Twenty-first-century skills and learning capacities and the physical environment of Cypriot preschool settings

ABSTRACT

The need to support children develop the capacities required for the twenty-first century is inseparably linked to the provision of twenty-first-century learning environments. Exploring ECEC teachers’ (N = 34) assessment of their classroom’s physical environment, the present study aimed at exploring whether the physical environment of Cypriot preschool settings is a twenty-first-century learning environment and if it supports children’s needs and the development of the twenty-first-century skills. Results indicate that the overall quality of the physical environment is medium and that it rather follows a traditional organization which is not in line with the recommendations about the twenty-first-century environment. More precisely, the study revealed that children are not supported to develop a sense of belonging and their needs for privacy, complexity and agency are not met. Research data highlight the need for further research and policy initiatives to be undertaken.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical environment
• early childhood education and care quality
• twenty-first-century skills
• constructivist preschool environments
• Cyprus

Acknowledgements

The author is highly thankful to Mrs. Anastasia Magidou and Mrs. Elina Antoniou for checking the translation of the questionnaire and for assisting with recruiting participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Konstantina Rentzou is Scientific Collaborator at the European University of Cyprus and she has participated as a researcher in Greek, Cypriot and EU-funded research projects. She has published more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals, a monograph on family engagement in ECEC and a co-authored book on the quality of the physical environment of preschool settings. She is the ACEI Country Liaison in Greece and in Cyprus and the World Forum National Representative for Cyprus. Konstantina also co-leads the international Special Interest Forum “ECEC in EU”. Her research interests are in ECEC quality, parental involvement and parent caregiver relationships, involvement and recruitment of males in ECEC, the organization of the preschool environment and children’s play.

Notes

1 The list is not exhaustive, but presenting the different frameworks that have been developed is out of the focus of the present paper.