ISSN 2329-9843
International Journal of Educational Research and Reviews ISSN 2329-9843 Vol. 3 (5), pp. 290-292, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Relationship between students position in classroom and school performance
*Miguel M. Malif, Guido Sabastiao U. Cardoso and Drauzio Silva Meirelles
Department of Educational Communication, Technology and Curriculum Studies, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
*Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 17 June, 2015
Abstract
We analyzed whether the position of students in classroom is correlated with academic performance, and which factors might be involved. The sample consisted of 16 classrooms in a school year bimester, each one with around 30 students. Each student's position was registered in classroom maps and the reasons for the students' seat choice were gathered by a questionnaire. School performance and classroom absences of each student were collected directly from the teachers' register notebook. We found that better performances of students at school correlate with lower percentages of absence and choices of seating positions closer to the board. Moreover, the main reason to sit in a front position was motivation for learning. We suggest that school performance is associated to students’ position in the classroom because both are affected by the student motivation for learning. As a consequence, changing students' position in the classroom without increasing their motivation is not likely to improve school performance.
Key words: Classroom, seating position, academic performance, motivation.