Consistent Positive Associations and Method-Dependent Rankings of Perceived Biophilic Dimensions in Four Ugandan Primary Schools

Résumé

Evidence from Sub-Saharan African primary schools remains limited concerning how different biophilic environmental dimensions relate to pupil well-being. This exploratory secondary analysis used 302 questionnaire records from four purposively selected government-sponsored primary schools in Mukono District, Uganda. Eight Emotional and Social Environment (ESE) items formed the outcome; Nature in the Space (NIS), Sensory Nature Stimuli (SNS), Nature of the Space (NOS) and Natural Analogues (NA) formed study-specific perceived-environment composites. All four domains showed positive bivariate associations with ESE (Spearman rho=.362-.425, all p<.001), providing a consistent overall pattern. In simultaneous regression, the domains jointly explained 26.6% of variance (adjusted R2=.256); NA (B=.175, p<.001) and NIS (B=.162, p=.003) retained unique associations. A school-fixed-effects sensitivity model, with School A as the reference and indicators for Schools B-D, supported NIS, NA and NOS after absorbing mean differences among the four institutions. Adding age retained the same three domains. ESE reliability was modest (alpha=.568), but a seven-item sensitivity analysis retained the central NIS and NA findings. The changing rank across analytical criteria is a substantive contribution: it indicates that several biophilic dimensions may contribute complementarily rather than forming a single universal hierarchy. Within the four participating schools, the findings support a multidimensional, context-sensitive approach and identify direct nature, spatial qualities and nature-referencing interiors as promising candidates for future intervention studies. Replication with validated measures, more institutions and age-appropriate sampling is required before wider design priorities are proposed.

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