Students’ views on higher education learning environments for professional teacher education

Abstract

There is a national debate about the connection between the physical environment and learning (McGregor, 2004), and the importance of designing the physical space to enhance the quality of learning (DfES, 2004a, 2006, 2007; JISC, 2006; SMG 2006a). This two year research project considers the views of 174 higher education students, who have undertaken professional initial teacher education programmes, on what makes an effective higher education learning environment for professional development and their evaluation of their current experience. Results confirmed the importance of high quality higher education environments to support a range of learning and teaching approaches, presenting challenges to HE in designing flexible, appropriate spaces for professional programmes.