate how much of a role is formulated by these environments within students from adolescence to adulthood, both mentally and physically.

However, sometimes studies like this can be difficult to calculate as the effects of school environments don’t spawn from thin air--they develop over time. From a cultural/social lens, we can compare the acceleration of societal trends to the mental impact of school environments when stating that each of these has no defined rate of growth. In most cases, both grow gradually; however, people with outlying circumstances may have exponential growth in these areas or very slow and sedate growth. In both social trends and mentally impactful school environments, the measure of the reach is not in the hands of the trend spreader or the student--at least not for long. Impact requires outside force, whether that be a shoutout from a celebrity or a talk with a psychiatric social worker (PSW). The potential outreach of the trend, and likewise the potential fluctuation of mental health within a school environment, depends on those with the power to change it. However, this can prove to be a difficult task in an online setting.

With the introduction of coronavirus and the conversion to online school, the mental health of students has been actively challenged, according to professionals. One of the main explanations for the rapid mental health decline within online school environments is that many believe there is no “real” environment present. Increased physical discomfort, dizzy spells, and episodes of frustration or rage were the most common reactions to online environments for middle and high school students during their era in August. In addition, psychological distress due to increased academic consequences is not uncommon; in fact, it has peaked for undergraduate students, according to a 2020 Psychreg article by Pragati Shukla titled “Impact of COVID-19 on Students’ Mental Health and Well-Being”. Unrelenting administrative requirements, according to students, have made settling into an online environment especially difficult.

As appalling as these reactions may sound, studies indicate that they are actually quite natural. From a scientific lens, we see humans as an evolutionary species, constantly maturing and prone to adaptation. In our current day and age, it takes the average human 5 weeks to adapt to a new exercise (depending on the exercise’s frequency, intensity, time and type), as stated by a 2020 Livestrong article by Rachel MacPherson titled “How Long Does it Take the Human Body to Adapt to a New Exercise?”. The human body adapts through acute physiological responses and chronic physiological responses. An example of an acute physiological response to exercise would be an increase in temperature, whereas an example of a chronic physiological response to exercise would be an increase in metabolism. However, adapting to online school bodes a much more difficult task than adapting to a new exercise. Part of this is because the frequency, intensity, time and type of online school is not consistent. As a result, the average example of an acute physiological response to online school environments consists of the aforementioned dizzy spells, rage episodes, and other incidents of temporary physical discomfort. Similarly, because of the inconsistency in frequency, intensity, time, and type of online school, the average example of a chronic physiological response to online school environments include chronic back pain, diminished attention span, and serotonin deficiency. 

This examination is better supported through a 2013 BMC Public Health research paper, written by Adam Fletcher, Angela Harden, Helene Wells, James Thomas, & Chris Bonell, titled “The School Environment and Student Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Ethnography of Qualitative Research”. The research aimed to measure how modifications to school environments could affect the behavioral patterns of students, and thus how it could impact their health. The conclusions drawn from this research state that environmental factors such as safety hazards, unhealthy student-teacher connections, and restrictions of speech have the most impact on student behaviors and carry the most weight on mental health.

While this may sound disconsolate to students, a recent study shows that there is still hope in restoring allure and efficiency to school environments in spite of the shortage of proper analyses. A 2014 research manuscript titled “The Impact of School Mental Health on Student and School-Level Academic Outcomes: Current Status of the Research and Future Directions” details the similitude between student mental health and academic outcomes, provides psychological and atmospheric initiatives, and discusses necessary resolutions moving forward to support students. From an environmental lens, these resolutions may be delivered by first resolving outliers and anomalies and installing strategies that work with the current environment. Restorative and transformative justice programs work to benefit school environments by ensuring safety and peace between students. Likewise, these programs paired with a variety of other mental health services (psychiatric counseling, peer support groups, etc.) can work in favor of mental stability and become positive resources for rejuvenating the enthusiasm all school environments are capable of possessing.

Research continues to show that the impact that school environments have on the mental health and well-being of students is extremely valuable, making it crucial that this impact is used to the best of its ability. Through recognizing the correlation these factors share, examining how online environments have shifted our understanding, and recognizing the potential that school environments have when availed to the fullest extent, we move one step closer to a future where students feel acknowledged within school. Through proper research and willpower, students and educators alike have the potential to work together to reform the education system and bring about dynamic change.