Reginald Leon Green’s research article, “Nurturing Characteristics in Schools Related to Discipline, Attendance, and Eighth Grade Proficiency Test Scores,” explored the importance of educational environments possessing nurturing characteristics. Green referenced various studies that analyzed different schools in all different environments, to include urban, rural, and suburban. She wanted to find evidence that supported that the new school reforms, with the onset of concepts like Expeditionary Learning and Project Based Learning, missed out on emphasizing the importance of nurturing in a student’s learning development.

Green found that the schools that possessed an environment that students and teachers deemed more nurturing, tended to perform better on standardized testing and student behavior. Specifically, the studies assessed nurturing by looking at the relationship between students and teachers, the surrounding environment, the professionalism of the administration and faculty, and the student’s feelings about themselves. And those schools that scored well in each of these categories, from 1 to 4, seemed to serve as more productive educational environments.

In conclusion, Green’s research showed the importance of including an emphasis on nurturing in today’s evolving educational environment. She provided suggestions for each characteristic as well. Explicitly, past research showed that in order to develop a positive relationship between student and teacher, the teacher must establish trust with the student. For the surrounding environment, the teacher should stay active in getting to know the students and providing the administration ways to mold the environment in ways to enhance each student’s learning. Additionally, constantly maintain professional in all interaction in order to set an example for students, which helps to foster mutual respect. Lastly, ensure to create a solid balance between pushing and rewarding students throughout the learning process to mediate any feelings of failure or discouragement in students.