Empty spaces, open spaces, prefabricated buildings, disused school halls, patches of grass and suchlike have long been the teaching spaces of subjects such as Drama and Physical Education; likewise, ECE and Marae-based learning are other 'marginalised' domains of education in Aotearoa New Zealand today. Subjugated in the educational landscape,…

The purpose of the present article is to attend to the theoretical and methodological implications of expanding a view of geosemiotic to include a social geography lens. A Geosemiotics<-->social geography approach creates possibilities to more fully attend to the dynamic and dialogic relationship of material, spatial, and social resources as…

The starting point of this paper is the Scottish School Grounds Survey of 2005, which provided nationwide insight into the extent to which school grounds were being used as learning environments for children in nursery, primary, secondary and special schools in Scotland. Reflecting specifically on provision for play and the way in which play…

This chapter reveals how thoughtful course redesign that specifically addresses the physical environment of a learning space can significantly improve student learning.

This paper considers some of the spatial challenges of doing arts projects with older people in care homes, including those living with dementia. It reflects on the author's own experience of running a performance project with residents with at a care home in North London. Drawing on Lefebvre's concept of socially produced space, it argues that…

This occasional paper is the fourth in a series on the National Quality Framework (NQF). This paper offers detailed insights into education and care service quality ratings for Quality Area 3 (physical environment) of the National Quality Standard (NQS). The focus is on ensuring the physical environment of a service is safe, suitable and provides…

Purpose: This conceptual paper aims to argue that times, spaces, bodies and things constitute four essential dimensions of workplace learning. It examines how practices relate or hang together, taking Gherardi's texture of practices or connectedness in action as the foundation for making visible essential but often overlooked dimensions of…

Although educators have succeeded in informing the public about the transformative power of electronic and telecommunications tools, they have frequently overlooked physical features of spaces needed to house them. This article discusses workspace, arrangements, flooring, environment, electrical wiring, lighting, acoustics, and security features…

Some countries have no fixed rules about classrooms' physical size or numbers of children taught therein. Italian children attend schools within their catchment area; each class has a maximum number of pupils. New Zealand schools serve all comers, except when crowding threatens. The Dutch government guarantees equal physical and teaching resources…

Better physical conditions produce better student outcomes. Other factors affecting a school's physical environment and academic productivity include school structure, school size, teacher-pupil ratio, school location, grade-level configuration, and classroom size. Building or remodeling schools according to obsolete images is fiscally and…

Improving the quality of educational buildings is one of the objectives of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Programme on Educational Building (PEB). The PEB does this by disseminating information about ways to produce quality educational buildings at a reasonable cost. This report contains descriptions of buildings…