How physical and built environments impact learning and inclusivity in educational settings: supporting evidence-based practice
Subject
Abstract
The built environment is hugely influential in today’s world. Understanding how physical and built environments impact human behaviour is the starting point for understanding how space impacts learning and the inclusion of students with exceptionalities in the general education classroom. The education field can benefit from insights and explanations as to how the physical space surrounding a student might help or hinder their experience of learning. Three discrete bodies of literature—research on the physical and built environment, research on learning, and research on inclusivity in education—each offer evidence-based recommendations for how schools should look and feel. Through this project, the key principle of individualization has been identified as critical to educational efficacy in each of three areas of study. The product of this applied project is an educational website for teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, school planners, policy makers, educational designers, and others in the education field, aimed at encouraging and supporting evidence-based practice in schools. Entitled Space, Learning, and Inclusivity: How Elements of the Built Environment Impact Kids in Schools, the website is dedicated to identifying, characterizing, and explaining the primary intersections between research on the physical and built environment, learning, and inclusivity. The content of this website makes a case for how, by focusing on the individual with educational practices that emphasize flexibility, connection, and ownership, we can create inclusive learning spaces that serve as engaging learning environments for all students.