625 GROUP Work

Topic: How lighting affects student achievement

I. Introduction

A. Importance of lighting in student achievement

i. Classroom lighting is an environmental variable that mediates student achievement through effects on cognition, attention, engagement, visual comfort, and physiological well-being. While research supports the pedagogical benefits of natural daylight and optimized artificial lighting, findings remain heterogeneous across studies, necessitating further investigation into individualized lighting conditions for high school students with disabilities.

ii. Many students spend over 80% of their school day in a classroom while completing highly demanding visual tasks (Gao et al., 2025).

iii. Research has supported that the physical environment of a classroom has an impact on students’ academic success including reading, writing, and mathematics (Pulay & Williamson, 2019).

iv. Traditional classroom lighting often relies on overhead fluorescent or LED fixtures, which may not provide the most comfortable conditions for all learners (Karlsson et al., 2022; Yuen et al., 2023).

B. Relationship between lighting and achievement in the classroom

i. Academic achievement and lightinghave been researched in the areas of math and logic scores (Baloch et al., 2020) as well as attention and engagement (Pulay et al., 2018).

ii. Artificial lighting characteristics, including color temperature and lighting technology (Pulay et al., 2018) may influence observable on-task behavior and engagement(Pulay & Williamson, 2019).

iii. A study of 2,670 students between the ages of 8 and 13 across 12 European countries examined the relationship between classroom daylight characteristics and mathematics and logic assessment scores (Baloch et al., 2020).

iv. Day-like lighting has been identified with a small but significant improvement in executive attention compared with dim, warm-white lighting (Wessolowski & Rahim, 2025).

II. Definition of terms

A. Circadian Rhythm Theoryshows that the human body runs on anapproximate 24-hour biological cycle which helps to regulate sleep, wakefulness, hormone production, body temperature, and alertness (Spitschan & Santhi, 2022).

B. Human Centric Light (HCL) is lighting that is designed with human biological, psychological, and visual needs in mind (Karlsson et al., 2022).

C. Light-emitting diode (LED) is artificial lighting that offer different color temperatures (Karlsson et al., 2022).

D. Illuminance is the amount of light reaching a surface, this type of light iscommonly measured in lux (lx) and a lux is the standard unit used to measure illuminance, with one lux equaling one lumen distributed over one square meter.(Gao et al., 2025; Setiati & Budiarto, 2021).

E. Artificial lighting is produced from a man-made electric light system; this may include floor lamp or overhead lighting (Karlsson et al., 2022).

F. Warm lightingis when the light produces a yellow or orange hue and usually has a lower Kelven reading (Pulay et al., 2018).

G. Cool lighting is a light that produces a white or blue hue and produces a higher Kelvin rating (Pulay et al., 2018).

H. Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)is a measurement expressed in Kelvin that identifies if a light source appears to be a warm or cool light(Pulay et al., 2018).

I. Kelvin is the unit of measurement used to describe the correlated color temperature (CCT) of a light source; lower levels includewarmer lighting and as the Kelvin increases, the light becomes cool (Pulay et al., 2018).

J. Student Achievement in this literature review is a direct measure of performance including assessments and completing academic tasks/on-task behavior as well as indirect measures of participant surveys and perceptions.

III. Review of previous Research on how lighting affects student achievement

A. Classroom lighting may influence visual development

i. Natural daylight may have effect on the progression and development and progression of myopia in elementary students (Suh et al., 2022).

ii. Students that were students with access to lower classroom illuminance had greater increases in axial eye length over a six-month period, particularly among students who were not initially myopic (Suh et al., 2022).

B. Lighting and attention and cognitive abilities

i. Participants in the study conducted by Wessolowski and Rahim (2025) were exposed to bright daylight-like lighting and demonstrated an approximate 11% shorter conflict-related reaction-time difference (Wessolowski & Rahim, 2025).

ii. Wesslowski and Rahim (2025) did not identify any statistically significant data linked to lighting and attention (Wessolowski & Rahim, 2025).

iii. Modifies LED lighting was associated with improved attention performance in male high school students (Bae et al., 2026).

iv. A study conducted by Gao et al. (2025) found that light intensity (lx and Kelvin) may have an impact of memory, concentration, and reaction time (Gao et al., 2025).

a) Gao et al. found that cognitive performance generally improved as illumination increased to 600 lx (Gao et al., 2025).

b) The study also found that excessively dim or bright may cause visual fatigue, discomfort, or decreased cognitive results (Gao et al., 2025).

C. Student Behavior and Engagement

i. Pulay et al. (20218) found a correlation in elementary student on-task behavior and Kelvin ratings (Pulay et al., 2018).

ii. Student engagement was generally higher under LED lighting than under fluorescent lighting in an early childhood classroom (Pulay & Williamson, 2019).

D. Circadian rhythm and daytime alertness are factors that regulate the sleep-wake patterns, melatonin production and alertness (Spitschan & Santhi, 2022).

i. Wave lengths have a direct effect in circadian regulation (Bae et al., 2026).

ii. Human-centric lighting can mimic changes in natural daylight throughout the day and may help circadian functioning and classroom comfort since school times differ drastically from region to region as well as throughout cultures (Karlsson et al., 2022).

iii. Allindividuals have a unique set of psychological differences that influence how students react to lighting, therefore, making it hard to establish a single lighting condition that optimizes alertness for all students (Spitschan & Santhi, 2022).

IV. Participants Information

A. Perceptions of lighting

i. A study including graduate students exposed to filtered fluorescent lighting reported a more positive perception and less physical illness such as headaches and visual fatigue (Yuen et al., 2023).

ii. Lighting intensity influenced physiological arousal in a study of elementary students (Gao et al., 2025).

iii. Emotional comfort and physiological arousal are linked to classroom participation (Gao et al., 2025).

B. Strength of studies

i. Several studies in the literature review comprised of lighting in existing classroom, in organic educational setting which allowed the researchers to observe students under real-time classroom conditions (Bae et al., 2026; Pulay et al., 2018; Pulay & Williamson, 2019).

ii. The review includes studies involving different lighting types and intensities to correlate the significance of student achievement dependent on the lighting conditions

iii. Baloch et al. 2020 conducted a large scale study of academic outcomes and daylight characteristics across different schools and geographic regions that included 23 countries in Europe (Baloch et al., 2020).

iv. The studies investigating physiological responses, attention, emotional comfort/well-being, and visual health link numerous studies on how lighting may influence students' academic achievement (Spitschan & Santhi, 2022; Suh et al., 2022; Wessolowski & Rahim, 2025; Yuen et al., 2023).

C. Weakness of studies

i. Many empirical studies focus on preschool or elementary students (Baloch et al., 2020; Gao et al., 2025; Pulay et al., 2018; Pulay & Williamson, 2019).

ii. Several studies used relatively small samples which may impact the validity of the results (Gao et al., 2025; Pulay et al., 2018; Pulay & Williamson, 2019).

iii. There is a very small number of studies that measure academic achievement or long-term progress.

iv. Research involving students with disabilities is very limited, and the review of the study including participants with autism does not make correlations to a broader picture of students with disabilities(Pulay & Williamson, 2019; Wizaka et al., 2021).

V. Implications, future direction and conclusion

A. Implications of research and ethics

i. Classroom lighting is a single factor that may influence learning outcomes and should not be a stand-alone intervention to improve academic achievement (Baloch et al., 2020; Pulay & Williamson, 2019).

ii. Light interventions are still controversial, and some consider it unethical to conduct such experiments on humans (Wessolowski & Rahim, 2025).

iii. Individual differences and response to lighting suggest that modifications should consider students’ needs and preferences (Spitschan & Santhi, 2022).

B. Future Direction

i. More data is needed to measure work completion and grades which will extend research to practical academic achievement outcomes.

ii. Including students wake and sleep times while in class may help determine whether classroom lighting is linked to student engagement and participation; both directly linked to academic achievement (Baloch et al., 2020; Gao et al., 2025).

C. Conclusion

i. Natural daylight may influence academic performance (Baloch et al., 2020; Setiati & Budiarto, 2021).

ii. Classroom lightinginfluences visual health, physiological functioning, attention, and emotions well-being that may contribute to students’ academic achievement (Spitschan & Santhi, 2022; Suh et al., 2022; Wessolowski & Rahim, 2025; Yuen et al., 2023).

iii. LED and fluorescent lighting may influence student engagement, behaviors, and cognitive functioning (Bae et al., 2026; Gao et al., 2025; Pulay et al., 2018; Pulay & Williamson, 2019).

References

Bae, S., Hwang, E., & Jung, K.-Y. (2026). Real-world effects of melanopic-enhanced classroom lighting on sleep, mood, and cognition in male Korean adolescents: A field-based pilot study. Clocks & Sleep (Online), 8(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep8010006

Baloch, R., Nichole Maesano, C., Christoffersen, J., Mandin, C., Csobod, E., de Oliveira Fernandes, E., & Annesi-Maesano, I. (2020). Daylight and School Performance in European Schoolchildren. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(1), 258. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010258

Gao, B., Fu, Y., Gao, J., Liu, H., & Gao, W. (2025). Effects of the light environment in elementary school classrooms on students’ cognitive performance and galvanic skin indicators. Indoor Air, 2025(1). https://doi.org/10.1155/ina/3122870

Karlsson, T., Kjellander, J., Machado, Å., Strandberg, O., Götlind, P., & Karlsson, R. (2022). The school lighting innovation dilemma. IOP Conference Series. Earth

Pulay, A., Read, M., Tural, E., & Lee, S. (2018). Examining student behavior under two correlated color temperature levels of lighting in an elementary school classroom. Educational Planning, 23(3), 57–69.

Pulay, A., & Williamson, A. (2019). A case study comparing the influence of LED and fluorescent lighting on early childhood student engagement in a classroom setting. Learning Environments Research, 22(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-018-9263-3

Setiati, T. W., & Budiarto, A. (2021). Optimization of lighting design in classroom for visual comfort (Case Study: Universitas Tridinanti Palembang Tower). IOP Conference Series. Earth and Environmental Science, 738(1), 12035. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/738/1/012035

Spitschan, M., & Santhi, N. (2022). Individual differences and diversity in human physiological responses to light. EBioMedicine, 75, Article 103640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103640

Suh, Y.-W., Ha, S.-G., & Kim, S.-H. (2022). Effect of classroom illuminance on the development and progression of myopia in school children. Korean Journal of Ophthalmology, 36(3), 194–201. https://doi.org/10.3341/kjo.2021.0170

Wessolowski, N., & Rahim, R. J. (2025). Is executive attention affected by environmental lighting conditions? PloS One, 20(1), e0305998. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305998

Wizaka, W., Santoso, T., &Prawata, A. (2021). Study of daylight optimization for autism school in Cempaka Putih, Jakarta. IOP Conference Series. Earth and Environmental Science, 794(1), 12206. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/794/1/012206

Yuen, H. K., Wood, A. L., Krentel, J. E., Oster, R. A., Cunningham, A. D., & Jenkins, G. R. (2023). Emotional responses of college students to filtered fluorescent lighting in a classroom (v3). Health Psychology Research, 11(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.52965/001c.70169

Amy

SPED625 Week 8 Postings

October 17th, 2026

Posting 1:

After reading, I will consider multiple areas for writing my fleshed out outline. I appreciate the example 9.1.2 on page 98 of the reading as it gave a thorough example of academic writing but also noting that first person could be acceptable in certain contexts. One very helpful aspect for me from the reading was where to put the theories. Incorporating the theories into the beginning section will ensure the reader knows what the theories are on lighting in the classroom and will help guide the reader into the understanding of my own opinions as well as limitation to previous researcher studies. It was also helpful to know that we should be summarizing periodically throughout our writing, and again at the end of the review. I would not have done this unless it was for the reading, so summarization was very beneficial for me. It was also great reading about the conclusion and how to write the conclusions as we have only conducted a literature review so far, and we are not certain of anything, only that there may be strong evidence of our topic.

Posting 2:

Outline 1 does contain most of the parts of an outline. However, it is missing major aspects such as limitations of the literature review. Some of the weaknesses of this outline are that the citations are not correct; after each sentence there is a period, the citation, and then another period which is incorrect. The Reference list is also out of alphabetical order in the authors starting with H. A strength I see is that the headers and subtopics are all very aligned to the topic of the outline. A few changes I would make are to the in text citations and the mechanics of how the outline is written. I would also include more information on each point of the outline, which will make the transition from the outline to the actual final paper process much easier.