Sandra Duncan

Sandra Duncan, EdD is an international specialist on early childhood environments. She has conducted extensive research on the psychology of places and spaces, specifically how children engage with built environments and natural surroundings. Sandra applies and blends the pedagogical theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and the approaches of Reggio Emilia, Montessori, and Waldorf when creating holistic designed places for young children. Dr. Duncan’s acclaimed framework of design, The Potential Place, encourages us to create and design learning environments at the intersection of child and space where the spatial conditions of emotions (i.e., kinship, power, awe, thrill, and refuge) reside.

Dr. Duncan is a former owner of multi-site/multi-state early learning campuses, president of a national educational publishing company, and publisher of two well-respected education journals. She is also the author of 100+ educational articles, seven books focused on environmental design for young learners, and designer of four furniture collections (Sense of Place/Sense of Place for Wee Ones/Sense of Place for School Age/Sense of Place for Infants).

Dr. Duncan is an adjunct faculty at Nova Southeastern University where she guides doctoral students through their dissertation research. She is currently writing an academic textbook that aligns educational theories/approaches and pedagogy/curricula with the design of built learning environments. Sandra has designed and currently teaches university courses on learning environments, and collaborates with architects, interior designers, and educators to create extraordinary places and possibilities for children and students of all ages. She is eternally grateful for the many opportunities she has experienced working with dedicated educators and transforming hundreds of environments into extraordinary and inspiring places for young children.