Introduction
The early stages of a child’s cognitive development are detrimental to their future endeavors since during that period, an individual is equipped with the basic skills to think critically and manipulate various factors in their environments to their benefit. However, most parents and educators focus on learning instruction and reinforcement solutions without considering the implication of the learning environment to knowledge acquisition. Environmental psychology has gained increased attention over the years due to the demand for higher quality education during early childhood. Subsequently, environmental psychologists have uncovered a wealth of information on the role of the environment in learning and cognitive development. According to research resources, learners’ emotions and comfort play a vital role in their understanding and willingness to learn (Kool & Agrawal, 2020).
This report will focus on the impact of interior spaces on child cognitive development. A child’s physical environment can determine their levels of physical and cognitive advancement, which is why more attention must be placed what their children are exposed to. It is crucial to consider the design of children’s facilities and the interior learning spaces since their quality can influence involvement and interaction levels. Thus, the environment a child is exposed to should reinforce what they learn every day. Apart from addressing physical and psychosocial needs, the setting should acknowledge their cultural and biological needs.
Environmental Psychology and Its Role in Child Development
Environmental psychology is a science that investigates the relationship between humans and their surroundings. According to Kool and Agrawal (2020), environmental psychology is the study of interrelationships and transactions between individuals and their physical or social surroundings, such as natural resources, the use of these resources, and their sustainability. In particular, environmental psychology explains how these environments affect individuals’ experiences and shape their behaviors. Moreover, it looks into the ways that human beings have altered their environment and how the environment has changed individuals (Kool & Agrawal, 2020). Nevertheless, with regards to children and their physical and cognitive development, environmental psychology addresses how experiences and exposures to various socio-environmental components affect children’s brain structure and their ability to control their emotions and behaviors. Thus, the physical and social environments surrounding a young child will inevitably influence both their physical and cognitive development (see Figure 1).
Generally, international conditions like economic inequalities, poor housing, poverty, and inefficiently equipped education systems, directly and indirectly, impact child development, self-confidence, and self-regulation (Berti et al., 2019). Nevertheless, at a more complex level, the quality of physical structures and the interior design of school settings affect children’s learning and cognitive abilities.
The Impact of Interior Environments on Children’s Cognitive Abilities and Development
Educational systems have significantly advanced over the years with an increased demand for child facilities that maximize their educational engagement and learning outcomes. Children in kindergarten spend more than 12,000 hours in nurseries and daycares before enrolling in formal schooling systems (Wang et al., 2019). Therefore, more parents being questioning whether these institutions are designed to meet all the learners’ needs. According to Wang et al. (2019), children learn through perception, which allows them to pick up concepts depending on how they discern their environment. The external environment has a crucial impact on learning experiences, which may be negative or positive. On that account, it is crucial to consider the design of children’s facilities and the interior learning spaces since their quality can influence involvement and interaction levels.
Environmental psychology investigates how children’s physical environment affects their behaviors and feelings. According to Villardón-Gallego et al. (2018), preschools constitute physical environments where children spend most of their time before moving to other levels. As a result, they facilitate the interaction of socio-cultural, curricula, socio-economic, and motivational factors that affect child development. In addition, the researchers suggest that several aspects of school environments affect children’s moods, attention span, and concentration, including the quality of air, lighting, noise, and free space to move around. Subsequently, these conditions affect their arousal, stress, fatigue, and academic performance. Thus, effective learning settings combine different factors such as adequate noise, color, good climatic conditions, appropriate air flow, space, decorations, and lighting to facilitate a favorable environment (Wang et al., 2019). That being said, understanding the layouts that motivate children toward educational initiatives can help designers and administrators lay out perfect settings for unmatched educational development.
Learning has several connections with students’ external environments, out of which light is the most critical aspect. According to Hartstein et al. (2018), transparent and positive light positively affect children’s senses and, based on research conducted with children, is seen as joyful and friendly. Consequently, good lighting can improve children’s desire to learn. Besides, it creates a positive and attractive environment that can decrease anguish and negative feelings among learners. Thus, a beautiful and calm setting in which there is a place for paintings and colorfulness may enable a sense of peace and result in critical positive effects on children. Moreover, similar studies prove that bright colors have an impact on children’s imagination as they can analyze paintings and learn how to use colors (VillardĂłn-Gallego et al., 2018). Hence, it is important to evaluate the use of paintings, colors, and lighting in child education systems to ensure that they offer benefits.
Interior design spaces should follow simple layouts and spearhead reasoning that enables children to learn new concepts and grow. Villardón-Gallego et al. (2018) suggest that children have a broad imagination, in the sense that they can use objects around them to recreate them regardless of the environment to which they are exposed. However, ideal spaces should not overpower the creativity of children. Instead, the environment a child is exposed to should reinforce what they learn every day. In addition, the settings should encourage movement from place to place and engagement that suit educational needs. Moreover, the environment should influence children’s senses to enhance their cognitive development and encourage them to think and become imaginative, sensitive, critical, and original. With time, a child will naturally understand how to explore diverse concepts, interact with others, and relate to more complex contexts.
Several factors should be taken into account when designing children’s learning spaces. Apart from addressing physical and psychosocial needs, physical settings should acknowledge their cultural and biological needs. They should encourage feelings of responsibility, positive relations with others, and organized field of activity to boost kids’ imagination and prepare them for critical decision-making during later stages. Wang et al. (2019) suggest that the development of children in various areas depends on their exposure to stimulation. Thus, physical characteristics which include floor size, boundary elements, and ceiling height all come into play when considering factors that stimulate development. Researchers propose creating individual and common areas to inter-relate with different activities (Wang et al., 2019). In turn, high-quality physical settings will diversify child experiences and provide more play opportunities, hence contributing to more effective development.
In designing perfect interiors for learning, it is important to consider the materials used and their safety ratings. For example, exposure to lead products and other toxic substances can impact children’s physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Therefore, it is crucial to acknowledge these components when designing interior spaces for children (Berti et al., 2019). Moreover, factors like indoor air quality are critical to healthy development since small children are at a higher risk of developing conditions like asthma due to exposure to pollen, dust, or smoke. Thus, interior designers should specify what materials could pose harm and which products are safe for children to allow educators to manage these components easily and avoid issues. Children always explore their environments by trying out different things, thus, their environment should be designed to maximize safety.
Environmental psychology intends to advocate for an environmentally literate population by establishing positive attitudes, knowledge, values, dispositions, and education on the need for environmental stability. According to Berti et al. (2019), a significant amount of time is spent within enclosed settings and interior spaces during early childhood. As a result, all forms of stimuli in a child’s social and physical environment are a learning experience that is fundamental to their emotional, social, physical, perceptual, and intellectual development. Wang et al., (2019) propose establishing a learning environment that binds children with nature. These days, children spend less time outside than they do indoors. Therefore, designing an interior space that ignites their interest in the natural world can help them grow into environmental enthusiasts. Researchers suggest that children should be exposed to environmentally responsible behaviors at a young age to reinforce the concept and push them towards environmental sustainability (Wang et al., 2019). Although their concepts generally lie in environmental conservation, they support that interior design plays a major role in shaping children’s mindset and cognitive development.
Although many scientists and researchers support correlations between a child’s environment and their cognitive development, proposed strategies are widely ignored as most school systems do not conform to the required standards. Case studies conducted on award-winning kindergarten schools in Honk Kong, Bali, and Berkeley suggest that several factors must be considered to design a school environment that aligns with children’s needs (Iwan et al., 2018). Similarly, architects’ knowledge of environmental psychology and appropriate guidelines from local authorities promote the adoption of recommendations.
Conclusion
Children’s external environments plays a crucial role in their behavioral, cognitive, and personal development. Fortunately, there is vast information about the recommended layout and interior design solutions that enhance learning in pre-school and educational institutions. Most researchers support that a child’s learning environment should reflect their immediate needs and resonate with their ways of thinking. Moreover, the settings should entice students to explore, move from place to place and engage with their surroundings in the process. Researchers stress the use of color to enhance creativity, critical thinking, and imagination. Similarly, lighting, noise, and airflow are crucial to the development of supportive educational settings. Setting up spaces using these qualities ensures that learners are not bored and are willing to go the extra mile to achieve educational advancement. Finally, the environment should be safe for children since any toxic substances might interfere with their development.
References
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Hartstein, L. E., LeBourgeois, M. K., & Berthier, N. E. (2018). Light correlated color temperature and task switching performance in preschool-age children: Preliminary insights.PloS One, 13(8), e0202973. Web.
Iwan, A., & Poon, K. K. (2018). Architects’ and early childhood educators’ notions of quality preschool environments: case studies of award-winning Green Preschools in Bali, Berkeley, and Hong Kong. Intelligent Buildings International, 10(3), 162-181. Web.
Kool, V. K., & Agrawal, R. (2020). Environmental psychology: Lessons from Gandhi. In Gandhi and the psychology of nonviolence, volume 2 (pp. 1-50). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
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VillardĂłn-Gallego, L., GarcĂa-CarriĂłn, R., Yáñez-Marquina, L., & EstĂ©vez, A. (2018). Impact of the interactive learning environments on children’s prosocial behavior.Sustainability, 10(7), 2138. Web.
Wang, M. T., Degol, J. L., & Henry, D. A. (2019). An integrative development-in-sociocultural-context model for children’s engagement in learning.American Psychologist, 74(9), 1086. Web.