Seating Arrangement, Achievement and Locus of Control

Abstract

Abraham Lass, in his book success in High School, suggests there are conditions that teachers can establish so that students can benefit the most from their studies. Among the requirements Lass feels necessary are the right physical environment and a daily schedule of the activities and/ or assignments. With the appropriate environment and schedule, Lass believes students will feel that they have better control of their lives. There are teachers who assign seats, and others who do not. The method of assignment varies among teachers; some teachers seat students in alphabetical order, others use seating arrangement as a device for classroom control and thus shift students periodically. It may well be that the seats assigned to these students are not the best ones that would facilitate learning on the students part. Educators may need to be aware of the effect that a choice or lack of choice of seats would have in considering the best interests of the student. The question then is: How would the achievement of a student placed in a seat which he would not have chosen compare to what it would have been if he had been placed where he wanted? This paper will attempt to answer this question.