Shoeless students 'learn better'

Children learn better if schools encourage them to slip off their shoes, international education expert Stephen Heppell says.

Professor Heppell, from the centre for media excellence at Bournemouth University, said students behaved better, were more interested in lessons and classrooms were quieter if shoes were discarded.

In Perth this week to talk to teachers about how technology and flexible classroom designs could improve results, Professor Heppell said he was "a bit nutty" about creating shoeless learning spaces.

"One reason it works is because kids hate wearing shoes," he said.

"If you want kids to read, sitting them on an upright chair in a pair of stout outdoor shoes is not how they read. They read at home shoes off, curled up on the floor or a beanbag."

Southern River College principal Everal Miocevich said she would consider the idea in classes which did not need protective footwear.

Professor Heppell, who first visited WA more than 20 years ago, said teachers had become more willing to embrace change.