As the designer of primary and secondary educational facilities, the author has become familiar with educational thinkers such as Sir Kenneth Robinson, Peter Senge, Ewan McIntosh, Daniel Pink and Howard Gardner--each promoting an approach based on system-thinking, self-directed exploration and multidimensional, interactive learning. In 2009, he…

An imperative to develop the social experience of learning has led to the design of informal learning spaces within libraries. Yet little is known about how these spaces are used by students or how students perceive them. Field work in one such space is reported. The general private study practice of undergraduates was captured through audio…

In all modern societies almost everyone of their citizens have spent many years in school buildings, and the largest professional group in modern societies, teachers, is working every day during the working year in school buildings. In spite of this, we know surprisingly little about the influence of school buildings on the people who use them and…

The image of the archetypal housing estate is often used in popular representation, from documentary and television to music video, to symbolise the urban "grit" of contemporary inner-city life. In the theatre, urban political and "working-class" drama has been set on or around estates in attempts to deconstruct or expose the…

The "open classroom" emerged as a reaction against the industrial-era enclosed and authoritarian classroom. Although contemporary school architecture continues to incorporate and express ideas of openness, more research is needed about how teachers adapt to new and different built contexts. Our purpose is to identify teacher reaction to…

This paper will present a study that explored the perceived impact of spatial practice in "Second Life" (SL) on teaching and learning from the point of view of participants in higher education (lecturers, developers and researchers). Narrative inquiry was used to access stories and experiences of space and spatial practice from staff…

This article draws together two linked studies on formal teaching spaces within one university. The first consisted of a multi-method analysis, including observations of four teaching events, interviews with academics and estates staff, analysis of architectural plans, and a talking campus tour. The second study surveyed 166 students about their…

For students, the need to fully understand the geographical and historical layout of their societies has grown remarkably in today's dwindling world. Social Studies is one of the programs aiming to meet this need. Innovations in technology have led to searching new ways within Social Studies education, and now it seems highly likely to set up…

At a time when there are enormous economic pressures on campuses to use resources effectively, space being one of these resources, the academic culture of shared governance, with its fragmented roles for decision making, presents additional challenges. These roles are fragmented due to independent faculty and administrative action. They are…

Until now, studies have not looked at the importance of managing and reducing academic transition times in inclusion classrooms. In the present study, researchers examine the impact of teacher-approved, environmental modifications in the context of an inclusion class. The methodology used was a single-subject, multiple baseline design across four…

Each educational environment exhibits a distinct personality that supports and influences the student body. As educational institutions develop new spaces and buildings for university and college campuses nationwide, the need increasingly arises to provide spaces that both help fulfill each school's educational mission and reinforce the vitality…

Early childhood education and care is a multifaceted institution. Based on children's age, a number of different settings operate, which have usually two distinct aims. Kindergartens provide mainly education whereas day care centres provide care. Yet, in recent years, the need to establish programmes which provide both education and care to…

It is important for students to be good readers. In order to encourage reading for the fun of it, the author developed a game plan for the library. In this article, the author discusses how to make the library the place to be. She suggests that librarians need to encourage students to read, read, read. They must make their libraries places of…

This article addresses spatiality as an educational category by asking how spatiality influences students' experiences of interactions in project-based teaching. It examines students' experiences with two different spatial conditions--namely, separate rooms, each accommodating a single group, or a much larger open space hosting multiple groups. It…

Colleges and universities across the country are seeing their bond ratings drop and their budgets shrink. Employers complain that college graduates are not prepared for the workplace, and many students find themselves saddled with considerable debt and no job to show for it. These are trying times for parents, for students, and for institutions.…