The Importance of Physical Space
Why the design of the physical space is important?
Whether you are building, renovating or renting, the physical environment is an important element of a quality (ELCC) program. The location of the facility, the amount of space, the layout and arrangement of rooms and outdoor play spaces, the types of furnishings, equipment and available program materials, the lighting, air quality, textures and aesthetics, and the relationship between the indoors and outdoors all have an impact on children, staff, parents and the community.
The environment can provide several benefits
For example:
- For children, the physical characteristics of a well-designed ELCC program can promote:
- Positive group interactions
- Cognitive, social and physical development
- Creativity, exploration and imagination
- A sense of well being and belonging
- Physical and social inclusion
- A sense of ownership
- A sense of security
For staff it can:
- Support the pedagogical approach of the centre
- Facilitate child/staff interaction and supervision
- Provide a good working environment and address occupational health and safety issues
- Contribute to good staff morale
For parents it can
- Provide a warm, welcoming, inclusive environment
- Ease the transition between home and the centre
- Enable them to observe their children in their learning and play environment
- Provide opportunities for communication with staff and other parents
For the broader community it can
- Put a public face to ELCC
- Show that ELCC is a valued and respected community resource
- Be effectively integrated into other community programs and supports
In Canada there are still few purpose-built or purpose-renovated child care facilities, developed through a collaborative process with numerous stakeholders, and with significant capital budgets. More often than not child care centres have been located in inexpensive rental accommodation, such as in church basements, surplus school space, apartment buildings, strip malls, or in shared-use space where equipment and furnishings have to be put away each evening. In many instances the space is only available for child care as long as it is not needed for other purposes, creating considerable uncertainty for the program, and little incentives to make physical improvements. Not only are these spaces less than optimal for children or for staff, they suggest the lack of value placed on early childhood education and young children, and the professionals working in the program. As a result there is little expertise in the creation of quality environments for young children. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) made the following observations about the physical environment in Canadian ELCC programs.
The Importance of the Physical Environment
In 2003 Canada participated in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care (PDF 956kb) - one of 20 countries that participated in this review. In each country, following a background report prepared by each participating country, a team of international experts conducted an onsite review of ELCC provision and policies and prepared a Country Note that describes their observations and makes recommendations for improvements.
“Some of the accommodation, even in newly built centres, was very poor, although it met the required health and safety standards. Rooms were barren places, often poorly lit, with relatively few resources to interest young children and little evidence of children's own work. … The focus on sit-down, table-top activities, and the lack of activity rooms or proper playgrounds tended, in our view, to inhibit children from unloading their energy, and stretching the limits of their imagination and creativity.
We were surprised to find a lack of direct access to outside space for children in most of the centres we visited. …the early childhood centres that we visited in Canada placed little emphasis on outdoor programming, although the public authorities recommend a minimum exercise requirement of at least 30 minutes per day of vigorous activity for children (Health Canada, 2002), and the Aboriginal culture of Canada places great value on outdoor activity and knowledge of nature.”
The report (continues to emphasize the importance of providing attractive indoor and outdoor learning environments in Recommendation No. 5:
Background: An important indicator of quality is the level of investment in and the appropriateness of early childhood buildings and learning environments. From the perspective of the review team, design standards for child care premises in Canada seemed poor, partly a reflection of many makeshift arrangements in low-rent buildings. In addition, materials and resources were often conventional and of doubtful learning quality. Plastic toys, tabletop games and worksheets are in general rather limited learning tools. Used in isolation, they seldom provide young children with a high quality experience that generates linguistic, reasoning and communication challenges.
In its ten action points for teachers, the well-researched curriculum, Experiential Education (PDF 956kb) (Flanders), consecrates no fewer than four points to the organisation of space:
- Rearrange the classroom in appealing corners or areas;
- Check regularly the content of the corners and replace unattractive materials by more appealing ones;
- Introduce new and unconventional materials and activities;
- Observe children, discover their interests and find activities that meet these orientations.
It is understood in Experiential Education and similar programmes that teachers must also be highly active with the children in these areas. Adult interaction with the children enhances the interest and learning potential of the environment.
Where outdoor space is concerned, the quality of the yards attached to centres is often poor in Canada, a country with much land space available. Managers of centres where children spend long hours need to take account of basic developmental needs. Children need space to move, to express themselves physically and to take part in an active exploratory curriculum. Moreover, given current concerns about child health and obesity, it seems fitting to build opportunities for vigorous exercise into the curriculum.
Outdoor spaces need to be planned as more than recreational areas for young children. An outdoor environment intelligently constructed, e.g. a discovery garden - can be a very rich learning environment for young children. Plants, trees, flowers, water, dirt, sand, mud, animals, insects and birds present innumerable possibilities for manipulation or observation. Nature offers to children high levels of variety and interest, and invites longer and more complex play. Because of its interactive properties, it stimulates observation, discovery, dramatic pretend play and imagination.
In some countries, architectural competitions have proved a useful catalyst for developing appropriate premises, most notably in Finland, Germany, Italy and Denmark. In certain parts of these countries, ecologically sensitive designs have been encouraged - where exploration of the environment and nature is easily possible for children and teachers. In Norway, there is also the belief that familiarity with the outdoors, and mastery of one's own climate and weather is important for children. Contact with the natural world contributes to the emotional health of children, to their sense of independence and autonomy. Children benefit from the opportunity to imprint themselves in an experiential way on an environment, to endow it with significance, and to experience their own actions as transforming it.
In the outdoors, children learn about the cycle of life through observing living things, and if carefully guided, will learn respect for both life and nature. In addition, a natural or intelligently constructed outdoor environment places the focus on "experiencing" rather than "teaching ". Young children learn through discovery and self-initiated activities, and their learning is multiplied through active involvement - hands-on manipulation, sensory engagement, and self-initiated explorations. Natural elements provide for open-ended play and creative exploration with diverse materials.
In terms of readiness for school, children need also the concepts and vocabulary to formalise their experiences - and to symbolise it in speech, writing, movement and the other languages of children. In the forest and nature schools in the Nordic countries, well-trained professionals ensure the necessary support to children to enable then to re-express their experiences in both language and creative media. Children learn colours, numbers and vocabulary experientially in nature settings, and can experience basic principles of mechanics and mathematics in moving logs, building dams or collecting leaves.