OJSS Home

2021 - Volume 5 - Number 1

The Effect of School Space on Pedagogical Practices and Students’ Learning Outcomes: A Review of Scientific Sociological Literature

Archontoula Lagiou * liyeosa@gmail.com * ORCID: 0000-0002-9467-8431
University of Patras, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, GREECE

Anna Asimaki * asimaki@upatras.gr * ORCID: 0000-0002-0518-4123
University of Patras, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, GREECE

Gerasimos Koustourakis  * koustourakis@upatras.gr * ORCID: 0000-0001-8499-5399
University of Patras, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, GREECE

Georgios Nikolaou * gnikolaou@upatras.gr * ORCID: 0000-0002-3460-1141
University of Patras, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, GREECE

Open Journal for Sociological Studies, 2021, 5(1), 31-42 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojss.0501.04031l
Received: 28 April 2021 ▪ Accepted: 29 June 2021 ▪ Published Online: 9 August 2021

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:
School space is an important factor in the realization of educational work since it shapes the material conditions for the implementation of the educational process. The aim of this paper, which focuses on a review of contemporary sociological scientific literature, is to investigate and highlight the effect of school space on the shaping of pedagogical practices, as well as on the pupils’ learning outcomes. Study and analysis of the content of research findings and relevant scientific papers reveal that school space is chiefly “mono-functional” and that both teachers and pupils remain caught up in the implementation of what are largely traditional pedagogical practices. School space clearly needs to be adapted to the new pupil-centered pedagogical methods, and this can only be achieved through the initiative and agency of the teachers. Finally, it is also clear that the pupils’ learning outcomes are to a great extent linked to the position they occupy in the space within the school classroom.

KEY WORDS: School space, pedagogical practices, learning outcomes.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Archontoula Lagiou, University of Patras, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Patras, GREECE. E-mail: liyeosa@gmail.com.

REFERENCES:

Ahrentzen, S., & Evans, G. (1984). Distraction, privacy, and classroom design. Environment and Behavior, 16(4), 437-454. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916584164002

Alterator, S., & Deed, C. (2013). Teacher adaptation to open learning spaces. Issues in Educational Research, 23(3), 315-330.

Asimaki, A., Lagiou, A., Koustourakis, G., & Sakkoulis, D. (2018). Training adequacy and pedagogic practices of teachers in reception facilities for refugee education in Greece during the economic crisis: A case study. Journal of Studies in Education, 8(3), 79-97. https://doi.org/10.5296/jse.v8i3.13396

Benedict, M. E., & Hoag, J. (2004). Seating location in large lectures: Are seating preferences or location related to course performance? Journal of Economic Education, 35, 215-231. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.35.3.215-231

Bernstein, B. (2000). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity. Theory, research, critique,Revised Edition. Lanham, Boulder, New York, Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc.

Bernstein, B. (1996). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity. Theory, research, critique. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Bernstein, B. (1990). The structuring of pedagogic discourse: Vol. IV Class, codes & control. London: Routledge.

Bernstein, B. (1989). Pedagogical codes and control. Athens: Alexandreia.

Berris, R., & Miller, E. (2011). How design of the physical environment impacts early learning: educators’ and parents’ perspectives. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(4), 1-17. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/46928/2/46928.pdf.

Betoret, F., & Artiga, A. (2004). Trainee teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning, classroom layout and exam design. Educational Studies, 30(4), 357-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305569042000310309

Brooks, C. (2012). Space and consequences: The impact of different formal learning spaces on instructor and student behavior. Journal of Learning Spaces, 1(2), 1-10.

Budge, D. (2000). Secret is in the seating. Times Educational Supplement, No. 4396, 26-27.

Byers, T., Imms, W., & Hartnell-Young, E. (2014). Making the case for space: The effect of learning spaces on teaching and learning. Curriculum and Teaching, 29(1), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.7459/ct/29.1.02

Cheryan, S., Ziegler, S., Plaut, V., & Meltzoff, A. (2014). Designing classrooms to maximize student achievement. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(1), 4-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732214548677

Christie, F. (2002). Classroom discourse analysis. A functional perspective. London: Continuum.

Douglas, D., & Gifford, R. (2001). Evaluation of the physical classroom by students and professors: a lens model approach. Educational Research, 43(3), 295-309. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131880110081053

Espey, M. (2008). Does space matter? Classroom design and team-based learning. Review of Agricultural Economics, 30(4), 764-775. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.00445.x

Figueroa, L., Lim, S., & Lee, J. (2016). Investigating the relationship between school facilities and academic achievements through geographically weighted regression. Annals of GIS, 22(4), 273-285. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475683.2016.1231717

Germanos, D. (2009). Le réaménagement éducatif de l’espace scolaire, moyen de transition de la classe traditionnelle vers une classe coopérative et multiculturelle. Synergies Sud-Est Européen, 2, 85-101. http://gerflint.fr/Base/SE_europeen2/germanos.pdf.

Ghaziani, R. (2010). School design: Researching children’s views. Childhoods Today, 4(1), 1-30.

Gislason, N. (2007). Placing education: The school as architectural space. Paideusis, 16(3), 5-14. https://journals.sfu.ca/pie/index.php/pie/article/view/87/82.

Gislason, N. (2009a). Mapping school design: A qualitative study of the relations among facilities design, curriculum delivery, and school climate. The Journal of Environmental Education, 40(4), 17-34. https://doi.org/10.3200/joee.40.4.17-34

Gislason, N. (2009b). Building paradigms: Major transformations in school architecture (1798-2009). The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 55(2), 230-248.

Griffith, C.R. (1921). A comment upon the psychology of audience. Psychological Monographs, 30(3), 36-47. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0093148.

Hoadley, U. (2007). The reproduction of social class inequalities through mathematics pedagogies in South African primary schools. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 39(6), 679-706. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270701261169

Holliman, W., & Anderson, H. (1986). Proximity and student density as ecological variables in a college classroom. Teaching of Psychology, 13(4), 200-203. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top1304_7

Kalinowski, S., & Taper, M. L. (2007). The effect of seat location on exam grades and student perceptions in an introductory biology class. Journal of College Science Teaching, 36, 54-57.

Kaya, N., & Burgess, B. (2007). Territoriality. Environment and Behavior, 39(6), 859-876. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916506298798

Koustourakis, G. (2018a). Analysing the curriculum for students with mild and moderate learning difficulties concerning the teaching of pre-vocational skills. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 39(8), 1210-1225. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1497948

Koustourakis, G. (2018b). Classroom space and kindergarten curriculum: a sociological approach to teachers' discourse on the status of space and its use in teaching. European Journal of Alternative Education Studies, 3(2), 47-65. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1422864

Koustourakis, G. (2018c). A sociological approach to the determination and implementation of rules for the pedagogical use of kindergarten classroom space. American International Journal of Social Science, 7(4), 20-28. https://www.aijssnet.com/journals/Vol_7_No_4_December_2018/3.pdf.

Kristín, A., & Torfi, H. (2011). School buildings for the 21st Century – Some features of new school buildings in Iceland. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 1(2), 25-43. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1130811.pdf.

Kuuskorpi, M., & Cabellos González, N. (2011). The future of the physical learning environment. CELE Exchange, Centre for Effective Learning Environments, 2011/11, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/5kg0lkz2d9f2-en

Leiringer, R., & Cardellino, P. (2011). Schools for the twenty-first century: School design and educational transformation. British Educational Research Journal, 37(6), 915-934. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2010.508512

Lim, F., O’Halloran, K., & Podlasov, A. (2012). Spatial pedagogy: mapping meanings in the use of classroom space. Cambridge Journal of Education, 42(2), 235-251. http://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2012.676629

Martin, S. (2002). The classroom environment and its effects on the practice of teachers. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22(1-2), 139-156. https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.2001.0239

Marx, A., Fuhrer, U., & Hartig, T. (1999). Effects of classroom seating arrangements on children’s question-asking. Learning Environments Research, 2(3), 249-263. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1009901922191

McGregor, J. (2004). Space, power and the classroom. FORUM, 46(1), 13-18.

Mills, C. (2003). Contesting the political: Butler and Foucault on power and resistance. Journal of Political Philosophy, 11(3), 253-272. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9760.00177

Neill, S., & Etheridge, R. (2008). Flexible learning spaces: The integration of pedagogy, physical design, and instructional technology. Marketing Education Review, 18(1), 47-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/10528008.2008.11489024

Patton, J. E., Snell, J., Knight, W. J., & Gerken, K. (2001). A survey study of elementary classroom seating designs. Annual Meeting of the National Association of SchoolPsychologists, Washington, DC.

Pedersen, D. (1994). Privacy preferences and classroom seat location. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 22(4), 393-398. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.1994.22.4.393

Perkins, K., & Wieman, C. (2005). The surprising impact of seat location on student performance. The Physics Teacher, 43(1), 30-33. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1845987

Sztejnberg, A., & Finch, E. (2006). Adaptive use patterns of secondary school classroom environments. Facilities, 24(13/14), 490-509. https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770610705275

Tagliacollo, V., Volpato, G., & Junior, A. (2010). Association of student position in classroom and school performance. Educational Research, 1(6), 198-201.

Tanić, M., Nikolić, V., Stanković, D., Kondić, S., Živković, M., Mitković, P., & Keković, A. (2015). Interconnection between physical environment and pedagogical process in elementary schools in Niš, Serbia. Current Science, 108(7), 1228-1234.

Urwick, J., & Junaidu, S. (1991). The effects of school physical facilities on the processes of education: A qualitative study of Nigerian primary schools. International Journal of Educational Development, 11(1), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/0738-0593(91)90006-t

Wasnock, D. (2010). Classroom environment: Emphasis on seating arrangement (Master Thesis). St. John Fisher College.
https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/mathcs_etd_masters/17.