The psychological aspects of classroom interior design elements

Caimen L. Ruff
ruffcl@appstate.edu
Appalachian State University

Fred Steele (1973), a leading scholar in the behavioral basis of design, states: "We are all someplace all the time, and without even trying. But being there and being aware of the impact that the place is having on us are two different things, and the awareness lags far behind the being" (p. vi). Steele's quote lends credence to a critical issue facing education the psychological effects of classroom interior design elements on students. Exploring the effects schools are having on students is especially important in relation to achievement and retention.

The impact of physical environment on teaching and learning methods is considered early in the design stages of new educational facilities. However, most of the schools in this country were designed almost 50 years ago and, therefore, did not have the advantage of planning their physical space around contemporary teaching and learning methods (Filardo, Vincent, Sung, & Stein, 2006). Instead, current inhabitants of older schools today are forced to adjust to existing facilities. Often older schools have not been well maintained, or updated for current teaching and learning methods (Filardo, et al., 2006). Research shows the detrimental effects certain design elements have on students’ academic progress and is discussed throughout this paper.

Steele (1973) believed a type of environmental crisis is present because "people always exist within an environment, and that usually they are in surroundings which are unhelpful or detrimental to what they are trying to do...The crisis here is the lack of fit between needs and settings" (pp. 3-4). The built environment has always held powerful sway upon human behavior; nothing has changed in this regard. Thus, the designing, outfitting, and maintenance of school facilities can be the major cause
of an unfair education simply through the design of an educational setting being a bad fit for the specific educational needs of the end users (students, teachers, administrators, and staff). In this paper, I will discuss research about construction elements in educational facilities and their potential psychological effects on educational opportunity. The elements I will discuss are lighting/day lighting; acoustics; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)/air quality; safety/security; class size/density; flexibility; furniture; color; equipment; technology; and the symbolic communication of a classrooms interior design. I will also examine literature concerning future trends in design of school facilities that are important to design professionals and educational leaders.

The purpose of my proposal for this year's NCARE conference is to inform the research community about the psychological aspects of classroom interior design elements. I hope to get educator's to think about approaching the design of classrooms from an informed background. I have performed an extensive literature review and have created a framework and research instruments to investigate more about this topic. I have created a framework based on Maslow's hierarchy of Needs and Fred Steele's Functions of Physical Settings to support my argument that students are able to learn better when their bodies are in homeostasis at minimum, and hopefully much more comfortable and even stimulating. The paper I will present offers the general educator and administrator an overview of the connections I have found that support the need for improved attention to classroom interior design elements.