In Finland, the large educator-to-child ratios were also identified by early childhood teachers have influence ( Venninen, Leinonen, Lipponen & Ojala, 2014). The large class size was found to be acknowledged by pre-school children in Sweden where they said the reason why they do not get to decide what happens in the classroom is because there are too many children ( Sheridan & Pramling Samuelsson, 2001). The large class size and educator-to-child ratios influence children’s opportunity to be heard and made decisions in the classroom. There is a lack of support given to teachers to support children’s verbal and non-verbal language ( Alderson, 2008 Clark, 2010 Lundy, 2007). The perceptions adults have of children ( Hart, 2006 Lundy, 2007) still sees children needing to be controlled, cared for and protected ( Lansdown, 2005 Smith, 2007). The challenge of not considering children’s views is influenced by, but not limited to, perceptions adults have of children, the lack of support given to teachers to facilitate children’s involvement in the classroom, large class size and high educator-to-child ratios. According to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2012), Australian early childhood teachers in early childhood settings and schoolteachers were found to rarely consider children’s views in the classroom ( Hudson, 2012 Pascal and Bertram, 2009). This article offers recommendations to researchers.įew opportunities are available for children to share their views and be heard on matters that affect them in the early childhood classroom. The findings suggest that children do see themselves as having a role in how the early learning space is organised. A sociomaterial lens was brought to the analysis of data, enabling the consideration of the underlying interactions between space, materials and people.
In this investigation, the following question is explored: How do children describe their role in organising the materials in the indoor early learning space of one kindergarten? Six children aged 3.5–5 years, from one kindergarten in Queensland were involved in individual child-led tours and later, audio-recorded, video-stimulated recall interviews. Children having a role in organising the materials in the classroom is legitimised in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This article questions the typically taken-for-granted notion that the early learning space is an empty container in which objects and resources are placed and where children take up a passive position. This article problematises our understandings of the early learning space and materials within which children learn. There is even less research that considers how the play equipment, utensils, resources and the classroom space itself influence how children talk about their kindergarten indoor learning spaces. Not much is known about the involvement of children in organising the kindergarten classroom in Queensland, Australia. According to Reino Tapaninen, chief architect at Finland’s Department of Education, “There are a lot of soft chairs, big cushions, rocking chairs, sofas as well as moveable walls and partitions behind which you can hide for private discussions.” As people worried that an open layout might lead to a high level of noises, the designer is using better surfacing materials and promoting noise-reducing habits.Recent research indicates that teachers have the predominant role in organising early childhood classrooms in Australia. They abandoned the traditional walled-in classroom and incorporate open-plan principles in their renovation and refurbishing. Finland is showing the example of open-plan classroom design by using fewer walls principles. Here we are to share with you 7 important kindergarten classroom design principles to enhance children’s learning.ħ Important Kindergarten Classroom Design Principlesįencing children is not a good idea! An open structure layout might be the key kindergarten classroom design principles. A 2015 study published in the journal Building and Environment found that student learning outcomes are improved by 16 per cent with the changing of some core elements of classroom design.