Title page for ETD etd-040399-115934

Type of Document

Dissertation

Author

Beacham, Cindy Viola

Author's Email Address

URN

etd-040399-115934

Title

Development of a Communication Tool to Support the Preschool Interior Design Process

Degree

PhD

Department

Human Development

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name	Title
Stremmel, Andrew J.	Committee Chair
Billingsley, Bonnie S.	Committee Member
Fu, Victoria R.	Committee Member
Marshall-Baker, Anna	Committee Member
Rogers, Cosby Steele	Committee Member

Keywords

design process
children
interior design
preschool environments

Date of Defense

1999-03-04

Availability

restricted

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the need for a communication tool to support
child development professionals, design professionals, and parents in the preschool design
process. Guided by the theoretical perspectives of Gardner and Bronfenbrenner, this research
examined the need for a support tool in the design process, the format and content of such a
tool, and the evaluation of a tool developed using the data as an organizing structure.
The following research questions guided this study: (a) Is a tool or support document
needed to help educate and support communication between child development professionals,
parents, and design professionals in the early phases of designing a preschool facility?, (b)
What are the format and content issues that need to be addressed and included in developing
such a tool?, and (c) How would child development professionals, design professionals, and
parents comment on the usefulness of an educational/communication tool?
A multi-method data collection procedure was used to gather the data for the study. A
focus group was conducted to ascertain general information from child development
professionals, design professionals, and parents about their opinions and perceptions of the
design process as a result of their personal experiences. Following the focus group, 13
interviews were conducted with different individuals, but representative of the same three
populations. Upon completion of the interviews, the data were used as an organizing structure
for the writing of a communication tool to aid in the design process of preschool facilities. The
tool was then sent to 26 individuals for feedback using a questionnaire requesting responses
about the need, content, and format of the document.
The results of this study showed that a support tool that fostered greater communication
between child development professionals, design professionals, and parents was needed.
Responses to the focus group and interviews also indicated that the format of the tool should be
paper-based, or in book form, and that the themes identified in the responses should guide the
content of the tool. Questionnaire responses confirm that the tool developed was an
appropriate document that provided important information for the respondents.

Files

Filename		Size	Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)
Filename		Size	28.8 Modem	56K Modem	ISDN (64 Kb)	ISDN (128 Kb)	Higher-speed Access
	DISSERTATION.PDF	513.56 Kb	00:02:22	00:01:13	00:01:04	00:00:32	00:00:02
	Model.pdf	16.89 Kb	00:00:04	00:00:02	00:00:02	00:00:01	< 00:00:01
	Tool.pdf	166.01 Kb	00:00:46	00:00:23	00:00:20	00:00:10	< 00:00:01

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