An ergonomic focus on children, youth, and education.

The general public thinks of ergonomics in terms of physical tasks and arrangements, such as correctly positioning their desks and working spaces, investigating work tasks to determine their impact on musculoskeletal work-related injuries, and perhaps in the design of motor vehicles. Television commercials and advertisements have much to do with the perceptions. Advertisements tend to depict ergonomics as primarily applying to the physical aspects of an adult worksite or a product used by an adult. However, ergonomics is an equal opportunity science. Ergonomics is the scientific process of designing products, places, and procedures to align with the physical, cognitive, cultural, and emotional capabilities and limitations of the target audience who will use them. When viewed in this way, it is clear that ergonomics is equally important and applicable to designing for persons of all age categories, including children. Ergonomics is also important in the design of processes and places where perhaps it has not been considered previously, such as in the field of education. Some professional groups have long considered the specific needs of children. For example, school teachers and pediatric health care professionals design their class and exam rooms, curricula and teaching methods, and their interaction techniques to best connect with the children who come to them. However, it is only more recently that ergonomics professionals have identified designing for children to be an area of specialty practice [1]. Other design-oriented professionals, such as architects, city planners, manufacturers, and transportation specialists develop goods and services that are used by children. Yet, they may not have the breadth and depth of knowledge in child development to adequately design for them, or they may not choose to allocate their resources to conduct the usability trials that are necessary to determine whether specifications regarding performance goals for the design have been met. Designing for children can be complex because each design must meet the child where he or she is in their current development, and also ‘pull’ them into their next stage of personal growth. The designed product, place, or process must concurrently offer opportunities to succeed and occasions to be challenged [2]. In addition, children are ‘moving targets’ as they grow and change rapidly, creating a necessity for the designer to understand and accommodate their developmental stages and growth patterns. Remaining aware of children’s musculoskeletal, visual, auditory, perceptual, cognitive, and emotional development is a challenge for anyone, and the implications for design are not always immediately evident. Designing for children can move from a micro approach of designing a singular product to a macro approach of designing community safety, educational, or prevention programs. For example, the goal might be bicycle safety for children and the approach might include designing 1) safer bicycles and helmets, 2) community-based safety and exercise programs, and 3) bicycle paths. The need for ergonomics research and design for children is great; the span of information is daunting; the process is timeconsuming; and the results are priceless – for they apply to our greatest joy and the caretakers of the future – our children. A second area of potential growth for the application of ergonomics is in education. The history of applying ergonomics to specific military training is extensive, with attention given to selection processes, augmented cognition, and smart systems, among others. Less attention has been given to ergonomic design applications in learning environments such as preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and university level educational programs – even those of-