Designing an outdoor learning environment for and with a primary school community: A case study in Bangladesh

Matluba Khan, Simon Bell, Sarah McGeown

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In Bangladesh, school grounds are usually barren areas devoid of any designed features. This study explored children’s, teachers’ and parents’ views of what would constitute an effective school ground for learning, socialising and play at primary schools in rural Bangladesh. Working within the theory of behaviour settings to design school grounds, several methods were applied: focus groups with children, teachers and parents, a drawing session with children and a child-led/teacher supported model-making workshop. The results suggest that children want to connect with nature, to explore their environment, to challenge themselves, to be physically active and to socialise with friends. They also wanted their school ground to be more attractive. The parents highly valued gardening whereas teachers preferred an area with loose materials where the children could learn by themselves. None of these ideas were mutually exclusive and the subsequent design was able to incorporate elements from all groups.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)95-110
Number of pages16
JournalLandscape Research
Volume45
Issue number1
Early online date3 Feb 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2020

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Primary school ground
  • children’s preferences
  • learning
  • loose materials
  • teachers’ views
  • affordances
  • behaviour settings

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