Brain-SET Did Not Come From One Theory
Brain-SET Environments Formula® was developed by Dr Kathryn Murray through more than 40 years in education. Its foundations draw from a wide range of research, theories and approaches rather than one educational philosophy. That breadth is important because children and learning environments are complex. No single theory explains every aspect of how children develop, learn, relate, move and experience space.
Kathryn’s stated influences include Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Steiner, Froebel, Vygotsky, Piaget, Smilansky, neuroscience, biophilic design, Maslow, Bronfenbrenner, neurodivergence and nervous-system research, respected peer-reviewed education research, and decades of practical work with children, educators, leaders, parents, student teachers and organisations.
The Brain-SET Environments Formula brings these different influences into a practical framework for thinking about learning environment design.
Montessori: The Environment as a Prepared Space
Montessori education has a strong tradition of the prepared environment. The Association Montessori Internationale describes Montessori environments as carefully prepared for child-centred learning, with accessible furniture, purposeful work spaces and materials designed around developmental characteristics and individual needs.
That idea resonates with a central Brain-SET question: what does the environment make possible for the learner? Independence, access, order, choice and purposeful engagement are not simply furniture issues. They are part of pedagogy.
Brain-SET is not a Montessori programme, and it does not reproduce Montessori practice. Instead, Montessori is one of the influential traditions that helped shape a broader understanding of how environment and learning can be connected.
Reggio Emilia: Environment, Relationships and Pedagogy
Reggio Emilia has also contributed an important way of thinking about the environment. Reggio Children describes the relationship between spaces, relationships and learning as an ongoing dialogue between architecture and pedagogy, with environments supporting interaction, autonomy, exploration, curiosity and communication.
This aligns with Brain-SET’s refusal to treat the room as a passive container. The environment participates in experience. It can invite curiosity, support relationships, make movement easier or create barriers. Brain-SET takes that insight and connects it with its own framework for considering the developing brain and the conditions for Safety, Emotional connection and Thinking. This is one way the Brain-SET Environments Formula moves from an established educational idea to a broader framework for environment design.
Froebel: Play, Nature and Connectedness
Friedrich Froebel’s influence is particularly relevant to early childhood environments. The Froebel Trust’s principles highlight unity and connectedness, autonomous learners, relationships, creativity, play, engagement with nature and knowledgeable educators.
These ideas reinforce a view of children as active participants rather than passive recipients. They also strengthen the case for environments that offer real experiences, movement, play, nature and opportunities to make meaning.
Again, Brain-SET is not a modern version of Froebelian education. It is a distinct pedagogy informed by a wider educational history.
Steiner and the Whole Child
Steiner or Waldorf education offers another influence through its attention to holistic development, rhythm, creativity, relationships, movement and the environment. Contemporary Waldorf organisations describe early childhood practice as emphasising nurturing environments, creative play, nature and rhythms that help children feel secure.
These ideas contribute to a broader question that sits comfortably within Brain-SET: what conditions help children experience an environment as supportive, meaningful and ready for exploration?
Vygotsky, Piaget and Developmental Thinking
Developmental theories associated with Vygotsky and Piaget have also shaped how educators think about children’s learning. Their work, in different ways, draws attention to development, interaction, active learning and the relationship between experience and understanding.
Brain-SET does not depend on a single developmental theory. Instead, it uses developmental thinking as part of a larger framework that asks educators to consider what children are ready for, what opportunities the environment provides and how adults can support learning through interaction and purposeful design.
Smilansky and the Value of Play
Smilansky’s work on play is relevant to a pedagogy that takes the learning environment seriously. Dramatic and constructive play require time, materials, social opportunities and environments that allow children to explore ideas rather than simply complete adult-directed tasks.
This is one reason Brain-SET places importance on open-ended, playful learning opportunities. The environment needs to provide more than attractive resources. It needs to make meaningful activity possible.
Neuroscience: Another Lens on the Learning Environment
Neuroscience adds another layer. Brain development is shaped by experience, relationships and the broader developmental environment. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University describes how early experiences and responsive interactions contribute to brain architecture and how safe, stable developmental environments can support development.
Brain-SET uses neuroscience as one lens among many. It does not claim that a particular colour, chair or classroom layout directly “rewires” the brain. Instead, it asks educators to consider how environmental conditions interact with development, relationships, sensory experience, movement and opportunities for learning.
The Brain-SET Environments Formula therefore uses neuroscience as one part of a wider evidence-informed approach rather than presenting it as a single explanation for how environments affect learning.
Biophilic Design and Connection With Nature
Biophilic design brings another useful perspective: people experience environments that include natural materials, patterns, light, plants and connections to the natural world in particular ways. In early childhood, this connects naturally with the long-standing educational emphasis on outdoor exploration and nature.
For educators, the practical question is not whether every classroom needs to look like a garden. It is how natural elements and outdoor experiences can become purposeful parts of children’s learning and sense of connection.
Maslow and Bronfenbrenner: Looking Beyond the Task
Maslow’s hierarchy has influenced educational conversations about needs, motivation and conditions for learning. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological perspective, meanwhile, reminds us that development is influenced by interconnected systems and contexts.
Together, these perspectives reinforce a powerful Brain-SET principle: learning does not happen independently of wellbeing, relationships and context. The environment is one part of that context, and educators can intentionally shape it.
Neurodivergence and Nervous-System Research
More recent understanding of neurodivergence and nervous-system experience adds another important dimension. Learners can experience the same environment differently. Sensory input, movement, predictability, communication and social demands can influence participation in different ways.
This is why Brain-SET encourages flexible design rather than one perfect classroom. A responsive environment can offer different ways to participate while respecting individual differences.
The Original Contribution: Bringing the Influences Together
The most important point is this: Brain-SET is not a rebranding of Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Froebel, Steiner or neuroscience. Its originality lies in the synthesis. Kathryn has taken ideas from multiple fields and, through more than 40 years of educational practice, developed a framework specifically focused on the relationship between brain development, teaching practice and environment design.
That synthesis is organised through the Brain-SET Environments Formula®, including the 3 Pillars of Design and 16 Design Elements. The framework turns a broad body of knowledge into a practical way for educators to observe, discuss, design and refine environments.
Explore the Brain-SET framework to see how the ideas are organised.
Why This Matters for Educators
Educators are often asked to keep up with new research, new frameworks and new initiatives. The problem is not a lack of information. It is often knowing how to translate information into everyday decisions.
Brain-SET is intended to bridge that gap. It gives educators a way to ask better questions about their spaces and practices, then apply what they learn to the context in front of them. The Brain-SET Environments Formula gives educators a shared way to connect those questions with practical decisions about the environments they create and refine.
For educators undertaking professional learning in Australia, including Queensland and the Sunshine Coast, this synthesis can provide a practical way to connect established educational thinking with contemporary questions about brain development, inclusion and environment design.
Why Kathryn’s 40+ Years of Practice Matters
The research and theories behind Brain-SET matter, but they are only part of the story. Kathryn’s practical experience gives her a different perspective on how ideas behave in real settings. More than 40 years in education has meant working with children, educators, leaders, parents, student teachers, organisations and professionals with different needs and priorities.
That breadth matters when a framework moves from theory into implementation. A concept that looks compelling on paper still needs to work in a real room, with real children, real timetables, real teams and real constraints.
From Educational Influences to a Usable Language
One reason frameworks become useful is that they give teams a shared language. Educators can point to a space, a routine or an experience and discuss it using common concepts rather than relying only on personal preference.
The Brain-SET S.E.T. language—Safe, Engaged and open to Thinking—creates one such starting point. The 3 Pillars and 16 Design Elements provide another layer of structure. Together, they help translate a broad body of knowledge into a professional conversation about the environment.
An Evolving Pedagogy
The influences behind Brain-SET should not be treated as a closed historical list. Contemporary research continues to develop understanding of brain development, inclusion, neurodivergence, sensory experience and learning environments. A living pedagogy needs to remain curious, critical and willing to refine its thinking.
That is particularly important for a thought leader. Authority does not come from claiming to have the final answer. It comes from having a clear point of view, being able to explain its foundations and continuing to learn.
Conclusion: A Framework Built From Many Conversations
Brain-SET has many intellectual ancestors, but it is not identical to any one of them. Montessori contributes ideas about prepared environments and independence. Reggio Emilia contributes a rich view of space, relationships and pedagogy. Froebel contributes play, nature and connectedness. Steiner contributes holistic development, rhythm and creativity. Developmental theorists contribute ways of understanding learning. Neuroscience and contemporary research add further perspectives.
Kathryn Murray’s contribution has been to bring these influences together through more than four decades of practice and develop them into an original pedagogy for learning environment design.
That is what makes the Brain-SET story worth exploring: not one theory, but a thoughtful synthesis translated into a practical framework for real environments.