In what ways do the school building and environment affect engagement with learning in three case study schools?

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Project description: I will undertake research in lower primary classrooms in three case study schools in order to understand the ways in which the architecture of school buildings can affect young people's engagement with learning. This will include interviews with schools staff, architects and work with the children themselves to understand how the spaces are designed and used and the effect the space has on its inhabitants. I will answer three specific research questions using these methods: what do children want from their schools; what do teachers want from their schools; and what do architects want from their schools? I will draw on the work of Blishen (1969) in which children were asked about their ideal school and I particularly want to gain and value the views of children as equal to all other research participants. I will establish wider implications for school design by placing my research within a wider theoretical context and drawing on the vast body of work on educational pedagogies and spatial impact, including Kraftl and Adey's research (2008) and Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow (1982; 2002). I will feed into the contemporary interest in the architecture of school buildings, shown for example by their inclusion in the Stirling Prize finalist lists in recent years, and intend to impact the dialogue around policy and design.