Can WELL Concepts Apply to Early Childhood Learning Environment?
WELL is a standard published in the building industry, yet it primarily focuses on human comfort and well-being. WELL v2 is structured around these ten concepts (Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community, and Innovation). Each concept encompasses various features with distinct health intent.
The WELL concepts and related features are primarily designed for adults and the workplace, yet I was curious if their impact remains the same in children. Simultaneously I stumbled upon this research paper from Peter Barrett of the University of Salford in the U.K. It summarized all the critical design elements regarding early children’s learning environment. Therefore, I wanted to highlight several findings from this paper that might benefit how we implement WELL standards in the future.
Why Is Barrett’s Research Worth Noting?
The research was conducted over a more extended period.
Before this paper was published, Barrett had done a similar and comprehensive analysis for the first phase. The first experiment and assessment were done in 2013 and covered 751 pupils within 34 classrooms.
The study has a larger sample size.
His sample size increased almost five times in the study’s second phase, which included 3 areas, 27 schools, 153 classrooms, and 3766 pupils.
The research focuses on early childhood education and the built environment.
There are numerous studies on how the class environment relates to students’ learning performance. However, only a handful focus on early childhood learning performance.
According to Healthy People 2030, data-driven national objectives, ‘social determinants of health,’ is the primary focus of our health and well-being in the next decade. In its selected literature, early childhood education (particularly the first five years of life) has a long-term impact on many adults’ lives afterward. High-quality early childhood education can increase earning potential and support academic attainment. Thus, determining what influences made early education a high-quality opportunity is essential for the next generation’s overall health and well-being.
What Are the Connections Between Barrett’s Study and the WELL Features?
In Barrett’s environment-behavior model, three dimensions (similar to the ‘design principle’ in the study) have been used to structure his study and measurement: Naturalness, Individualization, and Stimulation. And each of them constitutes several factors. To understand how his environment-behavior model correlated with WELL concepts, refer to the following table.
What Can We Learn from Barrett’s Findings?
First, the environmental factor has a greater impact than students’ characteristics on their learning performance. The finding shows that overall learning progress is highly correlated with environmental factors than with pupil themselves’ characteristics, such as height, weight, or free school meals.
Second, naturalness impact more than other environmental sensory factors. In Barrett’s assessment sample, the naturalness sensory accounts for around 50% of the impact on learning, and the ‘individualization’ and ‘Stimulation’ accounts for roughly 25% of the learning result.
Last, light has the most positive impact on students’ learning than other factors. Seven of the ten environmental parameters investigated in this study significantly improved pupils’ overall progress. We can apply these principles in the future learning space. In the following table, I restructured their influence based on the research’s final findings.
What’s The Takeaway?
The environment impacts students’ comfort and influences occupants’ mental states, which leads to students’ engagement and reflects on their learning performance.
When the teaching focuses more on a student-centered curriculum, typical in an elementary school setting, it is crucial to introduce the sensory aspect of the built environment. For example, the better ergonomics of desks and chairs reduce students’ muscle stress and make them feel more comfortable during class hours. Because students’ disruptive behavior decreases with the proper furnishing, they become more engaged and focus on the teacher more. They also would feel empowered if they controlled their learning environment at a certain level.
What kind of learning environment could we expect in the future?
If we follow his study and prioritize those influential building design parameters, we can create the following space. Once children are mentally and physically well, it is not surprising to see students’ engagement increase and their learning performance grow.
