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Themes Influences on participation in learning
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» Themes/Experiences of learning/School Design Design Process CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) have published a guide called Being involved in school design. The guide looks at the different stages in the design process, who should be involved, and the types of questions to ask at each stage of the process. According to the guide there are four stages to the design process; preparation, design, construction and use. These stages are then divided into a further eight areas, each with guidance on what is involved in each stage. It is most important that the finished design is rigorously tested against the educational needs and aspirations of the school; "One way of doing this is to test out various 'day in the life' scenarios of different people in the school. For example what happens to the pupil who suddenly feels ill during a lesson? What happens at lunch time? What happens when a parent comes to visit the Head teacher?" p.22 Being involved in school design CABE (2004) For more information click on the link above (the chart on p.65+ 66 is particularly useful) The following are examples from the guide of the sorts of questions that need to be asked in the early stages of the design process. For more details download the full document by clicking on the link above. Some of these issues are also discussed in the sections on Education Policy and Future Proofing on this website.
'Being involved in school design' includes 10 case studies which help highlight the issues involved and innovative ways of engaging people in the design process. For example, Kingsdale School had a three month participatory process involving every single pupil and member of staff. They recruited an educational psychologist, education researcher, engineer, construction manager and performance artists to be part of this process and used poetry, art work and creative writing to develop ideas. There are also extensive links at the back of the document to more information about school design. Who should be involved in the design process? Stakeholders: The creative decision-making process should involve everyone with a stake in the school. The following list is from CABE's 'Being involved in school design'. People should be involved who:
Young people deserve a special mention. Both the Hidden Curriculum and Invitational schools sections lead to the conclusion that involving young people in decision making has positive consequences. The reasons are numerous; by valuing their input it gives young people a sense of self-worth; it encourages participation rather than apathy in civic events; it gives a sense of ownership and pride in school buildings, it suggests that the school body is willing and prepared to listen to the needs of students; it (hopefully) also shows that the school body is willing to respond to student needs; most of all, adults can learn from what young people have to say. In 2001 the Guardian received 15,000 entries in its 'The School I'd Like' competition. Young people from all over the country expressed their ideas for a dream school. Every single entry told a story about what those young people's priorities were, for example, many people drew school buildings with big domes, indicating that they wanted to learn in light, airy spaces. The wishes of young people must be taken seriously if we are to engage them successfully into education. School Works is a groundbreaking schools design initiative, focussing on secondary schools. It has a number of resources available to help and inspire schools throughout the design process including; an interactive web-based game to help raise students' awareness of their surroundings called Tike & the Missing Mutt; design case studies; tool kits for involving users, reviews of School Works demonstration sites and information on post-occupancy evaluation. Building contractors should be involved as early as possible. This will help them come up with a common vision of what the school is for, and ensure that the aspirations of the design team are met in reality. Resources Building Sights: initiative to involve the public in building projects www.buildingsights.org.uk/ CABE Education website: www.cabe-education.org.uk CABE Digital Library: www.cabe.org.uk/casestudies.aspx Design Council: The Learning Environments campaign is working with schools to develop and evaluate effective learning environments. www.designcouncil.org.uk Design Quality Indicator: tool for evaluating how effective a building design is. www.dqi.org.uk/ Exemplar Designs for Schools: Exemplar designs, concepts and ideas. www.teachernet.gov.uk/exemplars A Guide for School Governors: Developing School Buildings: Royal Institute of British Architects School Client Forum, RIBA (2000). For details of how to order www.architecture.com Schools for the Future: Building Bulletin 95: examines the range of issues involved in the design of school buildings, in order to promote a positive learning environment which serves the needs of pupils and the wider community. www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp
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