Our understanding of the conditions which enable learning, development and performance have been enhanced by ecological analyses (Bronfenbrenner and Baker) which trace contextual influences. Such analyses have relevance to classroom learning, but also to learning outside of the classroom, in the home and in the community. Influences on the development of children and young people have been extensively studied (see Corsaro).
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Reading 8.1)
Baker, R. G. (1968) Ecological Psychology: Concepts and Methods of Studying the Environment of Human Behaviour. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Corsaro, W. A. (2011) The Sociology of Childhood. London: SAGE.
Research by ecological psychologists suggests that the quality of the classroom environment can influence children’s behaviour.
Gump, P.V. (1987) ‘School and Classroom Environments’, in Stokols, D. and Altman, I. (eds) Handbook of Environmental Psychology. New York: Wiley.
Pointon, P.and Kershner, R. (2000) ‘Children’s Views of the Primary Classroom as an Environment for Work and Learning’, in Research in Education, 64, 64-77.
Clark, A. (2010) Transforming Childrens' Spaces: Children's and Adults' Participation in Designing Learning Environments. Abingdon: Routledge.
Woolner, P. (2010) The Design of Learning Spaces. London: Continuum.
Related issues also apply to on-line, digital environments:
Wenger, E., White, N. and Smith, J. D. (2009) Digital Habitats. Hershey, PA: Cpsquare.
