A sound foundation? What we know about the impact of environments on learning and the implications for Building Schools for the Future

Oxford Review of Education

Volumn 33, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 47-70

  Woolner, Pamela ^a   Hall, Elaine ^a   Higgins, Steve ^a   McCaughey, Caroline ^a   Wall, Kate ^a  

^a NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33847064649     PISSN: 03054985     EISSN: 14653915     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/03054980601094693     Document Type: Review

References (137)

1. Aagaard-Hansen, J. & Storr-Paulsen, A. (1995) A comparative study of three different types of school furniture, Ergonomics, 38(5), 1025-1035.
2. Addison, J., Dancer, J., Montague, J. & Davis, P. (1999) Ambient noise levels in university classrooms: detrimental to teaching and learning, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 89, 649-650.
3. Ahman, M., Lundin, A., Musabas¡c, V. & Soderman, E. (2000) Improved health after intervention in a school with moisture problems, Indoor Air, 10, 57-62.
4. Ahrentzen, S. & Evans, G. W. (1984) Distraction, privacy and classroom design, Environment and Behaviour, 16(4), 437-454.
5. Alexander, R. (1992) Policy and practice in primary education (London, Routledge).
6. Alexander, R. (2000) Culture and pedagogy: international comparisons in primary education (Oxford, Blackwell).
7. Angus, L. (2004) Globalization and educational change: bringing about the reshaping and renorming of practice, Journal of Education Policy, 19(1), 23-41.
8. Arnstein, S. R. (1969) A ladder of citizen participation, Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216-224.
9. Asprino, A., Broadbent, G. H. & Powell, J. A. (1981) A critical examination of design failures in buildings and their relation to design processes, in: R. Jacques & J. A. Powell (Eds) Design: science: method (Guildford, Westbury House).
10. Barnitt, H. (2003) Lighting for the future, Building Services Journal: the Magazine for the CIBSE, 25(1), 38-39.
11. Belojevic, G., Slepcevic, V. & Jakovljevic, B. (2001) Mental performance in noise: the role of introversion, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21(2), 209-213.
12. Benya, J. R. (2001) Lighting for schools, national clearinghouse for educational facilities. Available online at: http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/ daylighting.cfm#5512 (accessed 1 January 2006).
13. Berry, M. A. (2002) Healthy school environment and enhanced educational performance: The case of Charles Young elementary school (Washington, DC, Carpet and Rug Institute).
14. Boman, E. & Enmarker, I. (2004) Factors affecting pupils' noise annoyance in schools: the building and testing of models, Environment and Behavior, 36(2), 207-228.
15. Brennan, A., Chugh, J. S. & Kline, T. (2002) Traditional versus open office design: a longitudinal field study, Environment and Behavior, 34(3), 279-299.
16. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design (Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press).
17. Bross, C. & Jackson, K. (1981) Effects of room colour on mirror tracing by junior high school girls, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 52, 767-770.
18. Brubaker, C. W. (1998) Planning and designing schools (New York, McGraw-Hill).
19. Buckley, J., Schneider, M. & Shang, Y. (2004) LAUSD school facilities and academic performance (Los Angeles, Unified School District).
20. Building Schools for the Future (2004) Transforming schools, inspiring learning. Available online at: http://www.bsf.gov.uk/ (accessed 4 January 2006).
21. Burke, C. & Grosvenor, I. (2003) The school I'd like (London, Routledge/Falmer).
22. Canter, D. & Donald, I. (1987) Environmental psychology in the UK, in: D. Stockol & I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of envoronmental psychology, Vol 2 (New York, Wiley).
23. Clark, A., McQuail, S. & Moss, P. (2003) Exploring the field of listening to and consulting with young children (London, DfES).
24. Clark, H. (2002) Building education: the role of the physical environment in enhancing teaching and research (London, Institute of Education).
25. Cohen, S., Evans, G. W., Krantz, D. S. & Stokols, D. (1980) Physiological, motivational and cognitive effects of aircraft noise on children moving from the laboratory to the field, American Psychologist, 35(3), 231-243.
26. Cooper, I. (1981) The politics of education and architectural design: the instructive example of British primary education, British Educational Research Journal, 7(2), 125-136.
27. David, T. G. (1975) Environmental literacy, in: T. G. David & B. D. Wright (Eds) Learning environments (Chicago, University of Chicago Press).
28. DfES (2002) Schools for the future: designs for learning communities. Building Bulletin 95 (London, HMSO).
29. DfES (2005) Ruth Kelly press release on new funding for schools, October.
30. Donovan, J. J. (1921) School architecture: principles and practice (New York, MacMillan).
31. Dudek, M. (2000) Architecture of schools (Oxford, Architectural Press).
32. Earthman, G. I. (2004) Prioritization of 31 criteria for school building adequacy. Available online at: http://www.aclu-md.org/ facilities_report.pdf (accessed 1 December 2004).
33. Engelbrecht, K. (2003) The Impact of Colour on Learning. Available online at: www.merchandisemart. com/neocon/NeoConConfPro/W305.pdf (accessed 30 November 2004).
34. Evans, G. W. & Maxwell, L. (1997) Chronic noise exposure and reading deficits. The mediating effects of language acquisition, Environment and Behaviour, 29(5), 638-656.
35. Evans, G. W. & Stecker, R. (2004) Motivational consequences of environmental stress, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 143-165.
36. Fisher, K. (2001) Building better outcomes: the impact of school infrastructure on student outcomes and behaviour (Canberra, Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Australia).
37. Fisher, R. (2004) Embedding the literacy strategy: snapshots of change, Reading, 38(3), 134-140.
38. Galton, M., Hargreaves, L., Comber, C., Wall, D. and Pell, A. (1999) Inside the primary classroom: 20 years on (London, Routledge).
39. Getzels, J. W. (1975) Images of the classroom and visions of the learner, in: T. G. David & A. Wright (Eds) Learning environments (Chicago, University of Chicago Press).
40. Gifford, R. (2002) Environmental psychology: principles and practice (Victoria, Optimal).
41. Grimmer, K. & Williams, M. (2000) Gender-age environmental associates of adolescent low back pain, Applied Ergonomics, 3, 343-360.
42. Gump, P. V. (1987) School and classroom environments, in: D. Stockol & I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of environmental psychology. Vol. 1 (New York, Wiley).
43. Haines, M. M., Stansfeld, S. A., Brentnall, J., Berry, B., Jiggins, M. & Hygge, S. (2001a) The West London Schools Study: the effects of chronic aircraft noise exposure on child health, Psychological Medicine, 31, 1385-1396.
44. Haines, M. M., Stansfeld, S. A., Job, R. F. S., Berglund, B. & Head, J. (2001b) Chronic aircraft noise exposure, stress responses, mental health and cognitive performance in school children, Psychological Medicine, 31, 265-277.
45. Hall, I. & Higgins, S (2005) Primary school students' perceptions of interactive whiteboards, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21, 102-117.
46. Hallam, S. (1996) Improving school attendance (Oxford, Heinemann Educational).
47. Hamid, P. N. & Newport, A. G. (1989) Effects of colour on physical strength and mood in children, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 69, 179-185.
48. Hastings, N. (1995) Seats of learning, Support for Learning, 10(1), 8-11.
49. Hathaway, W. E. (1994) A study into the effects of types of light on children-a case of daylight robbery. Available online at: http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/fulltext/ir659/hathaway.pdf (accessed 1 December 2004).
50. Heschong Mahone Group (2003) Windows and classrooms: a study of student performance and the indoor environment (Califonia Energy Commission).
51. Higgins, S., Hall, E., McCaughey, C., Wall, K & Woolner, P. (2005) The impacts of school environments: a literature review (London, Design Council).
52. Hohman, M. & Weikart, D. P. (1995) Educating young children: active learning processes for preschool and child care programs (Ypsilanti, MA, HighScope Press).
53. Horne, S. C. (1999) Classroom environment and its effects on the practice of teachers. PhD thesis, University of London.
54. Horne-Martin, S. (2002) The classroom environment and its effects on the practice of teachers, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22(1/2), 139-156.
55. Horne-Martin, S. (2004) Environment-behaviour studies in the classroom, Journal of Design and Technology Education, 9(2).
56. Hygge, S. (2003) Classroom experiments on the effects of different noise sources and sound levels on long-term recall and recognition in children, Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17, 895-914.
57. IDEA (1970) The open plan school (Dayton, Ohio, Institute for Development of Educational Activities).
58. Jago, E. & Tanner, K. (1999) Influences of the school facility on student achievement (The University of Georgia). Available online at: http://www.coe.uga.edu/sdpl/researchabstracts/visual.html (accessed 1 December 2004).
59. st Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto.
60. Khattar, M., Shirey, D. & Raustad, R. (2003) Cool & dry-Dual-path approach for a Florida school, Ashrae Journal, 45(5), 58-60.
61. Khouw, N. (1995) The meaning of colour for gender. Available online at: http://www.colormatters. com/khouw.html (accessed 1 December 2004).
62. Killeen, J. P., Evans, G. W. & Danko, S. (2003) The role of permanent student artwork in students' sense of ownership in an elementary school, Environment and Behavior, 35(2), 250-263.
63. Kimmel, R., Dartsch, P., Hildenbrand, S., Wodarz, R. & Schmahl, F. (2000) Pupils' and teachers' health disorders after renovation of classrooms in a primary school, Gesundheitswesen, 62(12), 660-664.
64. Kjellberg, A., Landstrom, U., Tesarz, M., Soderberg, L. & Akerlund, E. (1996) The effects of non-physical noise characteristics, ongoing task and noise sensitivity on annoyance and distraction due to noise at work, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16(2), 123-136.
65. Knez, I. (1995) Effects of indoor lighting on mood and cognition, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(1), 39-51.
66. Knez, I. (2001) Effects of colour of light on nonvisual psychological processes, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21(3), 201-208.
67. Knez, I. & Hygge, S. (2002) Irrelevant speech and indoor lighting: effects on cognitive performance and self-reported affect, Applied Cognitive Psychology, 16, 709-718.
68. Knight, G. & Noyes, J. (1999) Children's behaviour and the design of school furniture, Ergonomics, 42(5), 747-760.
69. Lee, S. & Chang, M. (2000) Indoor and outdoor air quality investigation at schools in Hong Kong, Chemosphere, 41(1/2), 109-113.
70. Lercher, P., Evans, G. W. & Meis, M. (2003) Ambient noise and cognitive processes among primary schoolchildren, Environment and Behavior, 35(6), 725-735.
71. Linton, S. J., Hellsing, A., Halme, T. & Åkerstedt, K. (1994) The effects of ergonomically designed school furniture on pupils' attitudes, symptoms and behaviour, Applied Ergonomics, 25(5), 299-304.
72. Loughlin, C. E. & Suina, J. H. (1982) The learning environment: an instructional strategy (New York, Teachers College Press).
73. Lundquist, P., Holmberg, K., Burström, L. & Landström, U. (2003) Sounds levels in classrooms and effects on self-reported mood among school children, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 96, 1289-1299.
74. Lundquist, P., Kjellberg, A. & Holmberg, K. (2002) Evaluating effects of the classroom environment: development of an instrument for the measurement of self-reported mood among school children, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22, 289-293.
75. Marschell, M., Harrington, A. C. & Steel, J. R. (1995) Effect of work station design on sitting posture in young children, Ergonomics, 38(9), 1932-1940.
76. Marx, A., Fuhrer, U. & Hartig, T. (2000) Effects of classroom seating arrangements on children's question-asking, Learning Environments Research, 2, 249-263.
77. Maslow, A. H. & Mintz, N. L. (1956) Effects of esthetic surroundings: initial effects of three esthetic conditions upon perceiving 'energy' and 'well-being' in faces, Journal of Psychology, 41, 247-254.
78. Maxwell, L. E. (2000) A safe and welcoming school: what students, teachers, and parents think, Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 17(4), 271-282.
79. Maxwell, L. E. & Evans, G. W. (2000) The effects of noise on pre-school children's pre-reading skills, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20, 91-97.
80. McGonigal, J. A. (1999) Constructing a learning environment that scaffolds science inquiry in first grade, Learning Environments Research, 2, 21-41.
81. McNamara, D. & Waugh, D. (1993) Classroom organisation, School Organization, 13(1), 41-50.
82. McSporran, E., Butterworth, Y. & Rowson, V. J. (1997) Sound field amplification and listening behaviour in the classroom, British Educational Research Journal, 23(1), 81-92.
83. Moore, G. T. (1979) Environment-behavior studies, in: J. C. Snyder & A. J. Cantanese (Eds) Introduction to architecture (New York, McGraw-Hill).
84. Moore, G. T. (1986) Effects of the spatial definition of behavior settings on children's behavior: a quasi-experimental field study, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 6, 205-231.
85. Moore, D. W., Dennis, W. & Glynn, T. (1984) Variation in question rate as a function of position in the classroom, Educational Psychology, 4(3), 233-248.
86. Moore, G. T. & Lackney, J. A. (1993) School design: crisis, educational performance and design applications, Children's Environments, 10(2), 99-112.
87. Moos, R. H. (1979) Evaluating educational environments (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass).
88. Murphy, S., Buckle, P. & Stubbs, D. (2004) Classroom posture and self-reported back and neck pain in schoolchildren, Applied Ergonomics, 35(2), 113-120.
89. Nash, B. C. (1981) The effects of classroom spatial organisation on four- and five-year-old children's learning, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 51, 144-155.
90. Ofsted (2001) Annual report 1999/2000. Available at: http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/ document/ofsted/hc102/102.htm (accessed 1 December 2004).
91. Ou, L., Luo, M. R., Woodcock, A. & Wright, A. (2004a) A study of colour emotion and colour preference. Part I: colour emotions for single colours, Color Research and Application, 29(3), 232-240.
92. Ou, L., Luo, M. R., Woodcock, A. & Wright, A. (2004b) A study of colour emotion and colour preference. Part II: colour emotions for two-colour combinations, Color Research and Application, 29(4), 292-298.
93. Ou, L., Luo, M. R., Woodcock, A. & Wright, A. (2004c) A study of colour emotion and colour preference. Part III: colour preference modelling, Color Research and Application, 29(5), 381-389.
94. Panagiotopoulou, G., Christoulas, K., Papanckolaou, A. & Mandroukas, K. (2004) Classroom furniture dimensions and anthropometric measures in primary school, Applied Ergonomics, 35(2), 121-128.
95. Parcells, C., Stommel, M. & Hubbard, R. P. (1999) Mismatch of classroom furniture and student body dimensions. Empirical findings and health implications, Journal of Adolescent Health, 24(4), 265-273.
96. Pile, J. F. (1997) Color in interior design (New York, McGraw-Hill).
97. Poulton, E. C. (1978) A new look at the effects of noise: a rejoinder, Psychological Bulletin, 85(5), 1068-1079.
98. Proshansky, E. & Wolfe, M. (1975) The physical setting and open education, in: T. G. David & B. D. Wright (Eds) Learning environments (Chicago, University of Chicago Press).
99. Radeloff, D. J. (1990) Role of colour in perception of attractiveness, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, 151-160.
100. Read, M., Sugawara, A. I. & Brandt, J. A. (1999) Impact of space and color in the physical environment on preschool children's cooperative behavior, Environment and Behavior, 31(3), 413-428.
101. Rivlin, L. G. & Rothenberg, M. (1976) The use of space in open classrooms, in: H. M. Proshansky, W. H. Ittelson & L. G. Rivlin (Eds) Environmental psychology: people and their physical settings (New York, Holt, Rinehart & Winston).
102. Rivlin, L. G. & Weinstein, C. S. (1984) Educational issues, school settings, and environmental psychology, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 4, 347-364.
103. Rivlin, L. G. & Wolfe, M. (1985) Institutional settings in children's lives (New York, Wiley).
104. Rosen, K. G. & Richardson, G. (1999) Would removing indoor air particulates in children's environments reduce rate of absenteeism-hypothesis, The Science of the Total Environment, 234, 87-93.
105. Rosenstein, L. D. (1985) Effect of colour of the environment on task performance and mood of males and females with high or low scores on the scholastic aptitude test, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 60, 550.
106. Rossides D .W. (2004) Knee-jerk formalism: reforming American Education, Journal of Higher Education, 75(6), 667-703.
107. Russell, J. A. & Snodgrass, J. (1987) Emotion and the environment, in: D. Stockol & I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of environmental psychology (New York, Wiley).
108. Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Mortimore, P. & Ouston, J. (1979) Fifteen thousand hours: secondary schools and their effects on children (London, Open Books).
109. Salame, P. & Wittersheim, G. (1978) Selective noise disturbance of the information input in short-term memory, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 30, 693-704.
110. Schauss, A. G. (1985) The physiological effect of colour on the suppression of human aggression, research on Baker-Miller pink, International Journal of Biosocial Research, 2(7), 55-64.
111. Schneider, M. (2002) Do school facilities affect academic outcomes? National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. Available at: http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/daylighting.cfm#5512 (accessed 4 January 2006).
112. Shield, B. & Dockrell, J. (2004) External and internal noise surveys of London primary schools, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 115(2), 730-738.
113. Smedje, G. & Norback, D. (2001) Irritants and allergens at school in relation to furnishings and cleaning. Indoor Air, 11, 127-133.
114. Smith, H. J., Higgins, S. E., Wall, K. & Miller, J. (2005) Interactive whiteboards: boom or bandwagon? A critical review of the literature, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21, 91-101.
115. Sommer, R. & Olsen, H. (1980) The soft classroom, Environment and Behavior, 12(1), 3-16.
116. Stansfeld, S. A. & Matheson, M. (2003) Noise pollution: non-auditory effects on health, British Medical Bulletin, 68, 243-257.
117. Stricherz, M. (2000) Bricks and mortarboards. Education Week, 6 December.
118. Sundstrom, E. (1986) Work places (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press).
119. Sundstrom, E. (1987) Work environments: offices and factories, in: D. Stockol & I. Altman (Eds) Handbook of environmental psychology (New York, Wiley).
120. Tanner, C. K. (2000) The influence of school architecture on academic achievement, Journal of Educational Administration, 38(4), 309-330.
121. Tanner, C. K. & Langford, A. (2002) The importance of interior design elements as they relate to student outcomes. Available online at: http://www.coe.uga.edu/sdpl/research/SDPLStudiesIn-Progress/criann02elem.html
122. Thomas, G. & Pring, R. (2004) Evidence-based practice in education (Buckingham, Open University Press).
123. Troussier, B. (1999) Comparative study of two different kinds of school furniture among children, Ergonomics, 42(3), 516-526.
124. Troussier, B., Davoine, P., de Gaudemaris, R., Fauconnier, J. & Pehelip, X. (1994) Back pain in school children. A study among 1178 pupils, Scandinvian Journal of Rehabilative Medicine, 3, 143-146.
125. Veitch, J. A. (1997) Revisiting The performance and mood effects of information about lighting and fluorescent lamp type, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 17(3), 253-262.
126. Veitch, J. A. & McColl, S. L. (2001) A critical examination of perceptual and cognitive effects attributed to full-spectrum fluorescent lighting, Ergonomics 44(3), 255-279.
127. Wall, K., Higgins, S. & Smith, H. (2005) 'The visual helps me understand the complicated things': pupil views of teaching and learning with interactive whiteboards, British Journal of Education Technology, 36(5), 861-867.
128. Ward, L. (2004) A school's great expectations, The Guardian, 14 September.
129. Weinstein, C. S. (1979) The physical environment of the school: a review of the research, Review of Educational Research, 49(4), 577-610.
130. Weinstein, C. S. & David, T. G. (Eds) (1987) Spaces for children: the built environment and child development (New York, Plenum).
131. Wheldall & Lam, Y. Y. (1987) Rows versus tables II. The effects of two classroom seating arrangements on classroom disruption rate, on-task behaviour and teacher behaviour in three special school classes, Educational Psychology, 7(4), 303-312.
132. Wheldall, K., Morris, M., Vaughan, P. & Ng, Y. Y. (1981) Rows versus tables: an example of the use of behavioural ecology in two classes of eleven-year-old children, Educational Psychology, 1(2), 171-184.
133. Woolner, P., Hall, E., Wall, K., Higgins, S., Blake, A & McCaughey, C. (2005) School building programmes: motivations, consequences and implications (Reading, CfBT).
134. Yeats, B. (1997) Factors that may influence the postural health of schoolchildren (K-12), Work, 9(1), 45-55.
135. Young, E., Green, H. A., Roehrich-Patrick, L., Joseph, L. & Gibson, T. (2003) Do K-12 school facilities affect education outcomes? (The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations).
136. Zandvliet, D. & Straker, L. (2001) Physical and psychosocial aspects of the learning environment in information technology rich classrooms, Ergonomics, 44(9), 838-857.
137. Zimmer, K. & Ellermeier, W. (1999) Psychometric properties of four measures of noise sensitivity: a comparison, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 19(3), 295-302.