The study described in this report attempted to
describe some high school classrooms in terms of such
physical features as lighting, acoustics, thermal
comfort, furniture design and spatial arrangements. It
also sought to explore the possible associations between
student seating preference and such "ecological features".
The study first tried to confirm some previous
research findings with regard to the existence of "zones
of participation", associated with student personality
traits including academic ability. The researcher then
explored whether the "physical conditions" prevalent in
classrooms were as much the determinants of student
seating choice, as much as the student's personality
traits and relationships with his peers and teachers. It
further sought to confirm whether seat selection was
consistent and to explore whether it was characterised by
a range of factors which could be identified and
classified. The study lastly aimed to obtain anecdotal
data about the students' perceptions of their classroom
environments.
Information was obtained from one thousand and
eighty-six completed questionnaires from students in
years seven to ten, in two different types of classroom,
in two separate high schools in the Australian Capital
Territory.
The results in general supported previous
findings regarding associations between central and
peripheral seating locations and a student's personality
traits and academic achievement level. The results,
furthermore, suggested some possible dependence upon the
classroom's dimensions and opportunity for teacherstudent
eye contact as a crucial factor in the
relationship between seating location and student
achievement level.
The data further confirmed that a number of
physical as well as social factors were determinants of a
student's choice of seat. These factors were found to be
consistently identifiable over various age groups, in
different kinds of classroom, in different subject areas
and between separate schools. The anecdotal data further
established the degree of concern and importance
attributed to the physical environment by the students.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219358 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Stoddart, James A., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright James A. Stoddart |
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