ERIC Number: EJ1128991
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1946
EISSN: N/A
Learning Environment in Light of Positional, Institutional, and Cultural Interpretations: An Empirically-Based Conceptual Analysis
Kovac, Velibor Bobo; Lund, Ingrid; Omdal, Heidi
Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v53 n1 p78-94 2017
This study explores the possibility that the concept of learning environment (LE) is understood and interpreted differently by various users, depending on their relative positions in the educational system, institutional affiliation, and cultural heritage. The study employs a qualitative approach and is based on 14 semistructured separate interviews with professionals in the field of education. The participants in the study have been chosen from 3 different levels in the educational system (assistants, kindergarten and school teachers, and principals/county government representatives) and across different institutions (kindergartens and schools). The data reveal a clear pattern in which the conceptualization of LE is influenced by the relative positions of the actors, established practices and norms inside the specific system, and the cultural heritage of the given context. The tendency of various stakeholders to understand and interpret LE differently has direct implications for development and implementation of future educational policies. The study emphasizes that the awareness of these effects is important for (a) successful communication between educational professionals operating in different positions in the system, and (b) the academic community, which tends to shape the manner in which the theoretical concepts are defined.
Descriptors: Educational Environment, Qualitative Research, Semi Structured Interviews, Cultural Background, Teacher Aides, Kindergarten, Preschool Teachers, Principals, Role, Institutional Characteristics, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Kindergarten; Primary Education; Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Norway
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A