The Preferences of the Students to Select the Seating Position in the Architecture Design Studios

Authors : Rahman Tafahomi

Pages : 105-120

Doi:10.32433/eje.940783

View : 16 | Download : 7

Publication Date : 2021-10-31

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Both seating arrangement and position have been one the problematic topic in educational studies, particularly in higher education. There is a large body of studies on the seating arrangement; however, an architectural design studio is specialized in different activities and interaction that challenges the classical form of arrangement. For this reason, the students arrange, rearrange, and disarrange the seating arrangement and position in the studio. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the viewpoints of the students with seating arrangement positions to find out the students’ preferences to select seating positions. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to analyze data. The Likert questionnaire with fifteen criteria analyzed variables through chi-square, mode, and the graphical analysis illustrated important aspects of the seating arrangements in the department of architecture, the University of Rwanda. The findings addressed that students preferred to use a U-shaped classroom and studio and five statistical criteria supported the association between the viewpoint of students and seating arrangement including the trend to personalize the position, to teamwork activity, to sit close lecturers, to enhance their position. Although other criteria statistically did not associate with the seating arrangement, the cross-tabulation table address that the rear seats in the studio were more preferable for students due to the visual corridor to the front, monitoring, and eye contact.
Keywords : Architectural design studio, seating arrangement, seating position, preference of the students, viewpoint of the students.