Exploring Pupil Well-being as a Potential Pathway Linking Biophilic School Environments and Academic Performance in Ugandan Primary Schools

Global research suggests that biophilic school design may support academic performance, but the pathways involved remain insufficiently understood in resource-constrained settings. This exploratory study examined school-level associations among biophilic environments, pupil well-being and academic performance in four government-sponsored primary schools in Uganda. The analysis integrated observational biophilic scores, Emotional and Social Environment (ESE) scores from 302 pupils aged 11–12 years, and aggregated Primary Six mid-term examination results. Because only four schools were available, Spearman correlations and separate simple regression models were interpreted descriptively and with caution. Biophilic scores were not directly associated with academic performance (rho = -0.20, p = .800; adjusted R2 = -.45, p = .821). By contrast, the reported school-level pattern indicated a very strong relationship between ESE and academic performance (adjusted R2 = .995, p = .01). This pattern is consistent with, but does not establish, pupil well-being as a potential pathway linking biophilic school environments and academic outcomes. Biophilic interventions should therefore be investigated as possible supports for the emotional and psychological conditions that enable learning, rather than as immediate solutions for raising examination scores. The findings are specific to the four participating schools and require confirmation using larger school samples, linked pupil-level data and formal mediation analysis.

Biophilic Design, Pupil Well-being, Academic Performance, Potential Pathway, Environmental Psychology, Uganda

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