Enabling Environments

How children’s behaviour is supported and their personal development nurtured will be reflected in the environment surrounding them (Ofsted 2021)

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What are enabling environments?

Bronfenbrenner's ecological system theory

Atmosphere and emotions

Creating enabling environments

Indoor environment

Outdoor environment

Emotional environment

John Watson Behaviourism Theory

Conclusion

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What is Enabling Environments?

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Both everything within and outside of our skin are considered part of the environment. Our actions alter the environment in some manner, and those changes have an impact on what we do. We must therefore consider modifying the environment if we want to influence behaviour.

With the assistance of professionals who cater to their particular needs and interests and support them in building their learning throughout time, young people can thrive in enabling situations. A solid working relationship between professionals and parents or carers is advantageous for young people. (Ofsted 2021)

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(Bronfenbrenner 1979)

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Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory emphasized a balance between nature and nurture, or heredity and environment. To demonstrate his theory, the child is placed in the center of a series of concentric circles and surrounded by a variety of factors that influence the child.

The five sections are described as the:

Microsystem - these are the people who have a direct influence on the young person, for example, the child's family and friends.
Mesosystem - this system includes the broader surroundings that have a direct influence on the young person, for example, the school setting (education) or medical practitioners.
Exosystem - the indirect environment which is a broader cycle of people who indirectly influence the young person, for example, people who are friends of the young person's family.
Macrosystem - Social and cultural values, the young person may have been brought up in, customs and attitudes of the cultural group the child belongs to.
Chronosystem - changes over time relating to the child's development.

(Bronfenbrenner, 1979)

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Atmosphere and Emotions

When we look at what is going on around us, we can see how Bronfenbrenner's Ecological System connects to an enabling environment. When we place a child in the center and observe everything that is going on around them in the environment, we can trigger emotions and affect how they feel. As shown in the video, if the child is struggling at home, parents separating or looking for work can affect how the child feels, resulting in a behaviour change.

If a child is sensitive to noise and the classroom is particularly busy, what is going on around them may affect the child's behaviour. Practitioners need to understand a child or young person's particular needs, and also good communication with all professionals and family is essential to understand their individual needs so provisions are put in place to enable the environment.

Practitioners need to take into account -

The Physical Environment - How the physical space is designed and laid out, both inside and outside. This includes the learning centers/areas, furniture and equipment, and materials.
The Social Environment - The interactions and relationships between children, teachers, and family members.
The Temporal Environment - The flow of time, including the timing, sequence, and length of routines and activities throughout the day. DC40031722

(Sprouts 2021) Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems, 5 Forces impacting our Lives.

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Creating Enabling Environments

Practitioners must take into account not just the physical environment indoors and outdoors but also the emotional environment, acknowledging the importance of parent-practitioner interactions and how secure and at home, the children feel in the setting.

Children's learning and development are greatly supported by an enabling environment. It is well acknowledged that kids learn and grow the most in nurturing, encouraging settings that cater to their particular needs while letting them play and explore.

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(Aiding SEN Children's Learning in the Classroom)

Indoor Environment

Indoor surroundings that are rich have an immediate impact on how well children learn and develop. A rich environment is suitable for the child or children who use it and is cosy, engaging, and appealing indoors. For some youngsters, it turns into a second home where they eat and occasionally sleep. Even though certain elements will be the same, an appropriate environment for a small baby will be significantly different from a suitable setting for a four or five-year-old. Children should feel safe, secure, and content in their surroundings, and environments should be inviting spaces where kids may play and study with confidence.

Planning indoor space carefully is essential since it must be adaptable to children's shifting interests and requirements. The best possible resources ought to be used. Books must be visually appealing, well-kept, and reflect children's interests. Children should have access to materials like building blocks, felt pens, chalk, or pencils for drawing marks, dress-up clothes, and little objects like vehicles, dolls, and jigsaw puzzles.

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(Fantini 2015)

Outdoor Environment

Learning outside has several advantages for kids. In an ideal world, they would always have access to outside space, barring the worst weather. They can move about freely outside without many of the limitations that come with being indoors. They may breathe in the fresh air and utilise all of their senses to take in the colours, various sounds, the sensation of scale, and other details. Being outside encourages self-assurance and provides chances for large-scale play, collaborative problem-solving, and creative expression with other kids. Increased physical activity. As is taking calculated risks. Children utilise language five times more frequently outside than they do inside. Resources do not have to be costly. Old tyres, some logs, and some crates will inspire creativity.

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(Whitworth 2019)

Emotional Environment

The emotions of the children who spend time there, the personnel who work there, and the parents who leave their children there make the environment more than just a physical location. The emotional climate is an intangible indicator of "feelings"; sometimes it can have a "feel-good" quality when the children, staff, and parents are joyful, and other times it can have a "not-so-good" quality when the same people are depressed or unhappy. It's crucial for staff, kids, and parents to maintain good emotions, but equally so if kids feel safe in the emotional setting and know that their parents or staff are there to support them if they become overwhelmed by them. Teaching children how to talk about and express their emotions enables them to safely externalise those sensations rather than burying and hiding them. It is far simpler to deal with feelings that have been safely voiced than with those that have been suppressed.

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John Watson Theory.

Watson (1913) asserted that he could shape a youngster to become whatever he desired, whether it was a lawyer, doctor, or nurse. He conducted a series of experiments on a baby to make the youngster terrified of rats, which later extended to anything furry. Watson then tried this on his own children to train them the way he desired, according to a rigorous rule of not soothing the children or displaying affection. Sadly, one of them succumbed to drinking and the other children committed suicide. (Watson 1928)

This raises the question of whether Watson's children's fate was influenced by their environment or their conditioning. Lack of affection in their surroundings as they grew up could have an emotional impact.

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(Sprouts 2020)

Conclusion

As a result, enabling environments aid in behaviour management since everything around us—including the physical objects, atmosphere, and emotions in our homes / educational setting—have an impact on how children and young people feel.

I concur with Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory when considering the environment at the workplace and anything else that might be going on.

but the John Watson (1913) approach does not appear to help with behaviour management. I was led to believe through research that he did not believe in himself, in particular, when he destroyed his own work before passing away.

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