Author Identifier
Julia E. Morris: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4481-8050
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Learning Environments Research
Publisher
Springer
School
School of Education
RAS ID
77165
Funders
Beparta (G1004043)
Abstract
To ensure quality and equitable education requires an understanding of how all learners function within a learning environment, and the ways in which teachers’ pedagogy can support inclusive practice. Drawing on research from a rural school in Western Australia, this paper identifies how furniture can be used as a tool to support student agency and opportunity to meet individual learning needs. Across two years, the study employed a single-subject research design to explore the impact of differing furniture arrangements on students’ agency and engagement, as well as teacher pedagogies. It used both quantitative and qualitative repeated measures with 9 teachers and their classes (over 500 students aged 7–11 years), as they changed from flexible to traditional furniture arrangements and back again (an A-B-A design). The study found students self-manage their physical, psychological and learning needs through furniture. It found teachers were more student-centred in their pedagogical practice in flexible furniture arrangements, and they believed the flexible arrangement supported more inclusive practice compared to the perceived individualised and isolated learning experiences in the traditional furniture arrangement. The data suggest that all learners, including those with additional needs, are more empowered by flexible environments, having autonomy to personalise their learning, and effectively offering/receiving support to their peers as they work together in the learning environment. It further suggests that teachers’ ability to support learners is impacted when they can move effectively around the classroom, or when peer support is diminished in the learning environment.
DOI
10.1007/s10984-024-09522-z
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of: Morris, J. E., & Imms, W. (2024). Flexible furniture to support inclusive education: Developing learner agency and engagement in primary school. Learning Environments Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-024-09522-z
This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10984-024-09522-z