Considering Children’s Methods of Grasping and Carrying Elementary School Chairs for Easy Carrying, Lifting, and Turning

Abstract

Carrying, lifting, and turning chairs improve learning activities in schools, which leads to higher quality education. However, it has been shown that elementary school chairs in Indonesia are too heavy for children aged 6 to 9 to easily lift and carry. The present study aimed to investigate children’s methods of carrying chairs as well as lifting and turning them onto desks. Forty-two children (aged 6-9), including 17 Indonesians (6 boys, 11 girls) and 25 Japanese (12 boys, 13 girls), participated in the study. The experiment used three elementary school chairs (one Indonesian, two Japanese) and two desk types (standard and tall). The most popular method for carrying a chair was to carry it in front of the body with the chair in a lateral position (75%). In all carrying methods, participants showed a preference for grasping two particular points to hold the chair. Children lifted and turned chairs most successfully when they used this popular grasping pattern. The carrying method and the popular grasping pattern for carrying, lifting, and turning chairs need to be considered when redesigning heavy Indonesian elementary school chairs to improve the ease of transport without decreasing the weight.