Physical Environments and Child Well-Being in Early Childhood Education: Current Evidence and Research Gaps.
Saved in:
| Title: | Physical Environments and Child Well-Being in Early Childhood Education: Current Evidence and Research Gaps. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Fornons-Casol, Laura1 (AUTHOR) laura.fornons@udl.cat, del Arco, Isabel1 (AUTHOR), Ramos-Pla, Anabel1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Education Sciences. May2026, Vol. 16 Issue 5, p810. 23p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Early childhood education, *Evidence synthesis, *Classroom environment, *Built environment, *Child welfare, Environmental quality, Spatial arrangement, Outdoor living spaces |
| Abstract: | Healthy, inclusive, and environmentally supportive educational settings are increasingly recognised as relevant to children's development, well-being, and equity. However, evidence on the physical environment in early childhood education remains fragmented across outdoor spaces, indoor spatial organisation, indoor environmental quality, materials, and contaminant-related conditions. This systematic review aimed to synthesise current evidence on the relationship between the physical environment of early childhood educational settings and multidimensional indicators of child well-being. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO, and the review followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches were conducted in Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, ERIC, and APA PsycInfo. Methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed using ROBINS-I and JBI critical appraisal tools. Eighteen studies were included. Of these, 10 focused on outdoor spaces and schoolyards, five on indoor spaces and spatial organisation, and three on indoor environmental quality, materials, or contaminants. The findings suggest four main interpretive patterns: (i) expanding opportunities for participation through functionally diverse areas and materials; (ii) shaping coexistence and interaction through access to and distribution of resources; (iii) supporting sensory regulation; and (iv) sustaining environmental health and habitability. Overall, more favourable settings were associated with better indicators of activity and play, interaction and coexistence, and involvement and regulation. For indoor environmental quality studies, however, the evidence was mainly indirect, referring to environmental-health, comfort, exposure, or habitability indicators rather than direct child-level well-being outcomes. The certainty of the evidence was moderate to low due to methodological limitations, particularly confounding and selection bias in non-randomised intervention studies and imprecision in the measurement of environmental exposure in several cross-sectional studies. The findings may inform cautious reflection on spatial design, educational practice, and policy, but stronger recommendations require more robust study designs, reproducible exposure metrics, clearer distinction between direct and indirect well-being-related indicators, and comparable outcome measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Education Sciences is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 194185544 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Physical Environments and Child Well-Being in Early Childhood Education: Current Evidence and Research Gaps. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fornons-Casol%2C+Laura%22">Fornons-Casol, Laura</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> laura.fornons@udl.cat</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22del+Arco%2C+Isabel%22">del Arco, Isabel</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ramos-Pla%2C+Anabel%22">Ramos-Pla, Anabel</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Education+Sciences%22">Education Sciences</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 16 Issue 5, p810. 23p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+childhood+education%22">Early childhood education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evidence+synthesis%22">Evidence synthesis</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Classroom+environment%22">Classroom environment</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Built+environment%22">Built environment</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+welfare%22">Child welfare</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+quality%22">Environmental quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spatial+arrangement%22">Spatial arrangement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Outdoor+living+spaces%22">Outdoor living spaces</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Healthy, inclusive, and environmentally supportive educational settings are increasingly recognised as relevant to children's development, well-being, and equity. However, evidence on the physical environment in early childhood education remains fragmented across outdoor spaces, indoor spatial organisation, indoor environmental quality, materials, and contaminant-related conditions. This systematic review aimed to synthesise current evidence on the relationship between the physical environment of early childhood educational settings and multidimensional indicators of child well-being. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO, and the review followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches were conducted in Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, ERIC, and APA PsycInfo. Methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed using ROBINS-I and JBI critical appraisal tools. Eighteen studies were included. Of these, 10 focused on outdoor spaces and schoolyards, five on indoor spaces and spatial organisation, and three on indoor environmental quality, materials, or contaminants. The findings suggest four main interpretive patterns: (i) expanding opportunities for participation through functionally diverse areas and materials; (ii) shaping coexistence and interaction through access to and distribution of resources; (iii) supporting sensory regulation; and (iv) sustaining environmental health and habitability. Overall, more favourable settings were associated with better indicators of activity and play, interaction and coexistence, and involvement and regulation. For indoor environmental quality studies, however, the evidence was mainly indirect, referring to environmental-health, comfort, exposure, or habitability indicators rather than direct child-level well-being outcomes. The certainty of the evidence was moderate to low due to methodological limitations, particularly confounding and selection bias in non-randomised intervention studies and imprecision in the measurement of environmental exposure in several cross-sectional studies. The findings may inform cautious reflection on spatial design, educational practice, and policy, but stronger recommendations require more robust study designs, reproducible exposure metrics, clearer distinction between direct and indirect well-being-related indicators, and comparable outcome measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Education Sciences is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=194185544 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3390/educsci16050810 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 23 StartPage: 810 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Early childhood education Type: general – SubjectFull: Evidence synthesis Type: general – SubjectFull: Classroom environment Type: general – SubjectFull: Built environment Type: general – SubjectFull: Child welfare Type: general – SubjectFull: Environmental quality Type: general – SubjectFull: Spatial arrangement Type: general – SubjectFull: Outdoor living spaces Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Physical Environments and Child Well-Being in Early Childhood Education: Current Evidence and Research Gaps. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Fornons-Casol, Laura – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: del Arco, Isabel – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Ramos-Pla, Anabel IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 05 Text: May2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 22277102 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 16 – Type: issue Value: 5 Titles: – TitleFull: Education Sciences Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
