Cash-strapped universities may not be able to radically revamp their infrastructure, but they could improve the learning environment with one small change, according to researchers – improving their signage.

New analysis of the signs on display in teaching and learning spaces suggests that institutions prioritise standardisation and technology over human comfort and pedagogical innovation.

The research found that most signs were generic and technology-focused with little about pedagogy – framing teachers and learners as potential disruptions to be managed by telling them where not to eat, sit, or touch.

Susanne Jämsvi, a senior lecturer in educational work with a focus on higher education pedagogy at the University of Borås, told ̽����Ƶ that signs help to position teachers and students in certain ways.

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“It impacts on your way of viewing who you are in that space. If, let’s say, the signs in a room are talking about problems and difficulties and reporting faults in the room, that’s something different than if a room talks about learning and exploration and joy.”

The findings, presented this week at the Society for Research into Higher Education conference in Nottingham, are based on taking photos of universities in the UK and Sweden.

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The research found few clues that photos were taken in a university – contrasting the “impersonal and generic” feel to university classrooms and primary schools or museums, where the walls are used to instruct and inspire.

“In some senses, you might as well be in a conference centre…there’s not many clues that you’re in a university,” said Emily Danvers, an associate professor and senior lecturer at the University of Sussex.

“You wouldn’t know about all the interesting content that has been taught, you wouldn’t know what students are there, and you wouldn’t really know anything about how things are taught, so there’s an absence of anything university-ness in those spaces.”

Some examples of more inspirational signs could be messages asking students to reflect on what they have learned in class, or showing learners how to use the furniture in a room in a way that is more conducive to active learning.

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“We argue that these everyday signs aren’t just backdrop – they’re powerful messages that shape how we think about education and what’s possible in learning spaces,” added Danvers.

Jämsvi said there is a lot of research into other types of spaces, such as libraries and public spaces, but few studies around learning spaces in higher education.

The researchers said this is particularly important at a time of financial crisis. Changing the signs in a university could be a small and less expensive way to change the campus built environment.

“Changing the signs is cheaper than rebuilding the building,” added Danvers. “Obviously, we’re saying that in jest, but these small things make a huge difference.”

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com