A sound foundation? What we know about the impact of environments on learning and the implications for Building Schools for the Future

This paper reports on a literature review conducted in the UK for the Design Council and CfBT (Higgins et al., 2005 Higgins, S., Hall, E., McCaughey, C., Wall, K and Woolner, P. 2005. The impacts of school environments: a literature review, London: Design Council. Google Scholar) which looked at the evidence of the impact of environments on learning in schools. We have reviewed the available evidence regarding different facets of the physical environment and provided an analysis based on different areas of effect, including the extent to which different facets interact (positively and negatively) with one another. Our conclusions suggest that, although the research often indicates the parameters of an effective environment, there is an overall lack of empirical evidence about the impact of individual elements of the physical environment which might inform school design at a practical level to support student achievement. However, at a secondary level of analysis, there are indications that environmental change can be part of a catalytic process of school development and improvement. The implications of these findings for Building Schools for the Future will be discussed.