This article begins by considering the radical changes that occurred in architecture throughout the twentieth century due to the influence of Le Corbusier and the ensuing movement of modernism. Though the building of schools was embroiled in this architectural movement, the classrooms within them remained broadly the same as they had been in the…

The physical environment in early childhood education and care is crucial. This paper examines the Swedish government's vision of preschool design in the welfare state of the 1970s and the conceptions of children and society upon which it was based. Presenting an investigation of reports, booklets, and study materials published by various branches…

Traditional sole-teacher classrooms are being replaced by large, open, flexible learning environments in New Zealand schools. Teacher collaboration within these shared teaching and learning spaces raises important questions about curriculum organisation in secondary-school settings. If secondary teachers are to work collaboratively in shared…

Focusing on the school corridor, this article explores the coming into being of Danish school space through shifting architectural designs, teaching practices, and volumes and organisations of pupils' bodies. The analysis shows a transformation of the corridor itself: from primarily being a disciplining and potentially dangerous space for moving…

In the digital age, it is increasingly common that classrooms show a significant presence of technological devices that redesign their layout and daily interactions. However, this redesigning is less the result of the direct intervention of designers and architects than the effect of local and usually more silent arrangements that find ways to…

People with visual impairment often rely on their residual vision when interacting with their spatial environments. The goal of visual accessibility is to design spaces that allow for safe travel for the large and growing population of people who have uncorrectable vision loss, enabling full participation in modern society. This paper defines the…

For a number of years, higher education has moved away from didactic teaching toward collaborative and self-directed learning. This paper discusses how the configuration and spatial geometry of learning spaces influences engagement and interaction, with a particular focus on hierarchies between people within the space. Layouts, presented as…

The chapters in this book both contribute to, and raise fundamental questions about, the knowledge that is valuable in the creation of good places to learn. Whether one is designing, managing or inhabiting a learning place, there are kinds of knowledge that can beneficially affect the relations between one's activities and surroundings. What does…

The idea that the New Zealand education system will cater to all students, regardless of ability, and support them in developing their full potential to the best of their abilities, is enshrined in the famous 1939 Beeby/Fraser statement. Equality of access policy discourse has shifted to emphasise equitable outcomes, focussed increasingly on…

This paper maps a teacher's pedagogic practices when teaching young children to produce texts using digital technologies during a literacy lesson for 7-8 year-old children. Pedagogies are broadly understood as what the teacher does in a classroom to facilitate learning in a twenty-first century classroom. The paper argues that the very notion of…

This paper examines how digital technologies shape the use of space in universities with a particular focus on the implications on organisational level. In order to maximise the potential of new technologies, I argue that universities will have to reconsider their use of space. This includes addressing the impact of new technologies on pedagogies,…

Material school design can be seen as embedded with the wished-for ideas of pupils and teachers, the idealised school of architects and designers as well as of the state's need to produce desirable future citizens and societies. Material school designs can also be seen as being involved in shaping bodies, social categories and more generally the…

The present chapter examines early modern schooling in Sweden and more precisely how spatial conceptualizations of the outdoors (with regard to the use of it for recess, physical activity, recreational play, and other educational activities) were accumulated in formal curricula. The chapter draws attention to the introduction and origins of ideas…

This reflective article examines the relationship between teachers' engagement in action research and their ability to lead within their schools. As part of "The New Educator's" special issue, "Developing an Inquiry Stance toward Instructional Improvement: Teacher-Leader Action Research," this article demonstrates the…

Informed by the work of the work of Michel Foucault, Ian Hunter, and Ansgar Allen, this paper argues that I/MLEs are not the creation of a "modern" or "innovative" learning environment but rather the reclamation of an educational technique that was pioneered en masse almost two centuries ago (and based on practices many…