Relationship between classroom plan types and the degree of concentration of the children in elementary schools: A comparative study of open‐plan classrooms and conventional‐plan classrooms

Abstract

In this study, the authors collected the data of 229 classrooms in 15 municipal elementary schools in a city, and sorted them into 5 categories according to the degree of openness of the classrooms in the design of borders between classroom and hallway. First, the authors examined the influence of 5 major factors on the degree of concentration of the children during classwork. As a result, the following were found: (1) the degree of concentration of the children is influenced by the classroom plan type and the number and ratio of children in the class who require special supports, and is neither affected by teaching experience of the teacher nor the total number of the children in the class. (2) The general trend of concentration of children in full‐open classrooms does not differ significantly from that in conventional classrooms. However, in the classrooms equipped with movable partition panels for partially separating the classroom from the hallway, it is significantly lower than in the classrooms of other types. The factors of distraction in physical environments were then further analyzed and discussed.