Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Abdul-hafeez, Nezar Saleh
Author's Email Address	doctor_nezar@yahoo.com
URN	etd-07012005-123044
Title	Identifying the Critical Aspects of the Built Environment for Effective Art Education in Institutions of Higher Education
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Art Education, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Sally McRorie Committee Chair Marcia Rosal Committee Member Tock Ohazama Committee Member Mary Ann Moore Oustide Committee Member
Keywords	Space Interior Design Classrooms Physical Environment
Date of Defense	2005-04-25
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This study was designed to use quantitative and qualitative methods for two research purposes. The first purpose was to identify the critical aspects of the built environment in selected art education classrooms at Florida State University. The second purpose was to examine the use of such facilities by teachers and students under the current conditions of the built environment in these selected art education classrooms. Three research questions were established to guide this study. These questions were: (1) What are the critical aspects of the built environment of selected art education classrooms in institutions of higher education? (2) How do students and their teachers perceive the different aspects of the built environment of selected art education classrooms? (3) How do teachers and students use the space under the current conditions of the built environment of selected art education classrooms? Three research methodologies were designed to achieve the defined purposes of this study and to answer the previous questions. A survey questionnaire, which concentrated on the perceptions of students and teachers regarding the aspects of the built environment, was used to answer the first two questions. An observational study was conducted to investigate the teachers. and students. use of space under current conditions of the two selected classrooms. Finally, interviews were conducted with four participants in order to obtain in-depth information regarding the use of students and teachers of the spaces. The target population of this study was all full-time faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduate students in institutions of higher education within the state of Florida. A convenience sample of 112 individuals was used in this study. The sample included eleven teachers, 66 graduate students, and 35 undergraduate students in the department of Art Education at Florida State University. The researcher concluded that the current status of the physical aspects of two selected art education classrooms was fair. Of the sixteen identified aspects, less than half were found to be critical. The lack of adequate technology was found to be a significant factor in both classrooms but was not necessarily a critical aspect according to the study.s findings. The outcome of the study indicated that students perceived the impact of the overall environmental conditions in both classrooms more positively than their teachers. All teachers were dissatisfied with both classrooms under study, although their perceptions of which of the two rooms had the most critical aspects was the reverse of the judgment of the students. The majority of the subjects used various senses to help them make a judgment about their perceptions, as the data were gathered directly in the rooms under question. Additionally, subjects may have relied on their past experiences with the spaces in shaping their responses. However, it was beyond the scope of this study to investigate the latter issue. The researcher also concluded that the role of teachers in planning the physical environment of a classroom cannot be ignored, and concluded that they should be professionally trained to do so. Regardless of the question of funds, improvement of certain aspects of a physical environment cannot be well done without the involvement of teachers. Further, such conditions would remain unchanged unless both teachers and students established a strong cooperation as the two classrooms were shared among many teachers and students of different levels. Accordingly, a further conclusion was that all students preparing to become teachers should be prepared in methods of improving art classroom environments. Finally, this study strongly emphasized the importance of providing accessible facilities for differently disabled students in art education classrooms.
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