The interest in studying the influence of the physical environment of school spaces on behavior, attitudes and teaching strategies is part of the context of the modernization program for secondary schools, still under execution, by Parque Escolar E.P.E. The ongoing investigation aims to determine how school principals, teachers and students perceive the changes introduced in modernized school spaces and the extent to which these have caused changes in the ways of teaching and learning, using the Design Manual: architecture and pedagogical implicit model. The study fits into a qualitative and quantitative methodology, with a strong research component of post-occupation study, and is being developed in three secondary schools in Porto’s district. The partial results of the analysis of the data collected in the survey, by questionnaire to the teachers, and by interview, to the Directors. The results show that the collective perception about the characteristics of the new school spaces, the conditions for teaching and learning and the effect on changing teaching practices are not coincident.