The existing knowledge of the school environment is reviewed in this book, with a focus on its impact on educational effectiveness and student achievement. Chapter 1 examines how the composition of educational groups affect learning; chapter 2 focuses on the learning climate and cultures--the norms and values that characterize learning environment. In chapter 3 the physical environment of schools is reviewed (how school facilities and expenditures, teachers' qualifications, and school and classroom size affect student achievement). Chapter 4 focuses on how the community environment of schools (consolidation, construction of new schools, school policy). Chapter 5 develops a both academic, achievement-oriented goals (instrumental norms) and emotionally supportive human relationships (expressive norms) is essential for effective schools. The model examines how members of a school create social order and how that social order influences individuals' actions. Chapter 6 discusses the model's implications for policy and social change, stressing the ways in which students, parents, teachers, and administrators can create a positive climate through their relationships and actions to facilitate the achievement of educational goals. (Contains approximately 400 references.) (LMI)