Reconceptualizing School Design: Learning Environments for Children and Youth

This edition of Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 22, No.1 (2012) from University of Colorado, United States, examines school environments in the context of changing educational goals, pedagogical practices, and design processes.

From the Introduction: "... At the center of this special issue is the aim to develop understanding of the relationship between a school’s physical environment, the processes undertaken to create that environment, and students’ learning and self-development. The papers are based on real-world research in schools or school design settings; they share a focus on participant experience and voice and draw on ideas from theory, research, policy and practice....

Rationale
Nations around the world are re-examining the idea of school as both a physical place and as a set of practices related to learning and development. As 'school' broadens its scope in response to pedagogical developments and is reconstructed in the face of climate change, resource scarcity, and global economies, the field of school design is challenged to respond with appropriate processes, spaces and places. Yet even as school buildings and grounds are reconceptualized, they also reflect the cultural history, patterns of use, and deep-rooted values of the society particular to their location. Schools convey to students, teachers and the greater community a 'hidden curriculum' about how learning is regarded, the place of education, and the role of children and youth in that society. As they change through construction and renovation across time and space, school buildings and grounds reflect particular shifts in these ideologies."

Emerging themes in this issue include:

• "Holistic education, including social and emotional development issues such as bullying, self-efficacy, and academic knowledge and skills needed for a changing global economy;
• Children’s relationship with the natural world in response to the crisis of environmental degradation and the need for stewardship and sustainability;
• Diversity and inclusive design for physical and cognitive difference in light of new scientific insight into learning and development;
• Methods of engaging stakeholders in participatory design and construction, reflecting the changing role of children and youth in society; and
• Evidence-based design as best practice in the face of global economic crisis and financial austerity."

Contents include:
    
Address to the UN HABITAT and UNDP Youth 21 meeting. Nairobi, Kenya, March 15-18, 2012
Thabo Mbeki, former President of the Republic of South Africa

Introduction

Reconceptualizing School Design: Learning Environments for Children and Youth
Laura Healey Malinin and Rosie Parnell

Articles:

1. The Role of Objective and Perceived School Building Quality in Student Academic Outcomes and Self-Perception-Lorraine E. Maxwell and Suzanne L. Schechtman
2. Changing Spaces: Preparing Students and Teachers for a New Learning Environment-Pamela Woolner, Jill Clark, Karen Laing, Ulrike Thomas and Lucy Tiplady
3. Realizing a Holistic Approach to Food through School Gardens and Growing Activities-Mat Jones, Emma Weitkamp, Richard Kimberlee, Debra Salmon and Judy Orme
4. Blind Photographers: A Quest into the Spatial Experiences of Blind Children-Jasmien Herssens and Ann Heylighen
5. An Emerging Framework for School Design Based on Children’s Voices-Rokhshid Ghaziani
6. Children’s Movement in an Integrated Kindergarten Classroom: Design, Methods and Preliminary Findings-Coralee McLaren, Susan Ruddick, Geoffrey Edwards, Karl Zabjek and Patricia McKeever
7. Exploring School and Classroom Environments in Irish Primary Schools-Merike Darmody and Emer Smyth
8. School Design and Students’ Relationships with the Natural World-Indira Dutt
9. How the School Built Environment Exacerbates Bullying and Peer Harassment-Sheila M. Fram and Ellyn M. Dickman

Reports from the Field

1. Designing Nature for Learning: School Gardens for Youth and Child Education-Sarah A. Moore, Morgan Apicella, Sallie A. Marston and Moses Thompson
2. Green School Grounds: A Collaborative Development and Research Project in Malmö, Sweden-Märit Jansson and Fredrika Mårtensson
3. German Forest Kindergartens: Healthy Childcare under the Leafy Canopy-Silvia D. Schäffer and Thomas Kistemann
4. Quarry Schools: Building Community Classrooms-Bo Tang
5. Trash for Peace: Engaging Children, Youth and Community for a World without Waste-Laura Kutner
6. Inclusive Education Environments from the Teachers’ Perspective: An Inquiry in a Turkish Primary School-Selen Durak and Mualla Erkılıç

Book Reviews

• Evidence-Based Design of Elementary and Secondary Schools: A Responsive Approach to Creating Learning Environments
• Technological Nature: Adaptation and the Future of Human Life
• Every Right for Every Child: Governance and Accountability
• Planting Seeds Practicing Mindfulness with Children
• Natural Playscapes: Creating Outdoor Play Environments for the Soul
• Roots and Research in Urban School Gardens

Film Reviews

• Qaphela Wenza! Take Note and Act!

Other Films of Note

• Biophilic Design: The Architecture of Life