The government school has held an integral part in the Australian idea of progressive society, a locus of community definition and pride that is the backbone of social infrastructure. Yet, it took decades from the establishment of the Australian British colonies from 1788 to establish a system of general education. The Australian school had modest…

Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs) are characterised by features that can create hypervisibility, and hyperstimulation, that raise psychological safety issues. However, there is a lack of research in the field of ILEs that addresses these complexities especially for students with additional learning needs. This case study draws on interview…

This research offers a novel hauntological perspective to examine the evolving nature of complex learning spaces in higher education. In times of change and disruption, we draw on Derrida's concept of hauntology -- which posits that the past and future 'haunt' the present -- to analyse educational experiences. Our study comprises eighteen focus…

The benefits of student-staff partnerships are widely reported in the Students-as-Partners literature. It is envisaged that partnership initiatives can have a transformative effect on institutional cultures, however, how this transformation might be achieved is less clear. Building on transdisciplinary and systems change perspectives, we propose a…

This article considers how teachers' encounters with a newly built learning space are complicit in the practices performed in that space. It builds on previous research into the relationship between learning spaces and pedagogical change by highlighting the acoustic aspects and how they were perceived by teachers in a primary school. Over two…

The paper introduces and explores the "Plans to Pedagogy" research programme, a three-year project focused on teacher capacity-building within schools. "Plans to Pedagogy" engages practitioner-researchers in the development of their and their colleagues' spatial learning skills as they move into and attempt to take advantage of…

Despite a commonly held assumption that our environment shapes what we do, a review of the literature reveals a paucity of empirical research exploring "how" the designed environment can be said to influence learning activity. Accompanied by an attendant lack of theory and methods, this results in missed opportunities to support learning…

Children's physical activity has long been the primary focus of outdoor playspace design. Other influences are adult views on risk and economic considerations. However, a growing body of research shows young children's perspectives on their outdoor playspaces need to be accounted for. Positioned within a mixed-method comparative case study, this…

Across many international contexts, the design and construction of architecturally different school buildings has become a key strategy in providing innovative learning environments designed to prepare students for work and life in the 21st century. Despite the global popularity of this strategy, research has highlighted persistent challenges…

This article explores the characteristics of a successful transition of a school from traditional classrooms to an innovative learning environment. Many schools today are converting traditional classrooms into spaces which are flexible, supporting a wide array of teaching and learning possibilities (i.e. an 'innovative learning environment').…

In Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, the impetus to create open learning spaces that afford spatial and pedagogical flexibility have disrupted the nature of teachers' work. In redesigned education facilities, teachers engage in sophisticated processes of collaboration and ongoing teacher professional learning. Moving from traditional classroom…

Sense of belonging is a fundamental human need that can affect long term education and health outcomes. It can also be impacted by the design of the built environment, in this case by the interior design of boarding schools. Within the emerging literature pertaining to experiences of boarding school for Aboriginal students in Australia, issues of…

In recognition of the evolving learning needs of twenty-first century school students, changes to teaching practices and the incorporation of technology are increasingly accompanied by modifications to the built classroom environment. Typically rows of desk and chairs are replaced with a range of furniture that can be configured in various ways to…

Australia has been the site of significant school facility design innovation during the past decade. This innovation was showcased in 2013 in a report released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) titled "Innovative Learning Environments, Educational Research and Innovation." It featured case studies of 40…

Traditional conceptions of teaching are being challenged as many schools, especially in New Zealand and Australia, are designing and implementing multi-class flexible learning environments. These de-privatised, innovative learning spaces provide opportunities for teachers to work differently in collaborative co-teaching teams to collectively…