Psyc3980 pp

SPECIALIZED ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN:
PRESCHOOL ENVIRONMENT &
CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
PSYC 3980 – R10
Jillian Beaumont
Samantha Braganza
Jill Hilliard
Michelle Pham
Leslie Wong

WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT
THE DESIGNS
OF A PRESCHOOL?
Designs aimed to improve children’s readiness for school
Allows the children to ease in from culture in home to culture outside of home

SHOULD PRESCHOOLS BE
INSIDE OR OUTSIDE
OF THE SCHOOLS?
OUTSIDE
 Studies show that out-of-school
preschools (in community
settings) lead to families to be
more engaging.
 More flexible & welcoming for
families to interact with
teachers & children.
INSIDE
 In-school allows children to
adjust to the settings

FULL-DAY/PART-DAY
PROGRAMS
FULL-DAY
Several studies predicted that
full-day programs may expose
children with too much
educational input .
PART-DAY
A study implied that half-days are
too short to allow the children to
retain the knowledge learned that
day .

TEACHERS
 Teachers with BA degrees specifically in
early childhood education results in a
HIGHER QUALITY OF LEARNING for the
children.
 Focused training and professional
development (for early childhood)
practices leads to BETTER LINGUAL
INTERACTIONS WITH CHILDREN.
 Teacher’s level of depression:
Can lead to negative interactions,
harshness and withdrawal.

CHILD-TEACHER RATIO
Lower ratio
promotes better
process quality
and experiences
for the children.
Lower ratio allows
teacher to be more
sensitive to the
children.
Higher concentration of
children in poverty leads to
lower levels of quality
learning.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
PRESCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
TO PROMOTE GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
 Small classrooms and group sizes
 High adult to child ratios
 Allow parents to be a part of school
committees and decisions
 Competent and educated teaching staff

NOISE LEVEL
 Design school areas away from local
traffic spots (i.e. highways).
 Having smaller class sizes also
serves to decrease overall ambient
noise.
 Too much noise is detrimental to
children’s learning.

COLOURS & LIGHTING
 Having a VARIED COLOUR SCHEME is important:
Use combination of neutral and bright colours.
 Too many bright colours can be distracting.
 NATURAL LIGHT STIMULATES LEARNING:
Windows and doors should be redesigned to provide natural light.

GOAL ACTIVITY PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
When designing an
early education
environment, it is
important to set goals
and activities, and
have the environment
reflect their major
characteristics.

ACTIVE LIVING:
An approach that encourages people to be physically active everyday
ACTIVE LIVING CHILDREN

Many aspects go into designing the environment in a preschool to
promote healthy living and encourage physical exercise.
Designers adjust the environment to provide
INTERESTING CHALLENGING SAFE
DESIGN FACTORS
areas for physical activity.

APPROPRIATE SPACE
Provide spacious and varied indoor and outdoor areas to
promote physical activity

ENCOURAGE INCLUSION
The environment needs to reassure children and encourage
inclusion of ALL children.

IDEAL PHYICAL
ENVIRONMENT
Structured so that children can explore safely on their own
while still having a sense of adventure and discovery.

LEVEL OF ABILITY
Meet different physical ability levels of the members,
including children with physical limitations and disabilities.

STIMULATING & DYNAMIC
Direct children towards activities that will stimulate and
interest them to seek strength building exercises.
Environment needs to be dynamic in order to maintain the
interest of the children as their physical capabilities
increase.

Designing Preschool
Environment has become an
Interdisciplinary Team Effort!

Higher ceilings keep ambient noise
level down and helps kids stay on task.
Non-slip flooring and modular furniture
are easy to clean and break up the space.
NATURAL SURVEILLANCE: open
concept allows teachers to
see and be seen.
Cubbies for each child and
proper storage reduce clutter.
CLASSROOM DESIGN

WAYFINDING
Blocks of color serve as landmarks.
Easy navigation builds confidence, feelings of security.
Markings on floors and walls surround child with visual cues.
Potential benefit during emergency situations.

PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF ILLNESS
CHILD-SIZED facilities make
hand-washing easier and
therefore more likely that
it will actually happen.
Any opportunity to provide children with a
greater degree of control over their environment
boosts confidence and development.

POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARDS
INDOOR AIR QUALITY:
 voc’s
 formaldehyde
 pesticides
 asbestos
 mold
OTHER TOXIC HAZARDS:
 lead paint
 toxic plants
 respireable play sand

Natural play areas or “PLAYSCAPES”
stay fun and exciting.
OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT
Gardens teach children
where food comes from.
Fewer built structures encourage
kids to explore on their own.
Knowledge of food sources
COMBATS OBESITY.
More time outside leads to
more physical activity.

Psyc3980 pp

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