American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN (E): 2832-8019 Volume 18, | November, 2023 P a g e | 44 www.americanjournal.org INVESTIGATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL ENVİRONMENT FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN IRAQ Jasim Saeed Salman1, Hussein Ali Al-Bahrani2, Abdul Amir H. Kadhum1*, Ahmed A. Al-Amiery3 Running head: Educational Environment 1College of Medicine, University of Al-Ameed, Karbala, Iraq 2College of Nursing, University of Al-Ameed, Karbala, Iraq 3Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Kebangsaan Malaysia Kadhum; E-mail: amir1719@gmail.com : ORCID: htps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4074-9123 Al-Bahrani; E-mail: hamg.al1991@yahoo.com: ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9637-3359 Al-Amiery : E-mail: dr.ahmed1975@gmail.com : ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1033-4904 *Corresponding author: amir1719@gmail.com A B S T R A C T K E Y W O R D S Background: A key component is change of the instructive of educational program guidelines accentuation on understudy-focused instructing. Foundations of Middle school are associated with several parameters namely the environment of the school, students' environment and the educational service quality. Aim: To study the education environment in association with the students and the Instructors Method: The behavioural environment for the teachers has been discussed in this work. The change platform concerning learning conditions can encourage to fulfilment of the guidelines of educational programs, research on instruction, and learning conditions in schools. The goal of this study is to examine contrasts in mathematics and science studies the entire climate in schools has higher achievement and middle schools with less performance in Iraq. Results: The study's outcome revealed an uncertainty between instructor insights and target perceptions of learning climate in high- low-performing schools. Conclusion: The study identified the importance of the educational environment in secondary schools and identified the importance of administration in the educational process of secondary schools in this study. Educational,administration, education environment, learning condition, education efficiency, instructor. American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 45 www.americanjournal.org Introduction Highlight 1. Identifying the educational environment in secondary schools 2. Identifying the role of educational administration in secondary schools. 3. Student satisfaction with the education environment 4. Teacher's satisfaction with the education environment Teaching is a marathon process like, that requires commitment and great effort to finish the game. After the rest for a short while, the process becomes a memory of the pain and challenge. Repeating the cycle to start preparing for the next race with a look back to the gained experience and result from analysis with variable diagnosis. The outcomes recorded from the experience reflect personal feelings recorded and the experience reconstructed. Upon general observation, the plan can take shape and be anticipated in the development of the next event. This process can guide the instructors to refine an educational environment with high efficiency and effectiveness. The continuous evaluation procedure presented in this work is summarized in four points namely: Determining what to evaluate, planning how to perform, carrying out, the evaluation and implementing the outcome (lozzi, Louis A., 2012). The step directions and any alternative routes and pathways to achieve these parameters are based on the assumption that the school instructors are the evaluators. The evaluation is not as easy as something everyone likes to do. In most cases is avoided it except to assign grades (Lange Rober, 2014). The Benefits of Education Evaluation The assessment and judging of the effectiveness of the environmental education program is the product end and the outcome of the processes. The mean and the way of doing it with limited resources reflect the learning efficiency. Evaluation is not classified as research; it is not concerned with judgment- making. It involves searching, gathering new information, and further expiation knowledge. The importance of evaluation of environmental education teaching is to find the right direction associated with the benefits to the students that you teach in school and, above all, to you as an instructor (Mile, 2010). The continuous evaluation process is resulting in significant teaching improvement, effectiveness, and modification of teaching and learning methods effectively. The improvement of learning effectiveness involves the classroom, the outside classroom environment, physical, emotional, and social climate. Moreover, the school setting, as well as the community, and the instructional resources, are at your disposal (Sabin, 2021). The progress in the way of learning as a means of the acquisition of knowledge, values clarification, and moral reasoning development. Continuous environment improvement is an independent parameter of critical thinking and action skills. Evaluation of these important dimensions’ parameters can be a teacher’s guideline in three ways: 1) the learning needs diagnosing, as your students; 2) measuring achievement that can measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the program; 3) using evaluation, itself, as an effective teaching tool (Mohamed, 2018, (Annelis, 2010, UNESCO, 2018). Environmental Education Goals The necessity for the environmental education assessment arises from the need for environmental fitness for life to a line with a healing and healthy environment. The responsibility of education to create and maintain a healthy education environment has received more attention in recent years. One means American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 46 www.americanjournal.org of parameters is responsibility. There are many statements have been written on the goal that reflects this responsibility. There is a good understanding aligned with the Belgrade Charter: A Global Framework displaying the goal of environmental education. Further categorized education as to develop a world population that is aware of and concerned about, the environment and its associated problems. The elements establish knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions to current problems (Anthony Kallingal, 2014). Very importance and value of this goal statement highlight the direction that has provided teachers in setting goals for their program. The Environmental Education Project goal for the schools of Guam as an example, was described as; to graduate citizens with highly knowledgeable and aware about the environmental problems of Guam and the world (UNESCO, 2019). Contribution to the Literature • The study discussed environmental education about school facilities. • The study examines the student's satisfaction with the education environment concerning school infrastructure, student motivation, and instructor performance. • Discussed classroom climate improvement in the aspect of teaching and learning. • The study discussed teacher satisfaction with the environment education and the teaching experience and facilities. Methodology Study design The present work included a descriptive study that was carried out on materials of middle school's students in Karbala City, the study period extended from April to May 2021. Participants in the study Participants for the first phase of the research involved a student from a sample of randomly selected math and science classes. The randomly selected practice of independent middle schools. The study was unconfined to the course that was given in the classroom. Data were collected in the fall of 2021 in many middle schools. The survey sample included 100 students from different schools. Students responded to surveys to determine their perceptions of the learning environment. Students were administered the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire which consists of 34 items in four scales: school environment, Behavioral environment for students, Quality of educational service, and Behavioral environment for teachers indicated their agreement with statements about their classroom on a three-point scale ranging from always, sometimes, and never. Results and Discussions In this section, descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to tabulate the data which was resented systematically according to the questionnaire form used to achieve study objectives as tables form. This research seeks to explain the relationship between the school environment and the well- being of middle school education students (César Tapia-Fonllem 2020). The rating of school environment effectiveness is presented in Table 1. A few clarifications may address this surprising finding that contradicts assumptions. Iraqi schools were haphazardly drawn from qualified schools, alleviating the probability of inclination. Not all math and science study halls in each school were seen American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 47 www.americanjournal.org because of the impressive non-appearance of instructors. What's more, a few schools were unfit to be seen because of planning issues. Planning perceptions was a significant challenge during the examination. The far and wide vulnerabilities and last-minute changes make earning marks not normal in Iraqi grade schools. These are extremely troublesome for instructing and learning processes (Wasim, 2016). Table (1): summary statistics for study subjects by the school environment. No. Questions Rating Mean S.D Frequency Percentage 1 The school takes care of general cleanliness Always Sometimes Never 1.97 0.39 4 39 3 8.7 93.5 100 2 It provides usable bathrooms Always Sometimes Never 1.36 0.53 30 15 1 65.2 98.8 100 3 The necessary equipment is available in the laboratories Always Sometimes Never 1.19 0.49 39 5 2 84.8 95.7 100 4 Availability of heating and cooling Always Sometimes Never 1.04 0.29 45 1 46 97.8 2.2 100 5 The location of the school is far from the place of external noise and places that emit dangerous air pollutants Always Sometimes Never 1.54 0.62 52.2 41.3 6.5 52.2 93.5 100 6 Good lighting inside the classroom Always Sometimes Never 1.67 0.47 15 31 46 32.6 67.4 100 7 Availability of stadiums and sports halls Always Sometimes Never 1.43 0.54 27 18 1 58.7 97.8 100 8 There are suitable and sufficient chairs for the number of students in the class Always Sometimes Never 1.73 0.57 15 28 57 32.6 60.9 100 9 There are meals for students at school Always Sometimes Never 1.10 0.37 42 3 55 91.3 6.5 100 10 The school has advanced educational tools Always Sometimes Never 1.21 0.46 37 8 55 80.4 17.4 100 11 Drinking water is available Always Sometimes Never 1.30 0.46 32 14 46 69.6 30.4 100 American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 48 www.americanjournal.org The data in Table 1 explained that the study results for the study sample by their responses for the school environment indicated most of the responses are some time among middle school students. Other studies have presented a conceptual framework derived from a multidimensional construction of components and conditions of a positive school environment. Besides confirming of the relevance of this theoretical–conceptual approach, we have recognized a causal discussion of the school environment for students who participated in the study as shown in Table (1), (Riaz, 2018). The school environments have a significant impact on student well-being in the aspect of safe school environments, student well- being is a significant, and strongly interrelated variable in the research of various kinds of students' needs (Kutsyuruba et al., 2015). The static distribution of school environment parameters is presented in Table 2. Table (2): statistics distribution of overall evaluation for the school environment Rating Frequency Cumulative Percent Mean S.D always 553 50.7 1.60 0.70 sometimes 410 87.7 1.60 0.70 never 137 100 1.60 0.70 Table (2) shows the mean and S.D, frequency, and percentage of the measured variables of the scholar environment and their internal consistencies. Frequency values in all used scales turned out to be appropriate, indicating an acceptable value for the instruments. Accordingly, with the existing data, although our study population mostly has S.D = 0.70. Of 11 questions the 1000 participants reported a frequency = 553, 410, 137 for the predicted choice for answers always, sometimes, and never respectively with a mean 1.6 score as shown in Table (2). Behavioural environment for students The notion of behavioural practices that can help teachers respond to individual variability of learned students' behaviors is shaped by expectations. Examples have been provided by important adults like parents and teachers in their lives and by their peers (Linda, 2019). The behavioral environment is conducted as a static study and presented in Table 3. Table (3): summary statistics for study subjects by the behavioral environment of students No. Questions Rating Mean S.D Frequency Percentage 1 The teacher chooses words carefully when speaking with students Always Sometimes Never 1.52 0.68 59 30 11 59 89 100 2 The teacher accepts the students questions after completing the explanation of the material Always Sometimes Never 2.33 0.53 3 61 36 3 64 100 American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 49 www.americanjournal.org 3 The number of students affects your concentration in the classroom Always Sometimes Never 2.27 0.48 2 69 29 2 71 100 4 The teacher constantly follows up on the preparation books Always Sometimes Never 2.33 0.48 5 57 38 5 62 100 5 The teacher seeks to control the class Always Sometimes Never 2.16 0.54 8 68 24 8 76 100 6 The home atmosphere is suitable for studying Always Sometimes Never 2.29 0.59 7 57 36 7 64 100 7 Your family helps you with homework Always Sometimes Never 1.76 0.65 36 52 12 36 88 100 8 There is an educational school trips Always Sometimes Never 1.77 0.64 35 53 12 35 88 100 The collected results as presented in tables, show most students that involved in the survey have the answer sometimes expected to some questions in Table 3. These answers mean that students are not completely satisfied with the environment of education in their school. In addition to that, all S.D results were very low and it illustrates the good way that we used in our study (UNESCO, 2013). The investigation of services provided by schools has direct interaction with students. The service that students receive is provided feedback on satisfaction (Ernest, 2013). The quality of educational services is conducted and presented in Table 4. Table (4): summary statistics for study subjects by the quality of educational service No Questions Rating Mean S.D Frequency Percentage 1 Obtaining a clear vision and message on quality in quality in performance? Always Sometimes Never 2.12 0.51 8 72 20 8 80 100 2 The school has a quality council headed by the school principal. The school demonstrates a clear understanding of the principles of quality in education? Always Sometimes Never 1.95 0.55 18 19 13 18 87 100 3 The school develops and successfully implements appropriate strategies and plans to achieve its objectives Always Sometimes Never 2.04 0.49 10 76 14 10 86 100 4 The administration is concerned with documenting school meetings? Always Sometimes Never 1.99 0.46 11 79 10 11 90 100 5 The administration is concerned with documenting school meetings? Always Sometimes Never 2.04 0.49 10 76 14 10 86 100 American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 50 www.americanjournal.org Table (4) shows the study results for the selected sample by their responses based on the education service quality. Data in Table 4 indicated most of the responses are sometime among middle school students. The assessments differ concerning how students are selected, while some assessments select students by their age, other assessments select students by the school grade and the student attends (Max, 2013). Line with the quality assessment of this investigation shows that most answer was sometimes in Table (4) and it referred to not completely satisfied to the third scale (Michael, 2011). Quality of educational service To describe the level of quality of educational service in middle schools the subject matter of this study has been investigated. The researcher resorted to using mean, S.D. frequency, and percentage as shown in Tables (2) and (5). Table (5) shows the mean and S.D, frequency, and percentage of the overall measured variables of behavioral environment for students. Table (5): statistics distribution of overall evaluation quality of educational service Rating Frequency Cumulative percent Mean S.D. Always 57 12.3 2.0 0.54 Sometimes 372 85.9 2.0 0.57 Never 71 100 2.0 0.54 Total 500 Table (5) shows answers from the study sample about educational service quality issues. The study shows a mean 2.00 and S.D 0.57 for the overall data. Table (5) also shows all the results for 5 questions displayed for medium school students. The result indicated an appropriate outcome to the particular circumstances, with the founding data. Although our study population mostly had S.D = 0.54, 5 questions four of our 100 participants reported a frequency = 57, 372, 71 for the predicted choice for answers always, sometimes, and never respectively with a mean 2.00 score as shown in Table (5). Behavioral Environment for Teachers All teachers need to learn how to teach students with behavior problems. No matter even if one student is in a classroom with a concern, or if the classroom is designed for students with these complex behavioral issues. Teachers can indicate a perception of classroom problem behaviors (Rachel, 2012, Barry, 2012). The outcome of the behavioral environment for the teacher is presented in Table 6. Table (6): summary statistics for study subjects by the behavioral environment for teachers No Questions Rating Mean S.D Frequency Percentage 1 The administration encourages teachers to attend courses and workshops to develop their skills? Always Sometimes never 2.08 0.77 26 40 34 26 66 100 American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 51 www.americanjournal.org 2 There is a social worker in the school? Always Sometimes never 2.06 0.80 29 36 35 29 65 100 3 The administration is working to put the right person in the place appropriate? Always Sometimes never 2.24 0.57 7 62 31 7 69 100 4 The administration cares about talented students? Always Sometimes never 2.06 0.67 20 54 26 20 74 100 5 The school board involves teachers in the decision-making process? Always Sometimes never 2.26 0.71 16 42 42 16 58 100 6 The department monitors the commitment of the teachers in the school to the official working hours? Always Sometimes never 2.24 0.60 9 58 33 9 67 100 7 The teacher uses teaching aids in the lecture? Always Sometimes never 2.05 0.67 20 55 25 20 75 100 8 There are many means of communication between the student's family and the school administration? Always Sometimes Never 2.15 0.59 11 63 26 11 74 100 9 The school administration is keen to follow up the teachers in the implementation of the study plan for the curriculum? Always Sometimes Never 2.21 0.51 5 69 26 5 74 100 10 The school administration is keen to honor outstanding teachers? Always Sometimes Never 1.98 0.66 23 56 21 23 79 100 Table (6) shows the study results for the sample by their responses to the behavioral environment for teachers indicating that most of the responses were sometimes among middle school students. Whereas sometimes also was the most answered questions indicated incompletely satisfied for the last scale. American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 52 www.americanjournal.org Overall Evaluation The overall results of this work included the mean, S.D, frequency, and percentage have been recorded and listed in Table (7). The mean for our overall data was 2.11 and S.D was equal to 0.69. the founding date of this study population has S.D = 0.69 mostly. A10 questions for our 100-student sample have reported a frequency = 166, 535, 299 for the predicted choice for answers always, sometimes, and never respectively with a mean 2.11 score. Table (7): statistics distribution of overall evaluation behavioral environment for teachers Rating Frequency Cumulative Percent Mean S.D always 166 17.4 2.11 0.69 sometimes 535 70.4 never 299 100 Total 1000 Conclusions It can be concluded throughout this study that: Students are not completely satisfied with the environment of education in their schools. Behavioral environment for students that indicate most of the responses are sometime among middle school students. Where sometimes was indicated incomplete satisfaction. Behavioral environment for teachers that indicate most of the responses are sometimes among middle school students. Whereas sometimes also indicated incomplete satisfaction. Quality of education service that indicates most of the responses are sometimes among middle school students. Where sometimes was indicated incomplete satisfaction. Recommendations - The inclusion of modern teaching methods in our educational system needs to overlook. - Developing the school structure and providing amenities (electricity, water, adequate lighting, air conditioning, and classroom furniture facilities). - Providing small health centers in schools for health care for students. - Create and engage students in educational seminars to develop and improve their skills. - Improving services, paying attention to hygiene, and providing a healthy and clean environment for students. - Solving the problem of increasing the number of students in the classroom by building new schools. Acknowledgment The authors like to thank the University of Al-Ameed for the help in conducting this study Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest American Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Volume 17 Nov., 2023 P a g e | 53 www.americanjournal.org Funding The work is not funded References 1. Annelise Carleton-Huga, J. 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