School Space Research Articles

Learning Spaces for Wellbeing, Flourishing, Innovation and Creativity: The Maltese Students’ Perspective

Learning spaces can be conducive to student wellbeing. The study presents the perspectives of students in Malta about present and possible learning spaces. Previous research focuses on the importance of including students in the design of learning spaces. It also presents schools as one of the most central spaces for positive holistic development, thus suggesting participatory designing of learning spaces. The research presented in this paper is based on three principles as outlined by Barrett et al. (2015) which are naturalness, individualisation and stimulation, which make a difference on the impact of the learning space. For the research about learning spaces in Maltese state schools, I made use of an interpretivist paradigm guiding the qualitative methodology. The research included sixteen focus groups, held during Personal, Social and Career Development (PSCD) subject, with students attending Maltese primary (aged 8-10years) and secondary schools (11-16years), chosen through purposive sampling. In total, there were six classes with primary school students and ten classes with students from middle and secondary schools. All students who participated were given an information sheet and their parents or guardians signed a consent form ensuring that they are not subject to harm, their identity would remain anonymous and that they can stop their participation. Results from this research show that students were negative about existing learning spaces. This research confirmed the importance of the dimensions presented in the study by Barrett et al. (2015) and identified another dimension – innovative learning spaces. Evidence from this research also shows that a learning space should have adequate lighting, sound, temperature, relaxing surrounding colours, link to nature and should allow ownership, flexibility, and connection. This paper is particularly inspiring for policymakers as it demonstrates the significance of learning spaces in influencing the happiness and wellbeing of students.

A Call to Explicitly Name and Account for Power in Epistemic Agency Research

ABSTRACTFor decades, science and engineering education researchers in the United States have sought to understand ways to realize more equitable, student‐centered learning experiences within K‐12 classrooms. One important line of research aligned to this aim has centered on opportunities for developing and supporting students’ epistemic agency, focusing on shifting epistemic agency away from residing solely in the teacher toward instead being enacted across the collaborative classroom community. Yet, despite extant research around this area of inquiry, little is known about how students negotiate epistemic agency amongst themselves. As research begins to delve into these critical student dynamics, we argue that the field must explicitly account for the varied powered relations ingrained within school spaces and how those relations impact students’ learning experiences. We then offer an illustrative example of student data to share a possible direction for critical analysis that could offer insight into such powered relations and how they play out and impact students’ epistemic agency, specifically through the concept of epistemic exclusion. Finally, we conclude with a call to action for educators and researchers.

Growing up without violence (GWV): Study protocol for a cluster randomised trial and process evaluation of a school-based intervention preventing adolescent sexual exploitation in Brazil.

Growing up without violence (GWV): Study protocol for a cluster randomised trial and process evaluation of a school-based intervention preventing adolescent sexual exploitation in Brazil.

Gambling spaces: socially motivated gambling in Danish upper-secondary school

ABSTRACT In some Danish schools, gambling is talked about as a normal part of being a young man. Why do some young men gamble? This paper examines the role of community in the gambling practices of young men to expand our knowledge on the motivations behind gambling. Other research points to social motives as one of several motivations for gambling, but more knowledge is needed on social gambling practices. This paper presents empirical data from ethnographic fieldwork in a Danish upper-secondary school collected spring 2023. Specifically, I analyze data from a class where young men play on digital slot machines and sports betting. I understand the young men’s group as an affinity space, and through this framework analyze their norms, identities and practices. These connect the men to each other, the rest of the school and a culture beyond the school. Through these analyses, I show an example of a socially constructed gambling space in Danish school. I argue that social motives and a sense of belonging are important motivational factors in these young men’s gambling. By showing actual practices, I expand our knowledge on social motivation for gambling. I argue that this knowledge has implications for prevention.

المتطلبات القيادية لتفعيل مبادرة المدارس الخضراء

The study aimed to identify the leadership requirements to activate the Green Schools Initiative and to identify the most prominent challenges facing leaders to achieve the leadership requirements of green schools and to propose measures to support leaders to achieve the leadership requirements of green schools. The study used the descriptive analytical approach, by analyzing ten studies. The study concluded that there are central, local and school leadership requirements to activate the initiative. The most prominent central requirements are that the general administration provides educational programs that contribute to caring for the school environment and its resources and including environmental issues and green school content in the curricula. As for the local requirements, they are represented in preparing guides for schools to achieve the green school standards and coordinating with local councils to improve the internal and external environment of schools. The school requirements include involving parents of students and members of the local community in the environmental programs and projects of green schools, preparing annual reports on the level of progress in achieving the green school standards, and that among the most important challenges are the weak material and moral appreciation of teachers and school workers to perform these tasks and the lack of sufficient spaces and spaces in schools practicing these activities. The study proposed several measures to overcome these challenges, including interest in preparing cadres and leaders. For the future, it works according to systematic plans to achieve sustainability, provide the necessary training for all students and school staff, taking into account choosing appropriate times and places for training and holding art exhibitions to document the achievements of this initiative.

Soccer: the only way to be a boy in Spain? narratives from a Spanish primary school on the influence of playground soccer in shaping masculinities and gender relations

ABSTRACT Soccer, a dominant playground activity in many primary schools worldwide, plays a significant role in shaping boys’ masculine identities and influencing gender relations. This paper explores the experiences of three young Spanish boys, observed over a longitudinal ethnographic study spanning from early childhood education (3 years old) to their final year of primary school (10 years old). Informed by Foucauldian theory, we present three narratives that critically examine the boys’ engagement with school soccer activities, challenging dominant educational practices and exploring inclusive alternatives. The findings highlight the role of gender socialisation in reinforcing traditional masculine norms and exclusionary dynamics through playground soccer. At the same time, they highlight opportunities for reimagining school spaces to foster inclusivity and challenge hegemonic practices. This study calls on researchers, educators and policymakers to recognise these dynamics and promote gender-inclusive and diverse extracurricular activities within schools.

Reconfiguring education in times of pandemic: a visual analysis of pedagogical practices and school spaces

ABSTRACT This article offers a comprehensive examination of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education, focusing on pedagogical practices and school spaces in primary schools in the community of Castilla y León, Spain. Through a visual analysis of student drawings and the reconfiguration of educational spaces, the study explores the profound changes that have occurred in educational settings during the pandemic. The research highlights the shift from traditional classroom methodologies to virtual and remote learning environments, emphasising the role of technology and digital tools in facilitating education during times of crisis. Additionally, the study investigates the evolving perceptions of students towards school, considering how the reconfiguration of physical spaces has influenced their learning experiences and social interactions. By examining the ‘new normal’ of education, the study sheds light on the challenges and opportunities faced by educators in adapting their pedagogical practices to meet the changing needs of students in a post-pandemic world. Overall, the analysis provides valuable insights into the complex interplay between pedagogy, space, and technology in reimagining education in times of crisis.

Decision-making conditions for participatory student voice research at scale: examples from studying vertical school spaces

Student voice research recognises students’ roles as knowledge makers in cultural institutions like schools. It rarely occurs at scale, as researchers need to work closely with small groups of students to enable dialogue, listen, and negotiate. Gathering rich qualitative data from large groups of students in schools using such participatory methods can be challenging, becoming methodologically “messy” for philosophical and practical reasons. This paper links high-level research principles and pragmatics of on-the-ground research strategy and improvisation to provide ways of managing the ‘mess’ of student voice research at scale. Drawing from researcher experiences working with large groups of students, a reflexive decision-making theory is used to discern the deliberations that guided the research team’s decision-making. Six different dimensions are illustrated, alongside methodological questions to offer guidance to other researchers. Student voice research at scale offers opportunities for diverse participatory roles for students and researchers to be innovative, reflexive knowledge makers.

Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and Canada.

In this paper, we report on creative- and arts-based sexual violence and bystander intervention workshops we developed and researched in England, Ireland, and Canada, through evaluation surveys, observations, and focus group interviews with nearly 1200 young people (aged 13-18). Whist the young people generally reported benefitting from the intervention, in the context of increasing use of digital technologies amongst youth, we explore the context-specific challenges they faced in learning about and being supported through bystander strategies across a wide range of diverse school spaces. We use the term postdigital bystanding to explicitly explore how teen's digital networks are often connected to the school-based 'real life' peer group, in ways that complicate clear distinctions between online and offline, arguing that these postdigital dynamics have not yet been adequately considered in bystanding interventions. We analyse how the intersectional community, cultural, and identity-specific factors in particular schooling environments shape responses to bystanding in postdigital environments, including how factors of sexism, defensive masculinity, elitism, racism, and a reluctance to report digital issues played out in the responses to the workshops. Finally, following young people's suggestions, we recommend that schools need to cultivate better safety and support strategies for youth in order to make postdigital bystander interventions more responsive and therefore effective in challenging and preventing sexual violence in society.

Educational Management and Leadership: Communication strategies for academic performance based on a gender approach and in Ecuador

The purpose of this review article is to carry out an analysis derived from educational management and leadership, as transmission mechanisms in the formulation of communicational strategies that articulate better school performance without disregarding the gender approach. A review study was carried out in the Scopus, Web of Science and Scielo databases, based on a qualitative approach with a hermeneutic design. The most relevant findings are framed in the leading role of teachers, their leadership to communicate effectively in educational environments and the ways to apply strategies that pursue communication with a gender approach in the classroom. Four data matrices were generated representing the main categories and codes by theme. The main conclusions focus on the dimensions of communication and its role in the understanding between actors in different school spaces. It is vital for the teacher to be an example in the community and to dynamize the relationship with the family for the formation of values with a gender approach.

Self-perceived gender identity and inclusive education: An approach to trans childhoods and adolescence in mexican educational spaces

In the educational system, the recognition of inclusive education based on respect for sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions is temporary. In Mexico, school spaces have been characterized by being infested with discriminatory practices against sexual dissident populations. This is mainly due to the fact that the foundations of the education system are built from cisgenderism and heteronomatization. This work seeks to approach the barriers that trans children and adolescents face in the educational field, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for inclusion. To this end, the study is presented from the exercise of the right to self-perceived gender identity permeated by the right to non-discrimination based on age, passing through the right to education and culminating with the perspective and prospective of the right to inclusive education of trans childhoods and adolescence in Mexico.

행위자기반모형의 분석기법을 활용한 복도형태에 관한 연구 - 초등학교시설을 중심으로

Currently, due to the rapid decline of the school-age population in Korea, various perspectives on elementary school facilities and systems are being shared. In particular, recently, due to the future education policy of the Ministry of Education, elementary school facility spaces for various programs have been created. As a result, quantitative and qualitative developments have been made due to plans that focus on education and space allocation by program. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the safety of elementary school spaces applying the existing laws related to evacuation of elementary school facilities and whether evacuation and evacuation plans through corridor spaces are appropriate. In this study, we would like to analyze the problem of space through the simulation of the evacuation process from the corridor space to the evacuation exit and present basic data that can be used in future elementary school facility planning.

The School Garden As A Tool in the Teaching-Learning Process of Environmental Education in A Riverside Community on The Bank of The Iguaçu River

Objective: This article aimed to promote actions and investigate aspects about caring for the environment in a public school in a community on the banks of the Iguaçu River through Environmental Education. Theoretical Framework: To this end, the garden was used as a tool in the teaching-learning process of environmental themes, bringing topics such as care for the environment, society-nature relationship, sustainable societies and food sovereignty into this discussion. Method: The methodology of this work was carried out through a university extension workshop developed by the Sala +Verde project in the waves of the Iguaçu river in partnership with the Hortas project in small school spaces, spread throughout the community of the Foz do Chopim district in the municipality of Cruzeiro do Iguaçu – Paraná, being held at the Foz do Chopim Municipal School, with students of Elementary School. Results and Discussion: However, it was identified that the workshop for the construction of the school garden with the aim of awakening a reflection on the society-nature relationship and the promotion of food sovereignty, provoked in the subjects involved a feeling of belonging and care for that space Research Implications: Consequently, the workshop provided information that students can take home, promoting practices that allow us to move towards a better quality of life and care for our common good Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by promoting teaching and learning actions on environmental topics. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by highlighting aspects of care for the environment.

Green Spaces in Yamoussoukro Secondary Schools (Ivory Coast)

The Scientific High School and Mamie Adjoua High School, the only secondary schools in the city of Yamoussoukro, have green spaces, but with of different compositions of different plant species. This study enabled us to assess the plant diversity of these green spaces and to estimate the carbon stock of tree species. To achieve this objective, a floristic inventory was carried out and diameter measurements at breast height (dbh ≥ 2.5 cm) were taken on the trees in order to estimate the carbon stock from the calculated biomass. A total of 110 species were counted, with a higher number in the Mamie Adjoua High School. <i>Caryota mitis</i> is the most important species in terms of individuals. The carbon stock of green spaces in these schools is 39.71 t/ha, with the highest value going to the species <i>Delonix regia</i> at 14.15 t/ha. There is also a strong preference for exotic species. Control should therefore be exercised to prevent the intrusion and establishment of invasive exotic species, even if these species are remarkable for their diversity. This study also showed that the green spaces in schools help to reduce greenhouse gases by playing an air purifying role appreciated by students and administrative staff in the city of Yamoussoukro.

School Learning Space from the Perspective of Pedagogical Paradigms

The article examines the interior of school learning space in the German-speaking and southern part of the Nordic region from the 19th century to the present day. Through the review of sources, analysis of primary sources, and images, school learning space has been explored in relation to established pedagogical paradigms, Herbartian and Reform Paradigms, in terms of how they perceive teaching and learning process. In the 19th century, in line with a standardized teaching process, school learning space was relatively simply organised, with an orderly structure and rows of desks. With the emergence of Reform educators at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, with a focus on teaching that catered to the needs and interests of students, school learning space acquired multiple roles and became the basis for the current understanding of school learning space. In Dewey’s concept of ideal school, a conceptual origin of modern architectural designs of school learning space can be recognised. Based on the analysis of these designs from the perspective of current trends, particularly communication pedagogy, it can be concluded that a constructive school learning space requires an open area that does not isolate students. Open questions for further research into school space have been indicated.

Education and Transitional Justice: Como, Para, Sobre

ABSTRACT Education systems play an important role in social transformation and in promoting transitional justice initiatives. While most studies on transitional justice focus on the legal or political aspects of transition, fewer studies focus on social aspects, and particularly the role of education. We examine pedagogical approaches to transitional justice and how this concept enters school spaces. Through a mixed methods study with students, teachers and school staff in 12 secondary schools in Colombia, we examine how local actors engage with ideas about transitional justice. We propose the CPS (como [as a modality], para [for the purpose of], sobre [about]) framework, which seeks to understand the nuanced and complex relationship between education and transitional justice. We find that although students and educators may not always be familiar with the language around transitional justice, many of the actions, pedagogy and activities already ongoing are in line with transitional justice goals and values.

As sunflowers face the sun: exploring the experiences of Black and Indigenous women educational leaders

ABSTRACT Currently, the field of educational leadership continues to exclude the crucial voices of historically marginalized school administrators. As such, this study sought to learn more about the experiences of Black and Indigenous women educational leaders. To contribute to the scant literature available the authors ethically and intentionally recruited participants who self-identified as women, Black, Indigenous or Afro-Indigenous. The data collection for this qualitative study included individual interviews with 15 participants that were then analyzed and coded on NVivo in accordance with Black feminist thought, Indigenous feminisms critical race theory in education, specifically, the tenets of intersectionality and counter-storytelling. Findings from the study suggest that Black and Indigenous women school administrators have much in common in their approach to leadership. For instance, the collective ways in which they engage in the world, and how they define healing and their collective need for it. Finally, this study serves as an opening space for Black and Indigenous women school leaders not only share their lived experiences, but to address cross-identity solidarity that is specific to Black and Indigenous peoples.

NEOCONSERVADORISMO E QUESTÕES DE GÊNERO: ESCOLA E CORPO COMO TERRITÓRIOS DE DISPUTAS E RESISTÊNCIAS

The present article arises from a scientific initiation research, which aimed to identify teachers' representations of the body and how these representations influence their positioning and intervention regarding gender issues in school, as well as to verify possible inclusive actions developed to accommodate dissident bodies in school. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews with a cisgender female teacher who teaches in elementary school and a non-binary trans coordinator, both working in the public network of the city of São Paulo, and a cisgender gay male teacher from the private network. The reports point to an invisibility of dissident bodies in the school space, in addition to the intersections and censorship imposed by far-right federal policies with the educational policies of the schools involved in the research. Thus, it is concluded that the school remains a space for disciplining bodies and (re)producing differences, being the stage for the unfolding of neoconservatism, which directly and indirectly impacts educational policies and proposals aimed at the debate on gender issues and the inclusion of dissident bodies in school. On the other hand, practices of resistance and subversion of this macro-dynamic of exclusion were observed, revealing the existence of possible paths of resistance and subversion, sustained by teachers, against the devices of power and knowledge. The concept of body-territory and the pedagogy of differences is presented as a possible way of articulating these fields.

Dimensões e saberes da docência: estudo exploratório sobre os registros elaborados por uma estagiária em ensino de Química

We present an exploratory qualitative investigation into the teaching internship completed by a student on an Academic Program in Chemistry Teacher Education. We carried out content analysis of texts produced by the intern, such as field diary and final report. We identified the mobilization of experiential knowledge, pedagogical tradition and pedagogical action, as well as the student’s involvement in situations related to the relational, academic, professional and strategic aspects inherent to teaching. Such elements were analyzed through observation of the school space, development of class management and the shared and written record of experiences. The results also highlight essential characteristics of the tripod that must support the teacher education processes, encompassing the following agents: the university, enabling attentive/participatory teaching guidance, as well as having a sensitive and humanized academic organization, compatible with the sociocultural profile of the students; the school space that is the field of the teaching internship, with its physical structure, pedagogical resources and trained personnel to receive/collaborate with undergraduate students; and the profile to be taken on by the intern, being open to the study of theoretical references, immersion in challenging experiences and the investigative/dialogical nature of the movements underlying the process of becoming being a teacher. Keywords: Teacher education. Teaching internship. Wisdom of teacher work.

Percepción de la convivencia escolar en un bachillerato de Aguascalientes

This research is a case study on the perception of students, teachers, directors and family members about school coexistence in a federal technological high school in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The objective was to know how school coexistence is perceived through three observation spaces: classroom/course, the school space, and the socio-communitary space. It was carried out with a mixed methodological approach through individual and group interviews, and with a questionnaire. The analysis of the information was carried out by triangulating the perspective of the informants. The perception from the different actors about the coexistence in the school is positive in general, students relate to each other mainly in informal subgroups whose social relationships are strong and generally stable, while the way these subgroups relate with others decisively influences the perception of school coexistence.