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oai:keep.lib.asu.edu:node-2024122025-08-18T22:22:09Zoai_pmh:alloai_pmh:repo_items

202412 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.202412 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ All Rights Reserved 2025 215 pages Doctoral Dissertation Academic theses en Ameley-Quaye, Afua Adutwumwaa Hejduk, Renata Meek, Shantel Zuiker, Steven Arizona State University Partial requirement for: Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2025 Field of study: Architecture The physical learning environment embodies qualities that contribute to the development of a growing child, significantly impacting learning journeys. As early childhood pedagogical approaches expand to support the needs of children, there is often a disconnect between the physical design of learning spaces and the support for current and evolving pedagogies. The existing gap, coupled with educators’ limited training and the absence of practical support that help teachers recognize and use the environment as a ‘third teacher,’ often leads to the underutilization of spaces with intrinsic qualities to support children’s learning outcomes. This study, guided by the affordance and situativity theories, explored the concept of pedagogical and spatial alignment through a multi-case study of three Arizona schools, a Reggio-inspired private school, a Montessori school, and a Head Start program, elevating the voices of educators on their successes and challenges in aligning their teaching spaces with their pedagogy. The findings showed that pedagogical and spatial alignment is a mediated and curated process, often influenced by factors such as school architecture, maintenance culture, institutional frameworks, a stable and consistent classroom layout, and the level of teacher autonomy in curating the learning space. While some educators already mediate the alignment of pedagogy and space in intuitive ways that often go unnamed, the research highlighted the need to build and expand educators’ spatial literacy, equipping them with tools and resources to curate spaces that mediate child development and meaningful learning. Design Early Childhood Education Classroom Design Early Childhood Education Educator Mediation Environment as a Third Teacher Learning Environments Pedagogical and Spatial Alignment The Power of Place: Optimizing Early Childhood Learning Environments through Pedagogical and Spatial Alignment