PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND SUNLIGHT

This study analyzes the role of sunlight on preschool children and intends to make a contribution to the improvement of the preschool learning environments. Sunlight is a source of energy for all people who spend most of their time indoors. Children spend up to 40 hours a week in educational settings mostly under artificial lighting whereas they need to be exposed to more sunlit environments as sunlight has numerous positive effects on children and children’s spaces. These include positive contributions to attitudes and performance (Samani and Samani, 2012) as well as academic test scores (Tanner, 2009). It has also been found that sunlight may have positive effects on focus and concentration (Taylor and Kuo, 2011). Understanding the relationship between light and the environment can help designers or architects to improve interior designs for better performance. There is an important link between good lighting and students’ performance; therefore, the illumination of learning spaces plays a critical role as all human beings need enough and appropriate lighting system for reading or other visual tasks. Good natural light helps to create a sense of physical and mental comfort owing to its diffused quality and its subtle changing value and colour, that electric lighting does not have (Barrett et. al., 2015: p.18). In this study, the preferences of preschool children regarding sunlight were investigated. Children and their teachers from a private preschool in Izmir, Turkey participated in a study that used a questionnaire, interior images, and models with varying windows as instruments. Moreover, preferences regarding sunlight and artificial light in the classroom environment were compared. The results indicate that children choose sunlight as it makes them more enthusiastic during their play activities. They were also found to be more active in classroom activities when desired levels of sunlight are reached. The means by which sunlight could be utilized in the preschool classroom and the significance of interior design with regards to sunlight is discussed in the study with interior design proposals.