Exploring Gender-Specific Spatial Dynamics in Philippine Higher-Education Classrooms

Over the past 50 years, higher education in the Philippines has seen many changes, from gender mainstreaming in policymaking to improving room setups and teaching methods. While governing bodies establish standards on school design, it mostly satisfies the physiological and safety needs of the student. Hence, despite the advancements from the changes, issues like the reversal of the gender gap and rising costs in higher education have emerged. These issues are mostly addressed separately due to the limited research intersecting gender, and architecture, specifically the basic spaces in higher education-built environment. The main objective of this exploratory study is to research the gender and space dynamics in higher education-built environments in the Philippines. Data were collected through an exploratory approach, beginning with semi-structured interviews and generalized using ANOVA and frequency on the survey result. The analysis revealed that males are much more comfortable than females in occupying space and that they have preconceived notions on how to situate themselves in a room, whereas females situate themselves based on the information they have gathered in the room. Furthermore, the study revealed that a more apparent spatial placement develops when the category expands from sex to gender-specific which affects design consideration factors such as sightlines and proxemics. For instance, males tend to sit on the edge and towards the back of the room, females tend to sit in the middle and towards the front, and gay tends to occupy the centre of the room. The findings suggest that sex, as a categorical variable, highlights biological differences in design requirements. However, gender, in the social context, disrupts stereotypes, as expressions and preferences may not align with norms. Therefore, design should consider these dimensional differences and varying expectations to develop a learning environment that supports users' psychological safety and enhances learning capacity.