RESEARCH SUMMARIE EIGHT

Title

Getting together to improve the school environment: user consultation, participatory design and student voice

Publication Type

Peer Reviewed Journal Article

Design Issue

The primary purpose of this article is to educate the public on how consultations, during the various phases of a design, can influence educational facilities in both positive and negative ways. There is an increase in the desire to include children, all levels of educators, and operational staff in the decision-making process when it comes to designing educational space. Researchers and designers believe that all users need to be included because they utilize, interact, and navigate within the space in completely different manners. If only one group of users are included in the various phases of a design; then the building will not be constructed in a format or layout that fits the needs of all of its users. As designers and architects progress, they need to begin to include all users, of a space, in all areas of the design and the decisions that go into the structure of the building.

Methods

In this literature review that authors utilized various methods to collect their findings. They first conducted additional research on the history of educational design and how consultations for teachers and students were performed in the past. Then they created a case study where they worked with St Margaret’s High School for Boys in Liverpool. During this study they designed a futuristics 360-degree classroom where they had teacher preform various classes that ranged from technology, math, english, history, and modern language. Additionally, during the study, the researchers gathered qualitative data on both the positive and negative experience of the students and teachers. Finally, they combined all of their data and created pie and bar graphs to showcase their results.

Findings

Through the author’s additional research and case study, they determined that teachers like the open floor plan for their classroom space; however, teachers communicated that all of the various technology was challenging to operate. Additionally, having to maneuver and figure out the various technology, effected the class time and academic performance within all grade levels. The researchers also found that teachers didn’t like crowded classroom space and that they preferred flexible layouts. Furthermore, the results from the case study confirmed that students preferred the access to technology, flexible layouts, white boards, and the ability to arrange their desks in various groupings. However, they found the crowded space to be distracting and the adjustable furniture to be uncomfortable and not very durable over time. Overall, researchers found that consultations should have no time limit. All users should be able to communicate their thoughts and ideas at any stage of the project because it only improves the end result.