school design and students' relationships with the natural world

RethinkingSchools:schooldesignandstudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworld

by

IndiraDutt

ATHESISSUBMITTEDINPARTIALFULFILLMENTOFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF

MASTEROFARTS

in

TheFacultyofGraduateStudies

(Cross‐FacultyInquiryinEducation)

THEUNIVERSITYOFBRITISHCOLUMBIA(Vancouver)

January2011

IndiraDutt,2011

ii

ABSTRACTThisthesisaskshowareintermediatestudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworld

mediatedbythedesignoftheirschoolbuilding?Thisquestionisexploredbylooking

atstudents’responsestotwodesignfeaturesoftheirschoolbuilding:the

relationshipoftheschoolbuildingtotheschoolsiteandindoor/outdoorinterfaces.

Inaddition,students’ideasabouthypotheticalschoolbuildingsthatfostera

relationshipwithnaturewerealsoinvestigated.Thefieldworkforthisprojectwas

conductedinthespringof2009atBowenIslandCommunitySchool,whichispartof

theWestVancouverSchoolDistrict,andlocatedonBowenIsland,B.C.Datawas

collectedfromtwofocusgroupsusingartsbasedinquiryaswellasfivesemi‐

structuredinterviews,photographsandfieldnotes.Usingthematicanalysis,the

researchfoundthatnearbynatureandthepresenceofindoor/outdoorinterfaces

providedstudentswithasenseoffreedom,joy,socialcohesivenessandaesthetic

pleasure.Inadditionparticipantshadvaluabledesignideasforcreatingastrong

connectionbetweenstudentsandthenaturalworldatschool.Resultsarediscussed

intermsoffutureschooldesignandstudentimpact.

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PREFACE

Iamwhollyresponsibleforboththeresearchandthewritingofthisthesis.

Currentlytherearenopublicationsarisingfromthiswork.Thisresearchproject,

“RethinkingSchoolDesign”,wasapprovedbytheUBCBehaviouralResearchEthics

Board(BREB),thecertificatenumberbeingH09‐01000.

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………ii

PREFACE……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….iii

TABLEOFCONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………..iv

LISTOFTABLES…………………………………………………………………………………………………….....vii

LISTOFFIGURES……………………………………………………………………………………………….…....viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………………………….……….ix

1.0INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................1

1.1RE‐ENGAGINGWITHNATURE......................................................................................................................11.2ENGAGINGCHILDRENWITHNATURE......................................................................................................31.2.1SCHOOLANDSCHOOLBUILDINGS..........................................................................................................31.2.2ENVIRONMENTALANDPLACE‐BASEDEDUCATION......................................................................51.2.3SCHOOLDESIGNANDEDUCATION.........................................................................................................71.3RESEARCHOBJECTIVES...................................................................................................................................81.4SITUATINGTHERESEARCHER.....................................................................................................................91.5THESISSTRUCTURE ....................................................................................................................................... 11

2.0LITERATUREREVIEW................................................................................................................. 13

2.1COMPLEXITYOF‘NATURE’ ......................................................................................................................... 132.2CHILDREN’SRELATIONSHIPTONATURE............................................................................................ 162.2.1BIOPHILIA ....................................................................................................................................................... 172.2.2.CHIDREN’SCONNECTIONTONATURE .............................................................................................. 192.2.3THENATUREOFCHILDREN’SCONNECTIONTO‘NATURE’...................................................... 202.3BUILDINGSANDCONNECTIONTONATURE ....................................................................................... 232.4ARCHITECTUREASPEDAGOGY................................................................................................................. 242.5DESIGNTHATCONNECTSTONATURE.................................................................................................. 272.5.1.PLACE‐BASEDDESIGN/REGIONALISM............................................................................................. 272.5.2.BIOPHILICDESIGN ..................................................................................................................................... 292.6CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK ...................................................................................................................... 31

3.0BOWENISLANDCOMMUNITYSCHOOL ................................................................................. 33

3.1CONTEXT............................................................................................................................................................. 333.1.1LOCATION ....................................................................................................................................................... 333.1.2HISTORY........................................................................................................................................................... 333.2SIGNIFICANTFEATURESOFBICS............................................................................................................. 353.2.1THESCHOOLGROUNDS ............................................................................................................................ 373.2.2THESCHOOLBUILDING ............................................................................................................................ 473.3EDUCATIONALCONTEXT ............................................................................................................................ 55

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3.3.1THEOCCUPANTS.......................................................................................................................................... 553.3.2THECURRICULUM....................................................................................................................................... 56

4.0RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY...................................................................................................... 59

4.1QUALITATIVERESEARCH............................................................................................................................ 604.1.1THEMATICANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................ 614.1.2IDENTIFYINGTHERESEARCHER ......................................................................................................... 624.2ETHICSANDPERMISSION ........................................................................................................................... 654.3.PARTICIPANTS ................................................................................................................................................ 674.4.PROCEDURES ................................................................................................................................................... 694.4.1FIELDWORKANDDATACOLLECTION .............................................................................................. 694.4.2VISUALINQUIRY/TWOFOCUSGROUPS ........................................................................................... 694.4.3INTERVIEWS.................................................................................................................................................. 714.4.4.FIELDNOTES .................................................................................................................................................. 724.4.5ANALYSIS......................................................................................................................................................... 73

5.0DESCRIPTIVESUMMARYANDDISCUSSION......................................................................... 76

5.1INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 765.2IDEASREGARDINGHOWBUILDINGSCANFOSTERASTRONGERRELATIONSHIPWITHNATURE........................................................................................................................ 775.3VISUALREPRESENTATIONSOFSCHOOL’SCONNECTIONTOTHENATURALWORLD...775.3.1RESPONSETOASSIGNMENTINFOCUSGROUPS ........................................................................... 775.3.2VISIBLETRENDSINDRAWINGS............................................................................................................ 785.3.4KEYATTRIBUTES......................................................................................................................................... 795.3.5RESEARCHINTENTIONS .......................................................................................................................... 805.4VISUALREPRESENTATIONS:SCHOOLSTHATWOULDCONNECTSTUDENTSTOTHENATURALWORLD ......................................................................................................... 835.4.1STUDENT1...................................................................................................................................................... 835.4.2STUDENT2...................................................................................................................................................... 865.4.3STUDENT3...................................................................................................................................................... 895.4.4STUDENT4...................................................................................................................................................... 915.4.5STUDENT5...................................................................................................................................................... 935.4.6CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................................. 955.5RELATINGVISUALREPRESENTATIONFINDINGSTOTHEMATICANALYSIS.................................................................................................................................................................... 965.6IDEASREGARDINGBUILDINGSANDTHEIRSCHOOLBUILDING ............................................... 975.6.1SCHOOLBUILDINGTAUGHTNOTHING ............................................................................................. 975.6.2BUILDINGSANDTHEIRENVIRONMENTALCONSEQUENCES ................................................. 995.6.3DESIGNOFSPACESWITHINSCHOOLS............................................................................................ 101

6.0THEMATICANALYSISANDDISCUSSION ............................................................................ 104

6.1INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 1046.2STUDENTS’RESPONSESTOSCHOOLSITE ........................................................................................ 1056.2.1SENSEOFFREEDOM................................................................................................................................ 1056.2.2MOMENTSOFJOY ..................................................................................................................................... 1106.2.3SOCIALCOHESIVENESS.......................................................................................................................... 1126.2.4AESTHETIC/EMOTIONALRESPONSE.............................................................................................. 1146.3STUDENTS’RESPONSESTOINDOOR/OUTDOORINTERFACES............................................... 1176.3.1SENSEOFFREEDOM................................................................................................................................ 117

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6.3.2MOMENTSOFJOY ..................................................................................................................................... 1206.3.3SOCIALCOHESIVENESS.......................................................................................................................... 1236.3.4AESTHETIC/EMOTIONALRESPONSE.............................................................................................. 124

7.0CONCLUSIONANDRECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................... 128

7.1SUMMARYOFFINDINGS............................................................................................................................ 1287.1.1 WHICHELEMENTSOFBICSMEDIATESTUDENTS’RELATIONSHIPWITHTHENATURALWORLD ........................................................................................................................ 1287.1.2HOWSTUDENTSEXPERIENCETHEELEMENTSOFBICSTHATMEDIATETHEIRRELATIONSHIPWITHTHENATURALWORLD................................................... 1297.1.3ASCHOOLBUILDINGTHATFOSTERSANIDEALRELATIONSHIPWITHTHENATURALWORLD ........................................................................................................................ 1307.2IMPLICATIONSOFSTUDY......................................................................................................................... 1317.2.1IMPLICATIONSFOREDUCATORS ...................................................................................................... 1317.2.2IMPLICATIONSFORTHOSEWHOINFLUENCETHEDESIGNOFSCHOOLS...................... 1337.3LIMITATIONSOFSTUDY ........................................................................................................................... 1347.4FUTURERESEARCH..................................................................................................................................... 138

REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 140

APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................... 149

APPENDIXA:GUARDIANINTERVIEWCONSENTFORM.................................................................... 149APPENDIXB:YOUTHVISUALINQUIRYASSENTFORM ..................................................................... 151APPENDIXC:YOUTHINTERVIEWASSENTFORM................................................................................ 152APPENDIXD:VISUALINQUIRYFORRESEARCH ................................................................................... 154APPENDIXE:INTERVIEWQUESTIONSFORRESEARCH.................................................................... 155

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ListofTablesTABLE1SIGNIFICANTDESIGNEDFEATURESOFBICS……………………...……………………….. 35TABLE2SIGNIFICANTEMBELLISHMENTSOFBICS…………………………………………………… 36TABLE3SIGNIFICANTNATURALELEMENTSOFBICS……………………………………………….. 37

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ListofFiguresFIGURE1OVERHEADPICTUREOFBICS……………………………………………………………….....FIGURE2SITEPLANFORBICS………………………………………………………………………………..FIGURE3MEMORIAL/PEACEGARDEN……..…………………………………………………………...…FIGURE4FRONTOFCOMMUNITYGARDEN………………………………………………………………FIGURE5INTERIOROFCOMMUNITYGARDEN…..………………………...…………………………..FIGURE6FORESTAREA………...…………………………………………………………………………………FIGURE7SITEMAPHIGHLIGHTINGVEGETATEDAREASONSCHOOLSITE………………..FIGURE8OVERHEADVIEWOFROOMSONUPPERFLOOROFBICS………………………….FIGURE9OVERHEADVIEWOFROOMSONLOWERFLOOROFBICS………………………...FIGURE10SKYLIGHTINMAINFOYEROFBICS………………………………………………………….FIGURE11PRIMARYWINGHALLWAYLOOKINGSOUTH……………………………………………FIGURE12PRIMARYWINGHALLWAYLOOKINGNORTHEAST…………………………………..FIGURE13WINDOWOVERLOOKINGCOMMUNITYGARDEN……………………………………...FIGURE14SEAQUARIAINFRONTFOYEROFBICS……………………………………………………..FIGURE15STUDENT1’SDRAWINGOFIMAGINEDSCHOOL………………………………………..FIGURE16STUDENT2’SDRAWINGOFIMAGINEDSCHOOL………………………………………..FIGURE17STUDENT3’SDRAWINGOFIMAGINEDSCHOOL………………………………………..FIGURE18STUDENT4’SDRAWINGOFIMAGINEDSCHOOL………………………………………..FIGURE19STUDENT5’SDRAWINGOFIMAGINEDSCHOOL………………………………………..

38383942434546484849525354578386899193

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Producingthisthesishasbeenchallenging,consumingandsatisfyingwork.There

havebeenmanyimportantpeoplethathavesupportedmeinthisprocess.Iam

especiallygratefulfortheBICSCommunity,DavidLangmuir,DavidFullerton,

TammySanhedrai,LizHill,andAndreaMcKayforyouropendoors,welcoming

hearts,andstories.Yourhardandgoodworkwillcontinuetoinspiremetogarden,

playandteachcreatively.Iwouldliketoacknowledgetheuniquecontributionsof

mycommitteemembers:RaymondCole,DavidZandvliet,andMaryBryson.Iam

thankfultoSarahMills,whoononesummerdayonThirdBeachencouragedmeto

thinkaboutawayIcouldacademicallypursuethecomplexityofmyinterests.Iam

indebtedtoStephenBiggs,astrongally,whoseconsistentpatientandcriticalear,

thoughtfulnesswithideas,knowledgeofmethodology,andeditingskillsprovided

mewithconstantdialoguethroughoutthisprocess.IamalsogratefultoMarla,

Steve,Sarah,Brenda,Chelsea,David,AlexandHelenforlisteningandoffering

insightsanddirection.FinallyIappreciatethesupportofmyparents,Hildaand

AsokeDutt.

1

1.0INTRODUCTION

“Schoolarchitectureneedstoberadicallyre‐thought…Weneedtodesignbuildingsandlandscapesthatresonatewithourbiologicalandaestheticsensibilities,becausethewaysstudentsexperienceschoolswillforevershapetheirpathsonthispreciousandfragileplanet.”

~RenaUpitis,“TacklingtheCrimeofSchoolDesign”

1.1REENGAGINGWITHNATUREEnvironmentalissuesareattheforefrontofpopularmedia:bytheendofatypical

daywewillhavedestroyedcloseto60000hectaresoftropicalrainforests(United

Nations,2003),wewillhaveeliminatedasmanyas140speciesoflivingbeings

(Ryan,1992),andover27000childrenwilldiefromhungerduetoenvironmental

degradation(Bell&Renner,2001).Clearlyweareatacriticalmomentinour

interactionwiththeplanetanditsnaturalenvironment.

InTheGeographyofChildhood,biologistGaryNabhanclaimsthatexperiencingthe

naturalworldisthebestwaywecanbeintouchwithourselves(1994).Edward

WilsoninTheBiophiliaHypothesisechoesthissentimentbystatingthat,“themore

weknowofotherformsoflife,themoreweenjoyandrespectourselves”(1993).

Althoughexperiencingthenaturalworldisimportant,manypeoplehaveargued

thatthemodernworld’sdiverseandsatisfyingconnectionswithnaturehave

substantiallydiminished(Leopold,1970;Muir,1976;Mumford,1970;Nabhanand

Trimble,1994;Thomashow,1995).

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DavidSuzuki,anenvironmentalist,remindsusthatwearenature.However,

“increasingly,natureisimagined‘outthere’…andusuallyitentailsgettingintoacar

togetthere”(Suzuki,2007).Childrenspendlessunsupervisedtimeoutdoorsthan

didtheirpreviousgeneration(Hern,2007;Suzuki,2007;Louv,2008;Malone,2003),

oftenknowahundredmorecorporatelogosthantheydonativeplantsoranimals

fromtheirbackyard,andspendmoretimeinadigital/textualworldthantheydo

outside.Itisnotsurprisingthat“thecurrentgenerationofchildrenissomeofthe

mostdisconnectedfromnatureeverinourhistory”(Suzuki,2007).However,

nurturingaconnectiontonatureinyoungpeopleispossibleandhastheabilityto

fostercreativity(Moore,1997),concentration(Taylor&Kuo,1998,quotedinLouv,

2008,89),afeelingoftimelessness(WhiteandStoecklin,1998),andimproved

cognitiveability(Wells,2000).

Stewardshipofournaturalandbuiltenvironmentsisessential.InBuildingforLife

Kellertemphasizesthatpeoplewithoutastrongconnectionwithnaturerarely

“makegoodstewardsorcommitthenecessaryresourcesorenergiesneededto

sustaintheirnaturalorbuiltenvironmentsoverthelongterm”(2005,96).

Kellertfurtherclaimsthat:

Onemajorcauseofalienationfromnaturehasbeenhowwedesignanddevelopourbuiltenvironment.Wehaveconstructedourmodernbuildings,communities,andcitiesbyexcessivelyconsumingnaturalresources,significantlytransformingnaturallandscapes,producingenormousquantitiesofwasteandpollutants,anddisconnectingpeoplefrompositivecontactwithnature.Thehumanbuiltenvironmenttodayconsumes40percentoftheworld’senergyresources,25percentofits

3

freshwaterresources,and30percentofitsnaturalresources.Buildingsfurthergenerateanestimated20percentoffreshwatereffluents,25percentofsolidwastes,40percentofairemissions,60percentofozone‐depletingemissions,and30percentofgreenhousegasemissions.(2005,90‐91)

Weneedtobegintoengageinpositiverelationshipswithnature.Inorderto

dothiswemuststudytheexistingbuiltenvironmentandseriouslyconsider

howwecontinuetoalienateourselvesfromnaturebybuildinginwaysthat

negativelyaffectthenaturalworld.

1.2ENGAGINGCHILDRENWITHNATURE

Children’sconnectiontonatureisespeciallyimportant,aschildhoodisthe

pointatwhichhumansdeveloplifelonghabits.

Schoolsareformativeinstitutions:childrenspendsignificantamountsof

timeinschoolbuildingsandoftenschoolsfunctionastheheartofa

community.Schoolbuildings,then,havethepotentialtobeinfluential

markersofwhatacommunityfindstobemostimportantaswellashave

significantimpactonhowweteachandlearn.

1.2.1SCHOOLANDSCHOOLBUILDINGS

Welearnaboutlearningatschool.Wealsolearninandfromschoolbuildings.

AmericanenvironmentalistDavidOrrnotesthat,“thecurriculumembeddedinany

buildinginstructsasfullyandaspowerfullyasanycoursetaughtinit”(1999,212).

Thebuiltenvironmentaffectshowwemovethroughspace,howwegatherwith

4

peers,andhowwefeelinaspace.Schoolbuildingshavethepotentialtomove

beyondsupportingourdailyneeds;theycanenhanceeducationalpedagogyin

criticalways.Inaddition,schoolbuildingshavetheabilitytosupportandfoster

occupants’imaginationsaswellasoccupants’connectiontothemselves,peers,to

thelargercommunity,andtotheimmediatenaturalenvironment(Upitis,2007;

Alexander,1977).Therefore,schoolbuildingscaninformourconnectionwiththe

naturalworld.

Althoughthereareexceptions,generally,schoolbuildingshaveastandardized

structureandaestheticandareimmediatelyrecognizableas“schools”.Infact,many

schoolsinNorthAmericalooklikefactoriesorprisons(Thomas,2006;Taylor,

1995).EveryyearNorthAmericaspendsbillionsofdollarsbuildingthese“prison”

schools.Infact,during2008,theUnitedStatesspent$19.5billiononschool

constructionprojects(Abramson,2009).Tosupportthisclaim,inasmallstudyata

localhighschool(HeritageWoodsSecondarySchool,PortMoody)thatwasbuiltin

2004,manystudentsspokeabouttheschoollookingandfeelinglikeaprison(Dutt,

2007).Schooldesignissubjecttosomanygovernmentregulationsthatconcerns

suchassafetypervaderatherthanpedagogicstylesorpedagogicsense(Symes&

Preston,1997).Thereisanuntappedpotentialinschooldesigntohelpreconnect

adultsandchildrentonature.Thepotentialexiststoreinvigorateeducationby

understandinghowarchitecturecanbeusedtoenhancelearningandteaching.

Designingschoolsinwaystocreateandfosterpositiveconnectionsbetweenpeople

andtheirnaturalenvironmentisasteptowardsreconnectingyoungchildrenin

5

schoolsalloverNorthAmericatonatureandasenseofplace.Ifsafetycontinuesto

overshadowenvironmentalandpedagogicconcernsabiggersenseofourhuman

safetywillbeindanger.Wemustbemorefarseeinginourunderstandingofsafety.

Safetyiscriticalatschools,however,children’sconnectiontothenaturalworld

shouldbeequallyconsidered.

1.2.2ENVIRONMENTALANDPLACEBASEDEDUCATION

Althoughmanyschoolsdonotforegroundchildren’sconnectiontonature,thereare,

ofcourse,schoolsthatdo.Theseexceptionallybuiltschools,oftenalsohavean

environmentallyfocusedcurriculum(AdamJoesphLewisCenter,IslandWood,

WalkerElementarySchool).Relativetotheseschoolsteachersatconventional

schoolswithtraditionalcurriculummustworkhardertofosterconnectionoftheir

studentstothenaturalworld.

Therearetwoapproachestoeducationthattakechildren’sconnectiontothe

naturalworldintoaccount:

1. Environmentaleducationrefersto“organizedeffortstoteachabouthow

naturalenvironmentsfunctionandhowhumanbeingscanmanagetheir

behaviourandecosystemsinordertolivesustainably”(Environmental

Education,2010)andcanbeintegratedintoschoolcurriculum.Infactthere

isalocaldocumentthat“assistsBritishColumbiateachersofallsubjectsand

gradestointegrateenvironmentalconceptsintoteachingandlearning”

(Zandvliet&Kool,2007).Althoughtherearesomefacilitiesthatspecializein

6

environmentaleducationthathavebeendesignedespeciallytofoster

peoplesrelationshiptonaturethereisalackofresearchthatexploreshow

thedesignofthesefacilitiesconnecttheiroccupantswiththenaturalworld.

2. Place‐basededucation(Gruenewald,2003)isanexampleofatypeof

curriculumdesignedtopedagogicallyaddressstudents’experienceand

relationshipwiththeirimmediateenvironments.However,inmanyschools

thatpromoteplace‐basededucationchildrenwilloftengooutsideofthe

schoolbuildinginordertolearnaboutplace.Theliteratureofplace‐based

educationrarelymentionshowschoolbuildingsorschoolspacescansupport

teachingstudents’aboutplace.Morestudiesofhowschoolbuildingsinform

andcansupportchildren’sconnectiontonaturewouldbebeneficialforthe

advancementofplace‐basededucation.

Oneaspectofdesignthatcaninfluenceasenseofplaceandourrelationship

tothenaturalworldis“indoor‐outdoorrelationships”(Taylor,Aldrich&

Vlastos,1988),whichisanareaofschooldesignthatissometimes

overlookedorminimizedbyschooldesignersandeducators(Taylor,Aldrich

&Vlastos,1988).Specificdesignfeaturesthatcreateindoor‐outdoor

relationshipsincludetransitionzonesbetweenclassroomsandplayground

areassuchasporchesorfeaturesthatprovideconnectiontotheoutdoors

suchaswindowsorinteriorlivingwalls.Theseaspectsinschoolsareunder‐

studied.Infactthereisnoempiricalresearchthatshowshow

7

indoor/outdoorrelationshipsinschoolbuildingsaffectstudents’connection

tonature.

1.2.3SCHOOLDESIGNANDEDUCATION

Studiesregardingschoolarchitecturehavefocusedmainlyonacademic

performance.Somehaveinvestigatedhowenvironmentaldesignorelementsof

environmentaldesignaffectacademicperformance(Edwards,2006).Therehave

beenmanystudiesthatdeterminetherelationshipbetweendaylighting(Wu&Ng,

2003;Plympton,Conway,&Epstein,2000;Heschong,Wright&Okura,2002;

Heschong,1999),andindoorairquality(Heath&Mendell,2002)andacademic

performance.

Thereareonlyasmallnumberofstudiesofschooldesignfromaneducator’s

perspectivethatfocusonschooloccupants.Onesuchstudyiscurrentlyinprogress.

RenaUpitis,aprofessoratQueens’University,iscurrentlystudyinghowschool

architectureshapeslearning,bothdirectandindirectly,insixCanadianandtwo

Europeanschools.UpitisplanstousecomplexitytheoryandadaptTanner’sDesign

ScaletoincludeallofChrisAlexander’spatternsthatrelatetocomplexityinorderto

examinethearchitectureofeightschools.Upitis’sgoalistoinvestigatefrom

students’,teachers’,andparents’perspectiveshowandwhatislearntfromschool

design.

8

Itiscriticaltounderstandfromstudents’perspectiveshowschoolarchitecture

influencestheirideasabouttheworldtheylivein,especiallytheirideasaboutthe

naturalworld.Giventhatthisfieldisinitsearlystagesitisnotsurprisingthatthere

hasbeenonlylimitedconsiderationofintermediatestudents’perspectives.This

studyproposestocontributethisperspectivetothefieldofarchitectureand

education.

1.3RESEARCHOBJECTIVES

ThesiteforthisstudywasBowenIslandCommunitySchool,apublicelementary

(K‐7)schoolthathas267students.BowenIslandCommunitySchool(BICS)has

beenrecognizedfortheiroutstandingenvironmentalandecologicalstewardship

initiatives.ThroughoutthisstudytheresearcherassumedthattheBowenIsland

CommunitySchoolisdistinctiveandthatthestudents’experiencesofboththe

naturalworldandtheirschoolbuildingmaybeunique.Thisstudybridgesschool

design,educationandecosophy1/deepecology2byaskingtheresearchquestion:

Howareintermediatestudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworld

mediatedbythedesignoftheirschoolbuilding?

Theresearchhadthreeprincipleobjectives:

ToexplorewhichpartsofBICSschoolmediatedintermediatestudents’experiencesofthenaturalworld

Toaskhowintermediatestudents’experiencetheirschoolbuilding,especiallytheelementsofBICSthatmediatetheirrelationshipwiththenaturalworld

1ArneNaess,in1972,definedthetermecosophyasaphilosophyofecologicalharmonyorequilibrium 2deepecologyconsidershumankindanintegralpartofitsenvironment

9

ToaskBICSstudentstoimagine,drawanddiscusshowtheywoulddesignaschoolbuildingthatwouldfosteranidealrelationshipwiththenaturalworldinitsoccupants

Theworkisintendedforabroadaudienceengagedwithdesigningschools,the

discourseofschooldesignandforthosewhooccupyschoolseveryday.Itishoped

thatthisstudywillalloweducators,architects,schoolboardadministratorsandthe

generalpublictoenvisionhowbuildingdesignmightbeadjustedtoenhance

students’relationshipwiththenaturalworld.Schoolarchitecturemightbemore

widelyappreciatedandconnectionstotheoutdoorsmaybeembeddedinfuture

schooldesigntofacilitatestewardship.

1.4SITUATINGTHERESEARCHERTheresearcherhashadalong‐standinginterestinenvironmentalissuesasthey

relatetoeducationbothinandoutoftheclassroom.Herdecisiontoask

intermediatestudentsabouttheirrelationshipswiththenaturalworldinrelationto

thedesignoftheirschoolbuildingwasinspiredbyherworkasbothan

environmentaleducatorandapublicschoolteacher.

Duringthetimeshespentasanenvironmentaleducatortheresearcherworkedina

varietyofsettingsthathadaspecialfocusonrelationshipstonature,andoftenthe

learningoccurredinbuildingsandonpropertiesthathadbeenbuiltspecifically

withnatureinmind.Examplesincludedlivingmachinesthatpurifywastewater,

reusedandlocalbuildingmaterials,lowenergyandwaterconsumption,composting

toilets,andsustainablesitedevelopment.Theenvironmentalcurriculumofthese

10

programstookthetimetointroducethesebuildingfeatureswhileaddressing

practicessuchascomposting,garbageaudits,andresourceconsumption.The

environments,inwhichstudentswerelearning,reinforcedtheenvironmentally

focusedcurriculumbytheirverydesign.

Formshapescontent(Freire,1999).Spaceswherelearningtakesplaceshapesthe

learningthathappenswithinthosespaces.Theresearcherisinterestedspecifically

inschoolbuildingsandhowtheindoorclassroomcansupportstudents’connection

withnature.Studentsareinfluencedbytheenvironmentinwhichtheylearn,

whetherthatenvironmentisanaturalsetting,architecturalspace,orsome

combinationofboth.Thereisanopportunityforstudentstolearnfromschool

buildingsthatrespectnature,butthisopportunityisnotcommonlyrealized.

Instead,itismorecommonforschoolbuildingstoseparatetheiroccupantsfromthe

naturalworld.Giventheamountoftimestudentsspendinschoolbuildingsthis

separationissignificant.

Withtherisingconcernforenvironmentaldecline,andresearchshowingthat

childrenhavelessaccesstowildspaces(Nabhan,1994)andspendlesstimein

nature(Louv,2008)itmakessensetoinvestigatehowschooldesigncontributesto

theseconcerns.Whatarestudentslearningfromtheircurrentschoolbuildings?Ifit

istruethatpeopleareaffectedbytheirlearningenvironments(Taylor,1993;Orr,

2005)andthekindsofbuildingstheyoccupy(Orr,1999),thenhowcouldschool

buildingsbeenhancedtoconnecttheiroccupantstothenaturalworld?

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Theresearcherhopestheinformationgatheredthroughanexplorationof

educationalspacewillfuelactivediscussionsabouttheeffectsofschooldesignon

theiroccupantsandtheopportunitiesschoolshavetoencourageadeepconnection

tothenaturalworld.

1.5THESISSTRUCTURE

TheLiteratureReviewcontextualizestheresearchquestionwithintwodisciplines,

educationandarchitecture,andspecificallyfocusesonchildren’srelationshipto

natureaswellasarchitectureandschooldesign.Thethirdchapterprovidesthe

readerwithrelevantcontextforthesiteofthisresearchproject,BowenIsland

CommunitySchool(BICS).Atourofthephysicalspace,thepeoplewhoinhabitand

shapethisspace,andinformationabouttheBICScurriculumareprovided.Chapter

4outlinesthebasisonwhichtheresearchermakesclaimstoknowledgeaswellas

themethodologyandmethodsforthisproject.Chapter5isadescriptivesummary

anddiscussionofthepicturesstudentsdrewofanimaginedschoolbuildingthat

wouldfostertheirrelationshipwithnatureandstudents’ideasabouttheircurrent

schoolbuilding.Chapter6explorestheresultsanddiscussionofthethematic

analysis.Inthischapterfourmajorthemes:senseoffreedom,momentsofjoy,social

cohesivenessandaestheticresponsearediscussedinrelationtotwodesign

elementsofBICS,firsttherelationshipbetweentheschoolbuildingandtheschool

propertyandsecond,indoor/outdoorinterfaces.Thefinalchaptersummarizesthe

findings,andoutlinestherecommendationsemergentfromthesefindings.

PhotographsandmapsofBowenIslandCommunitySchoolareincludedtogivethe

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readerasenseoftheschoolbuildingandschoolsite.Imagesdonotincludepeople

duetoethicsrequirements;assuchtheyareratherhollowrepresentationsofactive

spaces.StudyparticipantsarereferredtoasStudent15.Itistheresearcher’shope

thatthisthesiswillbeofinteresttoreaderswhoareactiveinthedesignofschools

(educators,architects,andschoolboardadministrators)andtothegeneralpublic

interestedinenvisioninghowbuildingdesignmightbeadjustedtoenhance

intermediatestudents’relationshiptothenaturalworld.

13

2.0LITERATUREREVIEWInordertosituatethisstudyandunderstandthestrengthsandlimitationsofthe

availableliteraturepertainingtoit,thisliteraturereviewexplorespertinent

readingsonthetopicsofchildren’srelationshiptonatureandtherelationshipof

pedagogytoschoolarchitectureanddesign.Thetheoristsinthesetwofieldshave

contributedtotheresearcher’stheoreticalframeworkforthisstudy.

2.1COMPLEXITYOF‘NATURE’

‘Nature’,inparticularisaveryproblematicconcept(Soper1995).Sometimesitreferstoametaphysicalideaof“Nature”,oftentakentobeaconsciouslyknowingagent–the‘mindofnature’.Atothertimesitreferstothephysicalworldthatisthe‘object’ofscientificstudyandmaterialexploitation.Sometimesitistakentobeonlythataspectofnon‐naturethathasnotbeencontaminatedby‘man’–natureaswilderness.Atothertimesitistakentobethewholeplanetaryecosystemwhichincludeshumanbeings.(Mellor,1997,8)

Natureandaddressingthenaturalworldisproblematicinmultipleways.Notonlyis

thewordnatureusedtomeanvariousthingswithinoneculturebutalsodifferent

cultureshavedissimilarandsometimesopposingconceptsofnature.

Natureisusedregularlyandelusivelyincolloquialconversations.Natureisusedto

meanessentialqualitiesbywhichsomethingisrecognized,acasualagentcreating

andcontrollingthingsintheuniverse,thenaturalphysicalworldincludingplants

andanimalsandlandscapes,thecomplexemotionalandintellectualattributesthat

determineaperson’scharacteristicactionsandreactions,aparticulartypeofthing,

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theexternalworldinitsentirety,andhumankind’soriginalornaturalcondition

(Merriam‐WebsterandGoogleonline).Thewordnaturecarriesacomplexsymbolic

loadandisrepresentedinvariousandcontradictoryways.

InTheValueofLifeKellert(1996)contraststheWesternviewandEasternviewof

nature.Kellertstatesthat,

FromtheWesternview,natureisinanimateclayawaitingahighertransformationbasedonempiricalknowledgeandtheapplicationoftechnology.Thenaturalworldexiststoservehumanpurposes,andtheworthofnonhumanlifeismeasuredbyitspracticalvalue.IncreasingmaterialaffluenceandtechnicalcontrolovernatureseemedtocorroboratetheWesternassumptionofprogresscontingentonhumanstransforminganddominatingthenaturalworld.(Kellert,1996,133)

Healsostatesthat,

TheEasternviewissaidtoregardalllivingcreaturesaspermeatedwithasimilarlifeforce,afundamentalkinshipconnectingalllifeinendlesscyclesoftransformationandrelationship.Allcreaturesshareafundamentallysimilarexperience,eachstrivingafterpeace,harmony,andgrace.Alllife,humansincluded,isthoughttocohabitananalogousfieldofconsciousness.Peoplemustrespectandreverealllivingcreatures,exercisingkindness,practicingcompassion,andavoidingharmtononhumanlife.Coexistence,ratherthanconquest,emergesasthehallmarkofEasternthought.(Kellert,1996,134)

Althoughitisnotthissimple,thedichotomybetweenthewesternandeasternviews

oftherelationshipbetweenhumansandnaturerevealshowideasaboutwhat

natureisandourrelationshiptowardnature,isculturallyembeddedandfurther

complicatesboththemeaningandtheimaginedmeaningofnature.

Inthecourseofthisprojectitbecameapparentthatnatureandthenaturalworldis

perceivedinparticularandmultipleways.TheBowenIslandCommunitySchoolisa

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schoolintheWesternworld,inasemi‐ruralcommunityonanislandwithmunicipal

parklandadjacenttotheschoolgrounds.BICShastheexplicitgoaltoimprovethe

environmentalsocialresponsibilityoftheentireschoolcommunityintheschool

thatisexplainedindetailintheschool’sActionPlanforStudentLearning(2009).

Theschoolworksasawholetopromoteconservationandstewardshipthrough

individualclass“missionpossible”tasksandschoolwideassemblies.Henceitis

likelythatimaginingsofnatureandthenaturalworldemergethroughshared

meaning.AsStuartHallstates:“meaningdoesnotinhereinthings,intheworld.Itis

constructed,produced.Itistheresultofasignifyingpractice‐apracticethat

producesmeaning,thatmakesthingsmean”(Hall,1997,italicsintheoriginal,p24).

Themeaningofnatureisconstructed,andthesociallyconstructedmeanings

becomesonormativethattheyareassumedtobenaturalandinevitable(Hall,

1997)restrictingtheimaginationtothelimitsofwhatalreadyexists.TheBICS

curriculum,aswellasteachers’andstudents’perceptionandconstructionofnature

andthenaturalworldarerichandchangewithnewadditionstotheschool

community.Partoftheworkofthisthesisistoengagewithnatureandthenatural

worldasconstructionsthatneedtobedeconstructedandreconstructed.

Schoolsteachculturalvaluestochildren.Withinasetofculturalvaluesarevalues

aboutnature,andthusschoolsteachstudentsaboutnature.Theyinherently

embodyaconceptofwhatnatureisaswellasoftenimpartacceptableattitudes

towardandwaystoengagewithnature.Therefore,inadditiontothebuilt

environmentinfluencingstudents’relationshiptonature,teachersandschool

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curriculumdoaswell.Withthisawareness,beforetalkingabouttheseconceptsor

havingstudentsdrawpicturesofwheretheyfeltconnectedtothenaturalworldor

schoolsthattheyimaginedwouldfosteraconnectiontonature,theresearcher

askedstudentstodefinewhattheyunderstoodnatureandthenaturalworldtobe.

Foreachstudentinterviewedtheresearcheraskedfurtherquestionsusingtheir

definitionofnatureandthenaturalworld.Thiswasdoneinthehopetodiscoverthe

students’workingdefinitionsandunderstandings.Whilesomeresearchersdefine

natureandthenaturalworldinrelationtotheirprojectsthisresearcherhaschosen

notto.Inordertohonourthestudentsvaryingdefinitions,theresearcherdidnot

wanttolimitnatureeithertoincludeornotincludeallofhumankind’screations

andactivities.

2.2CHILDREN’SRELATIONSHIPTONATURE

Therearemanystudiesthathaveaddressedchildren’sconnectiontonature.These

studieshaveexploredifchildrenhaveadeepconnectiontothenaturalworldthat

getsseveredbymodernsocietyovertime(Kahn,1999),whatplacesarespecialto

childrenleadingtowhatisanimportantfocusforstudents’learningaboutthe

world(Sobel,1993),andhowvaluestowardnaturechangeduringchildhood

(Kellert,1996).However,thesestudiesfailtoexaminetherelationshipbetween

schoolandthesephenomena.

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2.2.1BIOPHILIAEdwardO.Wilsondefinesbiophiliaas“theinnatelyemotionalaffiliationofhuman

beingtootherlivingorganisms”(Wilson,1993,31).InthisframeworkWilson

theorizesthathumanshaveanaffinityforthenaturalworldandthatbiophilic

behaviour,“likeotherpatternsofcomplexbehaviour,islikelytobemediatedby

rulesofpreparedandcounterpreparedlearning”(Wilson,1993,31).Inotherwords

althoughbiophiliaisaninnatequality,environment,cultureandexperienceplaya

roleinthestrengthofitspresence.

Althoughbiophiliatheoryisnotuniversallyacceptedthereisoveradecadeof

researchthatsuggeststhatcontactwithnature,whetherdirect,indirector

symbolic,positivelyaffectshumans(Kahn,1997;Kellert,2005;Louv,2008;Suzuki,

2007).Amongtheimpressivenumberofstudiesconducted,somehaveshownthat

contactwithnature“fostersphysicalandmentalwell‐beingandcanevenenhance

productivity”intheworkplace(Kellert,2005,22),“reducesthefrequencyof

sicknessinprisons”(Moore,1982)andspeedstherecoveryfromstress(Ulrich,

Simons,Losito,Fiorito,Miles&Zelson,1991).Inadditionexperiencewithanimals

hasbeenshowntopositivelyeffecthumanwelfare(Katcher&Wilkins,1993quoted

Louv,2008,45).

Kahnreviewsandcritiquesthebiophiliahypothesisinhisarticle,Developmental

PsychologyandtheBiophiliaHypothesis:Children’sAffiliationwithNature.Kahn

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illustratesthedifficultyofprovingordisprovingempiricallythatbiophiliaexists.

OneexamplehegivesisafindingfromKatcheretal.’sstudy(1983):“watchingan

aquariumresultedinsignificantdecreasesinbloodpressurebelowtherestinglevel

inbothhypertensiveandnormalsubjects”(Kahn,1997,25).Kahnquestionsifthis

isreallyevidenceforbiophilia,asmanydifferentactivitiescouldlowerblood

pressure,suchaslisteningtocalmingmusicorwatching“slow‐movingglobsof

multicolouredlight”(Kahn,1997,25).Despitethedifficultlyinprovingor

disprovingthebiophiliahypothesisnumerousstudiesshowthatcontactwiththe

naturalworldisbeneficial.

Kahnconcludeshiscritiquewithastatementofhisbelief,“theresearchliterature

speaksrelativelystronglyforthepropositionthatpeoplehaveaneedand

propensitytoaffiliatewithnatureandthatsuchaffiliationscanbebothapositiveor

negativekind”(Kahn,1997,27).Kahnaddsthatthebiophiliahypothesisneedsto

takeevolutionarytheoryintoaccountandpointstotheneedforbiophilia“tobe

investigatedinwaysthattakeexperience,learningandcultureseriously”(Kahn,

1997,28).

Ifbiophiliaexists,andhumansdohaveaninnateaffiliationtowardsliving

organismsitwouldfollowthatchildren,beingyounger,aremoreconnectedtoand

expressiveoftheirinnatequalities.Onemightexpectthatchildrenwouldexpress

affinityforotherlivingorganismsmorethanadultswould,astheyhavehadless

experience,learning,andculturethatdiminishtheirinnatesensibilities.

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Especiallyifexperience,learningandcultureplayaroleinhowchildrenaffiliate,

negativelyorpositively,withthenaturalworlditiscriticaltorecognizethe

significanceofstudents’experienceofthenaturalworldatschool,theroleof

educators,andthewaythatschoolcultureregardsthenaturalworld.

Suzukisuggeststhat,“byteachingchildrentofearnature,weincreaseour

estrangementandfailtosatisfyourinbornbiophilicneeds”(Suzuki,1997,258)and

“thedegradationofthishumandependenceonnaturebringstheincreased

likelihoodofadeprivedanddiminishedexistence.Muchofthehumansearchfora

coherentandfulfillingexistenceisintimatelydependentuponourrelationshipto

nature”(Wilson,1992quotedinSuzuki,1997,259).

Biophiliaanditsneedtobefosteredpointstowardtheimportanceofstudying

schoolsandhowschoolbuildingscansupportorworkagainstchildren’s

relationshiptothenaturalworld.

2.2.2.CHIDREN’SCONNECTIONTONATUREManyresearchershavefoundthatbondingwithandhavingaffinityforthenatural

environmentdevelopsinearlyandmiddlechildhoodandrequiresregular

interactionwithnearbynature(Cohen&Horm‐Wingerg1993;Kellert2002;Sobel

1990,1996&2004;Wilson1993).However,childrenarespendinglesstimein

naturethaneverbefore(Suzuki,2007;Louv2008;Kellert2002,Kuo2003,Malone

20

2004;Wilson1996),givingthemlessopportunitytoformstrongbondswiththe

naturalworld,especiallyduringthecriticaltimeofearlyandmiddlechildhood.

Manystudieshaveshownthatpeoplereceivemultiplebenefitswhentheyhave

accesstonaturalenvironments.Havingarelationshipwiththenaturalworldcan

increasefitness(Louv,2008)andone’sabilitytoconcentrate(Taylor&Kuo,1998,

quotedinLouv,2008,89)aswellasnurturesolitude(Louv,2008),sensory

development(Moore,1993),cognitiveability(Wells,2000)andcreativity(Louv,

2008).Spendingtimeinnaturealsofostersasenseofwonderandafeelingof

timelessnessorinfinity(White&Stoecklin,1998)withoutwhich“weforgetour

place;weforgetthatlargerfabriconwhichourlivesdepend”(Chawla,1990).

Thesefindingspointtowardstheimportanceofchildrenhavingaccesstonearby

natureandtheopportunityforschoolgroundstoprovidethisregularaccesstothe

naturalworld.Manychildrenspendasignificantamountoftimeatschool.If

childrencouldspendtimeinnatureduringtheschooldayorsimplybeforeandafter

schoolchildrenmightbemorelikelytodevelopabondandfeelaffinitywithnature.

2.2.3THENATUREOFCHILDREN’SCONNECTIONTO‘NATURE’Relatedtoliteraturethataddressestheimportanceandthechangingrelationship

childrenhavewiththenaturalworldisresearchthatseekstounderstandhow

childrenconceptualizeandvaluethenaturalworld.

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InTheValueofLifeKellertoutlinesninevaluesthathesuggests,“reflectarangeof

physical,emotional,andintellectualexpressionsofthebiophilictendencyto

associatewithnature”(1996,26).Asummaryofthesevaluesislistedbelow.

1. Utilitarian–exploitingnaturetosatisfyvarioushumanneedsanddesires

2. Negativitistic–feelingoffearanddislikehumanshavefornature

3. Dominionistic–desiretocontrolorsubduenature

4. Naturalistic–thesatisfactionspeoplederivefromspendingtimeinnature

5. Ecologistic/scientific–systemicstudyofbiophysicalpatterns,structuresand

functiononnature

6. Aesthetic–emotionalresponseofpleasurefromthephysicalbeautyof

nature

7. Symbolic–howhumansusenatureforcommunicationandthought

8. Humanistic–thecapacityofhumanstocareforanimals

9. Moralistic–determinationofrightandwrongconducttowardnonhuman

world

UsingthisframeworkKellertstudieddifferencesinpeople’svaluestowardnature

basedonethnicity,age,culture,education,income,gender,andrural/urban

environment.Regardingage,Kellertfoundthatchildrenyoungerthansixare

egocentric,domineering,andself‐servingtowardsanimalsandnature.Betweenthe

agesofsixandninechildrenhaveanincreasedappreciationfortheindependenceof

othercreatures.Betweennineandtwelve,Kellertfoundthemostdramaticincrease

inchildren’sfactualknowledgeandunderstandingofanimalsandthenaturalworld.

Fromagesthirteentoseventeen,Kellertfoundanincreaseintendenciestoward

ecologisticandmoralisticvalues.

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Thesefindingshaveinformedthisresearcher’sunderstandingofthedevelopmentof

children’sviewstowardnature.Thisresearcherexpectedthattheintermediate

studentsinterviewedwouldhaveconcretewaysofmakingsenseoftheworld(i.e.

classification),wouldbeabletoseedifferentviewpoints,andhaveastronger

naturalisticthanmoralisticorecologisticvalueforthenaturalworld.Theresultsof

thisstudyaugmentKellert’sexplorationofhowpeopleviewnature.Inaddition,this

studyalsoaddressesthemissinglink,being,howschooldesigncontributestohow

childrenviewnature.

PagePulvercompleteddoctorateresearchthatconsideredhowupperelementary

students’conceptualizedthenaturalworldforthepurposeofinformingteachers’

improvementofthesciencecurriculum.Pulverinvestigatedchildren’sperceptions

throughacombinationofphotographsortingandstructuredinterviewsconsisting

oftwoquestionnairesandasetofterms.Inthisstudyshefoundthatmanyofthe

upperelementarystudentssheinterviewedhadnothadrichexperienceswith

natureandthattheydidnothaveschoolinstructiononwhatnaturewasorwasnot.

Pulverfoundthat55%ofthestudentssheinterviewedfeltthathumanswerepartof

nature,while40%saidthatpeoplewerenotpartofnature.Shealsonotedstudents’

ideasonnaturevariedfrombeinganythingnotman‐madetonaturebeingnice.

Pulverconcludedthat,“thesestudentslackedanyrealsenseofconnectiontothe

naturalenvironmentevenintheirneighborhoods”(2002,140).Herstudytook

placeatacitysuburbanschoolanditservestocontrastthisstudy.Itispossiblethat

studentswholiveonBowenIslandviewnaturedifferently.

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ThisresearchissimilartoPulver’sworkinthatupperelementarystudentswere

interviewedandchildren’srelationshiptonaturewasinvestigated.Pulver’sstudy

showsthatitispossibletointerviewelementaryschoolstudentsregardingthis

topicandobtainusefuldata.Thisresearchlooksatintermediatestudents’viewof

naturefromaslightlydifferentperspective.Pulverconcentratedonhowschool

scienceclasseshelptoinformhowstudents’viewnature,whilethisstudy’sfocusis

theinfluenceofschoolarchitecture.Shewasmostinterestedinrethinkingschool

scienceclasses.Thisresearcherconcentratedonhowschoolbuildingscontributeto

children’srelationshiptonature.

2.3BUILDINGSANDCONNECTIONTONATURESomeresearchershavelinkedone’sconnectiontothenaturalworldwiththeimpact

ofthebuiltenvironmentonourdailylives.Suzukiclaimsthat,“ourschismfrom

natureisreinforcedbythewayweconstructourhabitat”(2007,261).Similarly,

Kellert’sresearchhasshownthat“onemajorcauseofalienationfromnaturehas

beenhowwedesignanddevelopourbuiltenvironment”(1995,90).Thebuilt

environmentcancontributetothedividebetweenpeopleandnature.Withthisin

mind,thoughtfuldesigncanhopefullyprovidemultipleopportunitiesforpositive

contactwithnature,helpingbuildingoccupantstofeelandbeconnectedtothe

naturalworld.

Suzukialsostatesthat“theplacewherewespendmostofourlivesmouldsour

prioritiesandthewayweperceiveoursurroundings.Ahuman‐engineeredhabitat

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ofasphalt,concreteandglassreinforcesourbeliefthatwelieoutsideandabove

nature,immunefromuncertaintyandtheunexpectedofthewild”(2007,261‐262).

Thissuggeststhatbyspendingasignificantamountoftimeinbuildingsthat

separateusfromnatureourrelationshipwithnaturemightbeinfluenced.When

thinkingaboutthebuildingsthatchildreninearlyandmiddlechildhoodoccupy

mostregularly,schoolscometomind.Childrenspendthirtytothirtyfivehourseach

weekinschoolbuildings.IfSuzuki’ssentimentsaretrue,thedesignofschool

buildingsplayasignificantroleinchildren’slivesandpossiblyaffecthowthey

relatetothenaturalworldfortherestoftheirlives.

Eventhoughpopulartheoristshaveclaimedthatbuildingdesignandpeople’s

connectiontothenaturalworldarerelatedthereisapaucityofempiricalresearch

addressinghowthebuiltenvironment,specificallyschooldesignaffectschildren’s

connectiontonature.Therearestudiesthattouchonthis,suchasUpitis’sstudy

(2007)FourStrongSchools:DevelopingaSenseofPlaceThroughSchool

Architecturethatisdiscussedindetailthenextsectionbutnonethatdirectlystudy

this.Thisstudyhopestoaddressthisgapbygatheringempiricalevidencein

responsetoquestioningstudentsdirectlyhowthebuiltenvironmentoftheir

schoolscanfosteraconnectiontothenaturalworld.

2.4ARCHITECTUREASPEDAGOGYDavidOrr,inArchitectureasPedagogy,statesthatbuildingsteach.Orremphasizes

thatifbuildingsdonotsomehowattendtoorreflectthespecificlocationandregion

inwhichtheyaresituatedtheythenteachitsusersthat,“wheretheyareis

25

unimportant”(1999).Orralsoemphasizesthatmanybuildingsteachmindlessness.

Forexampleifabuildingwastesenergyitindicatestothebuildingsusersthatthey

neednotthinktwiceaboutwastingenergy.Orrhasputhistheoryintopracticeby

initiatingtheconstructionoftheAdamJosephLewisCenteratOberlinCollege,a

high‐performancebuildingthatworkstoteachmindfulnessinasmanywaysas

possible.ForexampletheAdamJosephLewisCenterhasalivingmachine,which

purifieswastewaterrightnextahundred‐seatauditorium.Thelivingmachineisin

fullviewandisaconstantreminderthatwaterisavaluableresourceanddoesnot

needtobewasted.Infactbycyclingthewaterthroughanintricatesystemofplants

itisreadyforreuse.Anotherexamplethatshowshowthisbuildingteaches

mindfulnessistheplasmadisplayinthefoyerofthebuildingthatshowsthe

“performancedatagatheredeveryfiveminutesfrom150sensorsplacedinthe

buildingandlandscape”(Orr,2006,83).

Orr’stheoryhassignificantlyshapedthisresearcher’sthinkingaboutschooldesign.

Thisresearcherbelievesthatbuildingsteach,andthatwasteful,“unthoughtful”

buildingsdoteachmindlessness.ManyarticlesrefertoandagreewithOrr’sideaof

architectureaspedagogy;however,thereisverylittleempiricalresearch

supportingOrr’stheory.Inaddition,ifbuildingsdoteachthereisnoempirical

researchthataddresseshowbuildingsteach.Thisresearchwillbeonestudythat

beginstoaddresstheneedtotestthistheory.Theresearcher’sintentionisto

criticallyexaminesomeofOrr’svaluablereflectionsandaddtothebodyofresearch

26

thatthinkscriticallyaboutschooldesignandresearcheshowschooldesign

influenceswhatstudents’learninschool.

AnneTaylor,aprofessorintheSchoolofArchitectureandPlanningandco‐director

oftheInstituteforEnvironmentalEducationattheUniversityofNewMexico,like

Orr,believesthatbuildingscanteach.Taylorhasdevelopedacurriculum,

ArchitectureandChildren,whichinstructsteachersandparentshowtointerpret

theirenvironmentandteacheschildrenaboutdesignandthedesignprocess.

Taylorhasstudiedhowlearningopportunitiescanbeintegratedrightintothe

structureofschools.Taylorbelievesthatallchildrencanreadtheirenvironments

eventhoughsomechildrenfinditdifficulttoreadbooks.Inhermodel,teachers

mustlearntoturnobjectsintothoughtsand/oropportunitiestolearnfromand

architectscanmarryeducationanddesignbycreatingactivespaces(Taylor,1993).

Studentscanlearnaboutbotanyfromasolargreenhouseonschoolgrounds,or

aboutphysicsfromadoorway.

Inherarticle,TheLearningEnvironmentasaThreeDimensionalTextbook,Taylor

(1993)describestwocasestudiesinwhichchildrenwerepartofthedesignteam,

helpedtoimagineandcreateinnovativemulti‐useschoolspaces,andlearnedabout

democracythroughaction.ItisclearfromthisandotherarticlesTaylorhaswritten

thatsheisinvestedinandadvocatesforcollaborativeschooldesign.Thedesign

processoftheprimarywingofBowenIslandCommunitySchoolwascollaborative,

27

however,theprimaryfocusofthisresearchishowexistingbuildingsinformtheir

occupants.Schoolbuildingscanbeteachersanditisimportanttobuildcurricula,

whichfostersawarenessfortheresourcesthatbuildingsuse,thepedagogyofspace,

andmoregenerallyfortheEarth.Itisimportantforstudentstobeapartofplace

makingandwhenpossible,educationaldesign.Schoolbuildingsneedtobemore

thancost‐effectivecontainersandthatthehiddencurriculumofbuildingsneedsto

beacknowledgedandaddressed.Weneedtobeawareofthemindlessnessweare

encouraginginourchildren.

2.5DESIGNTHATCONNECTSTONATURE

2.5.1.PLACEBASEDDESIGN/REGIONALISM

Place‐baseddesignorregionalismisonekindofdesignthatseekstoconnect

buildinguserstotheirspecificandimmediatenaturalenvironment.Thereisalack

ofresearchthatstudieseitherhowbuildingdesigncanfosterchildren’sconnection

tothenaturalworldorhowplace‐basedschooldesigncanhelpfacilitateplace‐

basedlearning.However,RenaUpitis,aprofessoratQueens’Universitywhohas

studiedschoolarchitectureforanumberofyears,hasexploredthearchitectureof

place‐basedschoolsandthelearningthathappensintheseschools.

Inherarticle,FourStrongSchools:DevelopingaSenseofPlaceThroughSchool

Architecture,Upitis’sfindsthat“schoolsandcurriculathatfocusonasenseofplace

areabletosupportthepracticalactivitiesthatleadtomeaningfulrelationships

betweenmembersofthecommunity,andbetweenpeopleandtheland”(Upitis,

28

2007).Upitis’sresearchshowsthatplace‐basedschooldesigncancontributeto

people’srelationshiptotheircommunityandtotheland.

Upitisreviewedschoolsthathaveplace‐basedarchitecture.Inherreview,she

valuedaspectsoffourparticularschoolsthathavemindfulrelationshipswiththe

Earth(forexampleoneschooltreatsitsownsewageontheschoolgrounds),orare

attentivetothespecificlocationtheyarein(forexampleaschoolbuildingbeing

designedaroundanimposingfigtreeortomimictheshapesofthemountainsinthe

background)insomeway.ThisresearchsimilarlyexaminedaspectsofBICSthat

areattentivetoitsspecificlocation,andhowBICSbuildingdoesanddoesnot

provideconnectionsfromtheinsideworldtotheoutsideworld.

Despitescantresearchonschoolsthatuseplace‐baseddesignorregionalism,there

arelearningenvironmentslikethefourschoolsUpitishighlightsinherarticleor

IslandWood,onBainbridgeIsland,WAthathavebeenspecificallybuiltinhopesof

fosteringusersconnectiontothenaturalworld.

Upitis’sbeliefsthatbuildingsteachandthatdifferentschooldesigncancontribute

tooccupants’relationshiptoeachotherandthenaturalworldareimportant.

Educationisaholisticprocessandthebuildingsandenvironmentaresignificantin

thelearningprocess.Upitisfocusesonschoolbuildingsasplacesthatcanallow

certainkindsofactivitiesthatdirectlyaffecttherelationshipsstudentshavewith

eachother,thecommunityandthenaturalworld.Schoolbuildingsindirectlyimpact

29

students’relationshiptotheland.UpitishighlightsDeweyandMumford’sideaof

theimportanceofmanuallabourinthestudiesshehasdoneaboutschoolbuildings.

Althoughtheresearcherbelievesthatexperientiallearningisvaluablethisresearch

doesnotusethisframework.

SimilartoUpitis,thisstudyinvestigateshowstudentsexperiencetheirschool

buildingandhopestoprovokethoughtaboutthesignificanceofschooldesign.This

studyisasignificantlysmallerinscale:onlystudentswereinterviewedandrather

thanfocusingonallpossibilitiesofwhatstudents’learnfromschooldesignthe

focuswasspecificallyonhowschooldesigninformsstudents’relationshipswith

nature.Thisstudy,likeUpitis’sstudy,contributestothescantresearchonhow

studentsrespondtoschoolarchitectureinsubtlewaysandhowarchitecturecan

helppeopledevelopaffectionforthenaturalworld.

2.5.2.BIOPHILICDESIGNBiophilicdesignisanotherkindarchitecturethatseekstoconnectbuildingusersto

theirnaturalenvironment.StephenKellertinBuildingforLifeproposesand

describesBiophilicDesignasanewarchitecturalmodelthatbridgepeopleandthe

naturalworld.Kellertusesbiophiliaasaframeworktobuttresshisideasabout

buildings.Kellertassertsthathumanshaveanaffinityfornatureandthatbuildings

needtobedesignedtohonourthisaffinity.Kellertbelievesthatitisnotenoughfor

ustodesignbuildingsthatminimizethenegativeimpactsontheenvironment,

ratherbuildingsneedtobedesignedthatwillalsocontributepositivelytothe

30

naturalenvironment,whichincludeshumans.Kellertoutlinesvariouselementsof

biophilicdesignallofwhichprovideadirectexperiencewiththenaturalworld.

Eventhoughthereisempiricalevidencethatshowsbiophilictendenciesinhumans,

thereisnoempiricalevidencethatrelatesthistostudentsinschools.Inparticular,

therehavenotbeenanycompletedstudiesofhowbiophilicdesignedschool

buildingsaffectstudents.Thisgapisanimportantonetoaddressinorderto

determineifschoolsthatattendtoschooloccupants’relationshiptothenatural

worldmakeasignificantimpact.Eventhoughthereisnoempiricalresearchyet

thereisastudyinprogress.Kellert,Heerwagenandtheirgraduatestudentsare

currentlyconductingalongitudinalstudytoassessthephysical,emotional,

intellectualandinterpersonalimpactsofbiophilicdesignfeaturesonstudents,

teachers,andstaffattheirschool(Kellert,2005a).Theresultsfromthisstudywill

beanecessaryadditiontothetheoryofbiophilia.Inthemeantime,theresearcher

hopesthatresearchingstudentsatBowenIslandCommunitySchoolwillbeginto

addressthisgapbetweentheoryandempiricalresearch.

Theconceptofbiophiliahashelpedtheresearchertounderstandherownaffinity

forthenaturalworldandwhyshethinksitisimportantforbuildingstoincorporate

elementsofthenaturalworld.Inschools,placesthatchildrenspendmostoftheir

dailylives,theresearcherbelievesitisespeciallyimportanttoprovidebuildings

thatnotonlyhavelowenvironmentalimpactbutfosterpositiveconnectionstothe

environment.Kellert’sbeliefintheimportanceofstewardshipalsohashadan

impact.Withoutasenseofconnectiontothenaturalworlditishardtoimagine

31

beinginvestedinitshealth.Asateachertheresearcherworkstowardsenlivening

herstudentstoasenseofwonderandconnectiontothenaturalworld.This

researchinvestigatesKellert’sassertionthathumanshaveanaffinityforlifeby

investigatingifstudentsareexperiencingaconnectiontonatureinpartsoftheir

schoolbuildingthatallowfordirectorindirectexperiencesofthenaturalworld.

SuzukialsoaddressesbuildingdesigninTheSacredBalanceinasectioncalled

“RestoringtheBalance”,where,WilliamMcDonoughisheldasanexampleofanew

kindofarchitectthatthinksgooddesignrevolvesaroundecologicalthinkingand

sustainabilityandthatredesignisnecessary.WiththisexampleSuzukiadvocates

fortheredesignofbuildingsandtechnologysothattherearedeliberate,intelligent

andsustainable.

2.6CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK

Thisliteraturereviewhasexploredpertinenttheoriesregardingchildren’s

relationshiptonatureandarchitectureaspedagogy.Theworkinthesetwofields

havecontributedtotheresearcher’stheoreticalframeworkforthisstudy,which

exploresthepossibilityofschooldesignhelpingtofosteraconnectionand

commitmentinschooloccupantstothenaturalworld.Inthisstudytheresearcher

takesintoaccountideasregardingbiophilia(Wilson,1984),theimportanceof

children’sconnectiontonature,andbuildingsinfluencinghumans’connectionwith

nature.Theframeworkforthisstudyisgroundedinthefollowing:

Peoplehaveanaffinityforthenaturalworldthatneedstobenurtured.

32

Themostimportanttimetonurturethisaffinityforthenaturalworldis

duringearlyandmiddlechildhood.

Duringearlyandmiddlechildhoodchildrenspendasignificantamountof

timeinsideschoolbuildingsandatschool.

Buildingscaninfluenceourrelationshipwithnature.

Giventhesepointsthisresearchproposesthatschoolbuildingsmediatechildren’s

relationshipwiththenaturalworldwhentheyareinsidethem.Howschool

buildingsaredesignedisimportantbecausechildren’srelationshipswiththe

naturalworldcanbefosteredorhinderedasaresult.Studyingstudents’experience

ofschoolbuildingsiscriticalindetermininghowschoolbuildingsmediatechildren’s

relationshipwiththenaturalworld.Inaddition,bystudyingstudents’experienceof

schoolbuildingsandhowschoolbuildingsfosterandhindertheirrelationshipwith

thenaturalworld,schoolbuildingscouldbebestdesignedtooptimizethispowerful

relationshipbetweenstudentandnature.

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3.0BOWENISLANDCOMMUNITYSCHOOL

3.1CONTEXT

3.1.1LOCATIONBowenIslandCommunitySchool(BICS)ispartoftheWestVancouverSchool

Districtthatincludestwelveotherelementaryschoolsandthreehighschools,allof

whichareinthewealthycitiesofWestVancouverorLion’sBay.BICSistheonly

schoolinthisdistrictthatisnotonthemainland.BowenIslandisatwenty‐minute

ferryridefromHorseshoeBayoreightnauticalmilesfromMetropolitanVancouver.

BowenIslandhasaruralsetting.Apartfromafewcommercialareasmostofthe

islandisresidential.BowenIslandisthepermanenthomeofapproximately3,500

people.BowenIslandersarepredominantlywhiteandgenerallymoreaffluentthan

theirBCcounterparts,however,theaveragehouseholdincomeonBowenIslandis

comparabletotheaveragehouseholdincomeinWestandNorthVancouver.BICSis

locatedinSnugCoveandisaneight‐minutewalkfromtheferry.Thereisa

communityshuttlebusthattravelsfromtheferrytovariousareasoftheislandand

goesonthemainroadrightpastBICS.Therearetwoschoolsontheisland,one

private(IslandPacificSchool‐grade6‐9)andonepublic(BICS‐gradesK‐7).

3.1.2HISTORY

TheBowenIslandCommunitySchoolhasalonghistory.Forthirtyyearspriorto

1956theschoolonBowenIslandwasabigwoodenbuildingonSchoolRoadthat

servedtwentystudentsingradesonethroughtwelve.Therewasawidestaircase

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thatledtotwoclassroomsonthesecondfloorthatoverlookedDeepBay.Onthe

firstfloortherewasagymandamusicroom,whichwasalsousedbythe

communityforconcerts.Afireintheschoolbuildingledtoatemporarymoveto

‘TheTeaRoom’,arestaurantthatoverlookedSnugCove.Onceanewschoolhad

beenbuilttoreplacetheoldschool,studentsmovedbackintoanewtwo‐room

utilitarianschoolbuildingonSenior’sLane.Oneclassroomservedstudentsin

grades1‐5,theotherservedstudentsingrades6‐12.Therewasoneteacherand

approximatelytwentystudentsintotal.In1956thereweretwoadditionstothe

staff:asecondteacherandaprincipal.Therewasanextensiveplayingfieldonthe

schoolgroundsandforestsurroundedschoolproperty.Inthe70’sthenumberof

studentsincreasedtosixtychildren,makingtheschoolbuildingtoocrowdedfor

comfortanditwasdecidedthatanewschoolbuildingwouldbebuilt.In1975a

groupofcommunitymembers,teachers,andparentssucceededinchangingthe

chartersoBowenIslandSchoolcouldberecognizedasacommunityschool.The

schoolhasbecomeovertimeacentralhubandheartforthewholeofBowenIsland.

Thenewexpandedschool,whichstartedoutashavingfiveclassrooms,was

completedin1981.Thisistheschoolbuildingthatstillstandstoday,althoughsince

1981thebuildinghashadtwoadditionsconsistingofadministrationofficesanda

multipurposeroomandmostrecentlyaprimarywing.OnJuly1,1986BICSwas

officiallymadepartoftheWestVancouverSchoolDistrict,beforethatBICSwas

consideredtobepartoftheSunshineCoastSchoolDistrict.ThroughoutBICShistory

theschoolhasbeenlocatedwithinSnugCove,theonlyconcentratedcommercial

centreoftheisland.

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3.2SIGNIFICANTFEATURESOFBICS

Inthefollowingdescriptionofthegrounds,thebuilding,andthecurriculumofBICS

sevenareasorfeaturesthatstudents’addressedintheirinterviewsanddrawings

havebeenhighlightedinordertoprovideadetailedcontextforthefindings

presentedinchapterfiveandsix.Thethreetablesbelowsummarizetheintentions,

usesandsignificancesofthesedesigned,embellished,andnaturalfeatures,which

aretheprimarywing,windows,skylights,communitygarden,memorialgarden,

seaquaria,andforest.

SignificantFeaturesofBowenIslandCommunitySchool(ashighlightedbystudents)RepresentedinThreeTables Designed Elements School Feature

Intention of Feature Use of feature Significance of Feature

Primary Wing

-Provide more space for classrooms -collaborative design -highlight natural materials (eg. wood) and use natural light -save as much of forest as possible -provide direct exits in each classroom

-six classrooms grades 1-4 -halls used to display artwork and occasionally used as additional learning spaces

-strong presence of wood and natural light -warm gathering spaces in hall -memorable views of forest and community garden -contributes to school pride and identity with Bowen Island and specific site -collaborative process of design was meaningful for occupants involved

Windows -to provide natural light in classrooms

-allow occupants to see community garden, forest, or field from classrooms -used for mini-breaks to aid concentration

-highlights natural site of school -contributes to students’ sense of happiness at school -in primary classrooms, forest becomes integrated into classroom experience

Skylights -provide natural light in school building

-used as classrooms/gathering spaces when there is a power outage -place for experiential lessons on weather -observation of bird movement when land on glass

-inspires curiosity -feeling of closeness to natural world (trees, birds, sky) -allows for celebration of natural weather events

Table1:SignificantDesignedElementsofBICS

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Embellishments School Feature


Community Garden

-to have an edible garden on school grounds -to raise awareness of food and sustainability -to integrate growing, gardens and learning about plants into school curriculum -build a strong connection between community and school occupants

-science experiments with plants -math exercises (measuring growth of plants) -learning about butterfly life cycle and habitat -art classes -gardening as a class -each student every year plants at least one seed and harvests one thing from garden -community use(workshops, parent groups) -use veggies grown in student and teacher lunches

-connects students to where food comes from -allows for connection to parents, community members, teachers and fellow students -accessible place for experiential learning

Memorial Garden

-to build a memorial to a music teacher -to have community work with the students of the school to create garden -to beautify the school grounds -to have a place outside to sit and relax

-used in remembrance ceremonies to invite students to think about peace and the garden -used as a play space during recess and lunch and after school -benches used by parents and community for sitting

-provides community monument -provides a place of solace and a sense of privacy on busy school grounds -provides an additional kind of play space

Seaquaria

-to build a connection between students and ocean creatures in hopes of possible stewardship -for students to be able to see and learn about sea creatures from a depth beyond the tidal pools

-grade five students make observation notes daily from tank -inspiration for art and creative writing projects -calming resting or time out zone -viewing time on way in and out of school building -as inspiration for debate about capturing animals -students monitoring setup and maintenance of the tank

-exposure to local sea creature -opportunity for close observational learning -provides place of calm in busy school

Table2:SignificantEmbellishmentsofBICS

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Non-Designed / Natural Elements School Feature


The Forest (the building was designed to leave as much of natural Bowen landscape on property intact)

Municipal parkland that is located beside the school -to have a natural Bowen landscape for students to play and learn in

-play space (before and after school, recess, lunch) -observation journals -art: painting, tree rubbings -first nations studies (culturally modified tree) -orienteering -frisbee golf -build forts -see wildlife

-students love being in the forest -strong connection to forest which contributes to the students’ connection to the school -place for students to learn the alphabet of the natural world -students/teachers able to see change over time with trees & plant life -students/teachers develop relationships with certain trees or forest as whole -provides accessible daily access for unstructured time in natural landscape

Table3:SignificantNon‐Designed/NaturalElementsofBICS

3.2.1THESCHOOLGROUNDSTheschoolbuildingsitstowardthebackofthepropertyandissurroundedby

municipalpropertythatismainlyforestedwithtrails.Approachingtheschoolthe

BowenIslandCommunitySchoolSignisvisibleatthefrontofthefield.Further

alongthemainroadthereisaturnofftotherightintoamediumsizedparkinglot.

Totherightoftheparkinglotistheplayground,whichhasasittingareaandafew

mediumsizedtreesononesideofit.Duringthedaythereareoftencommunity

memberswithsmallchildrenplayingonandaroundtheplaystructures.

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Figure1:AnOverheadPictureoftheBowenIslandCommunitySchoolSite(diagramoriginallyfromBowenIslandCommunitySchoolArtificialTurfFieldSitePlan,CatherineBerrisAsossiatesInc.,2008,p5)

Figure2:SitePlanforBICS

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Directlyinfrontoftheparkinglot,whenfacingtheschoolbuilding,andslightlyto

theleftoftheschoolisamemorial(alsoknownasapeace)gardenwhichwas

plantedin1982inmemoryofamusicteacherwhotaughtattheschoolformany

years.Theintentionsofthisembellishmenttotheschoolgroundsweretohavethe

BowenIslandcommunityplantagardenwithBICSstudents,tocreatea

contemplativeplacewherepeoplecouldrelax,tobeautifytheschoolgrounds,and

tocreateapeacegardeninordertocommemoratepeaceactivist,MurielNeilson,

themusicteacherwhofundedthegarden.

Figure3:TheMemorial/PeaceGardenThememorialgardenorpeacegardenisasmallfeaturelocatedtotheleftsideofthe

stairsthatascendfromtheparkinglottotheschool’smaindoors.

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Ithasarectangularshape(approximately14mby4m)plusatriangularshape

(approximately7mx7mx5m).Therearetwolargecedartrees,afew

rhododendrons,variousbushesandmulchontheground.Thereisalongwooden

ledgethatseparatestherectangularpartfromthetriangularpartofthegarden.

SometimesBICSstudentssitonthiswoodenledgeandoftenplayatthebaseofthe

largecedartrees.Thereisalsoasmalltriangulargreenspaceontherightofthe

stairsthatwasplantedatthesametimeasthememorialgarden;however,thisarea

istoosmalltoplayin.

Thereisonesittingareanestledintothegardenthatismostlyusedbyadultsasa

restingareawhenusingthetrailsbehindtheschoolorwhenpickingupstudents

fromBICS.Duringrecessandlunchchildrenwillplayinthisgardenareaanduntil

recentlytherewasalittledeckthatwasinsetatthebaseofoneparticulartreethat

wasusedasafavoritesittingarea.However,duetooverusethisdeckhasbeen

removedbecauseofregulations.

Althoughthisgardenoccupiesasmallareaitprovidesanimportantplaceofsolace

forparentsandstudentsalike.Thememorialgardenislessoccupiedthantheforest

behindtheschoolortheplaygroundandtherearemultiplesmallpocketstooccupy

withinthegarden.Thisprovidesthepossibilityformorethanonegrouptousethis

gardenandatthesametimemaintainasenseofprivacy.Thememorialgardenis

significantbecauseitprovidesthefrontoftheschoolwithbeautyandasenseof

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care,whichisthefirstthingyouseewhenapproachingtheschoolfromtheparking

lot.

Behindthepavedroadthatleadsfromtheparkinglottothebackoftheschoolthere

isatriangularshapedforestedareaonasteepslope.Thisjoinswiththeforested

areabehindtheschoolthathascommunitytrailsinit.Ontheslopethatisdirectly

behindtheolderpartoftheschoolbuildingthereisthestoryteller’sorhillside

garden.Thishasbothaflatareashadedbyatreeandahillwithindigenousplants

andherbsinpetalshapedcementcontainers.Boththeprimaryandthe

intermediategradesusethisareatoreadbooksaloudandhaveoutdoorclasses.

Thereisalsosmallshedonthishillthatisusedforgardeningtools.

Inthecourtyard(theareain‐betweenthetwopartsoftheschoolbuilding)thereisa

communitygarden.

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Figure4:FrontoftheCommunityGarden

Thecommunityorediblegardenissmallandrectangular(Approximately13mx

5.5m).Thesidesofthegardenhavecedarpoststhatarecoveredwithdeerfencing.

Thefrontgateismadewithcedarthatwasmilledonislandandhasasign(madeby

aBICSparent)withthewordsBICSCommunityGardenonit.Thewindowsofboth

grade6/7roomsandoneprimaryclass(grade2/3)faceouttothisgarden.

Thecurrentcommunitygardenwasanembellishmentthatwasaddedbecauseof

theinitiativeofBICSschoolparents.Theintentionsofthegardenweretohavea

placewhereparents,BICSstudentsandthegreatercommunitycouldallgarden

together,tobringthecommunityintotheschool,andtoincreaseawarenessofand

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students’connectiontofoodsystemsandsustainability.EachyeareveryBICSclass

hastheopportunitytodecideiftheywanttohaveanareaofthegardentoplanand

useastheywish.Forexampleoneyearthegraduatingclasschosetogrowflowers

fortheirgradceremonywhilecreatingabutterflyhabitat.Regardlessofwhether

classesdecidetohaveanarea,eachyear,everystudentintheschoolplantsoneseed

inthegardeninthespringandharvestsonethingoutofthegardeninthefall.Other

gardenactivitiesincludeplanting,weedingandcomposting;classesinart,math,and

science;andcommunityandindividualsclasses.Thegardenprovidesexperiential

learningopportunitiesandconnectsstudentstofoodsources.Thisismeaningful

especiallybecausemanyBICSstudentsdonotexperiencefoodgardeningathome.

Figure5:InterioroftheCommunityGarden

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Aftertheprimarywingadditionwasbuiltcourtyardmuralwasmountedonthe

outerwall.TheartworkwasdonebyalocalartistandwithparticipationofBICS’s

students.

Behindtheprimarywingthereisaplaystructuresurroundedbyaforestedarea.

Eventhoughtheschoolcommunityusestheforestedarea,itisactuallymunicipal

parkland.Theforestisabouta50mx70mareaandisonthenortheastsideofthe

schoolbuilding.Theforestedareaiswellusedbystudentsofallages.Beforeschool,

duringrecessandlunchandafterschooltherearemanygroupsofchildrenplaying

variousgameswithintheforest.Theseincludedtag,hideandgoseekandmany

imaginativegames.AdditionallybetweenAprilandJune,whenthisresearchwas

conducted,therewerefortsbeingbuilt,takenapartandrebuilt.Thepresenceofthis

forestprovidesBICSstudentswithanaturallandscapethatisextremelyaccessible

andservesasanimportantplacetolearnaboutthenaturalworld.Thepresenceof

thetreesattractswildlifeaddingrichnesstothecurriculumoftheschool.

Therebasketballandtenniscourtsandasoccerfieldontheschoolproperty.Atthe

timeofthisresearchprojectthesewereallonthesoutheastendoftheproperty,in

frontoftheschoolbuilding.Therewasanartificialturffieldaddedtotheschool

groundsinthesummerof2009.

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Figure6:Afortthatwasintheforestedareaattimeofstudy.

46

Figure7showsthevegetatedareasontheschoolsgroundsinbird’seyeview.The

schoolsiteincludes:

• Forestedareastothenorthandwestoftheschoolbuildingandsomepatchesof

forest,andscatterednativetreesintheplayareatothesouth.

• Twogardenareas:acommunitygardenwithvegetableandnativeplantplots,

andaMemorialorPeaceGarden.

VegetatedAreas:1) ForestedPlayArea2) CommunityGarden3) Memorial/PeaceGarden4) ForestedSteepSlope5) ForestedPlayArea6) SpecimenTreesFigure7:Sitemaphighlightingvegetatedareasonschoolsite(diagramoriginallyfromBowenIslandCommunitySchoolArtificialTurfFieldSitePlan,CatherineBerrisAssociatesInc.,2008,p6)

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3.2.2THESCHOOLBUILDINGTheBowenIslandCommunitySchool(BICS)Buildingisbasicallyalongrectangle

withanadjoiningTshapedsection.KillickMetzBowen&RoseArchitects,currently

namedKMBRArchitectsPlannersInc.,designedtheoriginalschoolin1980.Thishas

anon‐combustiblesteelstructurewithmasonrycladding.Themulti‐purposeroom,

administrationspace,change‐roomsforthegym,storageroomsandanelectrical

roomwereaddedin1990.BICSlooksmuchlikeatypicalschoolbuilding,exceptfor

thetwolongskylights,thesizeofthewindowsandtheviewoutofthem.

Asyouwalkintothemainentranceoftheschoolyouenterintothefoyer,whichis

adornedwithafewplants;abenchthatopenstoprovidestorage;andsignsthat

directvisitorstotheoffice,carrytheSchool’smissionstatementanddisplayapoem

abouttheschool.Therearealsopicturesofthestudentsfromvariousyears,a

communitybulletinboard,andashowcaseofstudents’artwork.Totheleftofthe

foyeraretheschooloffice,theadministrationoffices,aphotocopierroom,firstaid

room,staffroomandstaffwashrooms,amulti‐purposeroom,andtotherightofthe

foyeristhe“intermediatehall”.Thereareeightclassrooms,alibrary,acomputer

laboratory,threelearningresourcescenterrooms,twostoragerooms,girlsand

boyswashrooms,abookroom,custodian’sclosetandthecommunityschool

coordinator’soffice.

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Figure8:OverheadviewofallroomsinSchoolonupperfloor

Figure9:OverheadviewofallroomsinSchoolonlowerfloor

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Therearetwoskylightsintheoriginalsectionoftheschool.Oneisinthemainfoyer

oftheschoolandis14mby2.8m.Thesecondskylightis28mby2mandislocated

intheintermediatehall,justbeyondthegrade6/7classrooms,wherethehallslead

outtothesidedooronthewestsideofthebuilding.

Figure10:PictureoftheskylightinthemainfoyerofBICS.

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Theseskylightsallownaturallighttoenterintotheschoolbuildingandprovidea

viewoftheskyandweatherevents,suchasaheavyrainfallorsnowfall,tobuilding

occupants.Inadditiontoweather,birdslandontheskylights,sparkingteachers’

andstudents’imaginations,initiatingquestionsanddiscussionsinclassesabout

birdsandhowtheytravelandmigrate.Thelengthoftheskylightsalsooffers

elementarystudentsasenseoftheexpanseofthenaturalworldfromwithinthe

schoolhalls.

TheTshapedprimarywingwasaddedtotheexistingschoolbuildingin1998,

designedbyNicolsonTamakiArchitects.DonNicolson,wholivesonBowenIsland,

wastheprinciplearchitectonthedesignteam.Membersoftheschoolboard,school

staff,andtwogradesixstudentswereinvolvedinthedesignprocess.Althoughthis

additionisnotaLEED3certifiedproject,heavytimbersweresalvagedfromfallen

DouglasFirsfromtheschoolsiteandmilledonislandandareamajorfeatureofthe

design.Thecedarceilingfinishandcedartriminthecenterofthewingaremilled

fromthesamecedars.

Asoneapproachestheprimarywing,alargecircular“treecookie”mountedona

backgroundofcedarpanelsishighlightedattheendofthehall.Thereisawindow

3LeadershipinEnergyandEnvironmentalDesignandisagreenbuildingratingsystemthathasfourpossiblelevelsofcertification(certified,silver,goldandplatinum)basedonthetotalpointsreceivedinfivekeyareasofhumanandenvironmentalhealth(sustainablesitedevelopment,waterefficiency,energyefficiency,materialsselectionandindoorenvironmentalquality)

51

highonthewallthathasaviewofcedarandfirtrees.Onceintheprimarywinghall

woodbeamsarevisibleandrunthefulllengthofthehall.Oneendofthehallhasa

viewofthecommunitygardenandtheotherhasaviewoftheforest.Partofthe

overallwarmthandwelcomingqualityinthisspaceisduetotherichcolourof

wood.Thesixclassroomsinthissectionoftheschoolbuildingalsohaveacozyfeel

aboutthem.Thereareexposedwoodbeamsandnaturallightfromtheample

windows.Eachclassroomhaselectricheating,indirectlighting,operablewindows

andiswiredforIT.Severalhavelightfromtwosidesandallenjoyviewsofthe

woodsbeyond.

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Figure11:PictureofPrimaryWingHallwaylookingsouth

53

Figure12:PictureofPrimaryWingHallwaylookingnortheast

Therearemanylargewindowsinboththeoriginalandnewsectionsoftheschool.

Notonlyaretheselarge(approximately11.4feetby8.3feet)butalsomanyhave

viewsofgreenspacewhetheritistheforest,thecommunitygarden,thefield,or

treesonthehillacrossthestreetfromtheschool.Theabundantvegetationthatis

visiblefromthewindowsgivesanexpansivefeelingandallowsforappreciationof

thenaturalandconstructedlandscapesontheschoolsite.

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Figure13:Windowthatoverlooksthecommunitygarden.CommunityUseofBICSBICSisacommunityschoolandthereisacommunityrecreationcentreisapartof

theschool.Inadditiontothecommunityrecreationcentre,thereisacommunity

coordinatoroffice,acommunityuseroom,andacommunitycomputerroominthe

school.Thecommunitycoordinatorservesasalinkbetweentheschoolandthe

community.

Thecommunityuseroomisutilizeddailybefore,duringandafterschooltime.Part

ofthisspaceisanaffordabledaycareforparentsontheislandandonceaweeka

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lunchcrewprepareslunchthosewhosignupforthisservice.Inadditiontothe

designatedcommunityroomsintheschool:

thegym,themulti‐purposeroomandthelibraryareallusedbydifferent

organizationsandcommunitymembersoutsideofschooltimes

thecommunitygardenisalsousedbyboththeschoolandmembersinthe

community

3.3EDUCATIONALCONTEXT

3.3.1THEOCCUPANTSTheoccupantsofBICSincludetheprincipal,thestaff,thestudents,parentsandthe

widerBowenIslandcommunity.

Students:Inthestudentpopulation(267studentsatthetimeofstudy)thereisa

rangeofsocioeconomicbackgroundsandparentaleducationlevels.Ninetypercent

ofthestudentpopulationiswhite.TherearesixtyESLstudentsatBICS.Most

studentsstartatBICSinkindergartenandstayuntiltheygraduateingradeseven.In

thegrade6/7students’thatwereinvolvedinthisprojectfouroutofthefifty‐four

studentswerenotCaucasian.AfewstudentshadmovedtoBoweninthelastfew

yearsbutthemajorityofthemhadstartedatBICSinkindergarten.

Staff:TheBICSstaffincludestwenty‐oneteachers,fourcustodians,threebus

drivers,twoofficestaff,seventeachingassistants,theprincipal,vice‐principalanda

communityschoolcoordinator.HalfoftheBICSstaffare“islanders”,orliveon

BowenIsland,andhalfofthemliveonthemainland.Tenofthesestaffaremale

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whiletheremainingtwenty‐sevenarefemale.Therearenovisibleminoritiesor

staffmemberswithdisabilities.Thereisarangeofexperienceintheschoolfrom

twenty‐sevenyearstolessthanoneyear.

Parents:ParentsareanessentialandactivepartofBowenIslandCommunitySchool.

Eachclasshasoneortwovolunteersfortheyearthattakecareofthatclasses

needs.Theseclassvolunteershelptoorganizeextrahelpwhenaclassneedsmore

parentstobeinvolvedandsometimesfindpeopletocomeintotheschooltooffer

uniqueactivities.Almostdailytherearefiveorsixparentsintheschooleither

helpingoutwithregularclasses,fieldtrips,orteachingspecialactivitiesorprojects.

Community:TheBowenIslandcommunityplaysanactiveroleattheschool.

Seventy‐fivetoeightypercentofthecommunityvisitorusetheschoolduringa

schoolyear.Thereisdaycareofferedinthecommunityuseroombeforetheschool

daystartsandanafterschoolclubinoneclassroomaftertheschooldayends.The

schoolbuildingandsiteisveryactivelyused.Thegymespeciallyisinhighdemand.

Therecreationcenter,whichhasaweightandfitnessroom,offersthecommunitya

widerangeofrecreation,artandeducationalclasses.

3.3.2THECURRICULUMThecurriculumofBICShasbeenchangingoverthelastfouryearstoincludeboth

place‐basededucationpracticesandtoprioritizeenvironmentalsocial

responsibilityoftheentireschoolcommunityintheareasofconservationand

stewardship.Inadditiontotheprovinciallymandatedcurriculum,BICShave

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introducedanumberofadditionalstudies.TheseincludeaBeachBucketstudy,

Seaquariumstudy,Watershedquest,Trailquest,Salmonidintheclassroom

program,andaShorelineClean‐upproject.Furthermore,allBICSclasseshavetaken

onauniqueprogramforenvironmentalsustainability,conservationorstewardship,

suchasengaginginenergyaudits,hallwaylitterpatrol,makingweedwhackersto

removeinvasivespecies,andmakingschool‐widecomposters.

Figure14:SeaquariainfrontfoyerofBICS

Theseaquariahousescreaturesfromtheocean(afewminuteswalkfromthe

school)andhasaprominentlocationinthefrontfoyeroftheschool.Thisaquarium

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waspartlyfundedthroughthePacificCrystalprojectandisateachingtoolthat

supportstheschoolwideplacebasedlearningcurriculum.Teacherscanusethe

presenceoftheseaquariaasanopportunityinscienceclasstohavestudentswrite

detailednotesaboutwhattheyobservedintheaquarium.Students,often,without

promptingstopattheaquariumontheirwayoutoftheschoolatrecessandjust

staytowatchwhatishappeninginside.Studentsseemedfascinatedwiththesea

cucumberandhowthingschangesuchaswherethecraborstarfishwouldbe

comparedtowhereitwasearlierintheday.

BICSisdifferentthanmanyurbanschoolsbecauseofitsrurallocation,interestin

place‐basededucationandenvironmentalsocialresponsibility,andbecauseofthe

closeproximitytomunicipalparkland.BICSstudentsseemtospendasignificant

amountoftimeoutdoorseachday,aretaughtacurriculumthathighlightslocal

natural,socialandculturalfactsrelatedspecificallytoBowenIslandanditsnatural

environment,andareencouragedandrewardedfortheirenvironmental

stewardship.Itispossiblethatthesestudentshaveamoreintegratednotionofthe

naturalworldthanmoststudentsinamoreurbanenvironment.However,the

schoolbuildingitselfisnotnecessarilymuchdifferentthanotherschoolbuildingsin

thelowermainland.

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4.0RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY

Manystudieshaveshownthatcontactwithnaturefosterscreativity(Moore,1997)

concentration(Taylor&Kuo,1998,quotedinLouv,2008,89)cognitiveability

(Wells,2000),productivity(Kellert,2005),andphysicalandmentalwell‐being

(Kellert,2005).Moreover,someacademicsbelievethathumanshaveanaffinityfor

thenaturalworld,whichneedstonurturedespeciallyinearlyandmiddlechildhood

(Wilson,1993;Kahn,1997;Sobel,1993;Kellert,2002).Overthelastdecadethe

amountoftimechildrenspendinnaturehasdramaticallydecreased(Malone,2003;

Suzuki,2007;Hern,2007;Louv,2008).Humansspendmuchoftheirtimein

buildingsandforgoodorillthesestructuresinfluenceourconnectionwiththe

naturalworld.Theycanseparateusfromthenaturalworldorhelptofosterour

connectionwithnature.However,thereareveryfewstudiesofhowschool

buildingsmediateourrelationshipwithnature.Thereisaneedforempirical

researchinthisareasothattheimpactsofschooldesigncanbefullyunderstood.

Furthermore,inthelittleexistingresearch,thereisalimitednumber,ifany,of

studiesfromaneducator’sperspectivethatfocusonstudentvoices.Thisresearch

hopestoaddthisperspectivetotheconversationregardingbothchildren’s

connectiontonatureandarchitectureaspedagogy.

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4.1QUALITATIVERESEARCHQualitativeresearchisthemodelbywhichvoiceinformslifeexperience.

Thereisanunspokendialecticbetweenarchitectsandtheeducatorsandstudents

whooccupythebuildingsarchitectshavedesigned.Inthisstudythisdialecticis

viewedthroughthelensofstudentexperience.Thisstudygivesvoicetothe

experiencesthatintermediatestudentshaveintheirschoolbuilding(s)anddraws

meaningfromthesociallyconstructedcontextinwhichthesestudentslive.

Qualitativemethodologyallowedforacomplexandholisticpicturetoemergethat

allowsreaderstoseethemanydimensionswithinthisstudy’skeyquestion‐how

areintermediatestudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworldmediatedbytheir

schoolbuilding.

Qualitativeresearchhasitsrootsinsocialscienceresearchandisdifferentthan

quantitativeresearch,whichismoreoftenusedinthenaturalsciences.Quantitative

methodsaredeductivewhilequalitativeareinductive,derivinginferencefromthe

particulartothegeneral.Whilenotexclusively,theformerusesnumericaldata

whilethelattertypicallyreliesontexttorepresentandcommunicatesubstantive

findings.Theadditionaldistinctfeaturesofqualitativeresearchinclude:researchers

collectdatawithinthenaturalsettingsoftheinformationtheyseek(dataiscontext

dependent),theyareconcernedwiththeprocessratherthantheoutcomeofan

activity,andresearchersanalyzethedatarationallyratherthanstatistically

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(Hittleman&Simon,1997).Hittleman&Simon(1997)statethat,“thebasic

qualitativepurposesaretodescribe,tointerpret,toverify,andtoevaluate”(42).

4.1.1THEMATICANALYSISThematicanalysisiswidelyusedinsocialscienceresearch.Thoughthematic

analysishasbeenconsideredagenericskillusedwithinarangeofdifferent

qualitativemethods(Hollway&Todres,2003).BraunandClarkehaverecently

arguedthat,“thematicanalysisshouldbeconsideredamethodinitsownright”

(Braun&Clarke,2006).Theyclaimthat“throughitstheoreticalfreedom,thematic

analysisprovidesaflexibleandusefulresearchtool,whichcanpotentiallyprovidea

richanddetailed,yetcomplex,accountofdata”(2006,78).Duetothistheoretical

flexibilitywhenaresearcherusesthematicanalysisitisimportanttosituateone’s

analysiswithinaspecifictheoreticalframework.Thisiscriticalasitrevealsthe

assumptionsthatinformedtheanalysis,enablingthepublictobetterevaluatethe

researchundertaken.

Tothatend,whiletheresearcherhasaconstructionistpointofviewwithrespectto

thephenomenasheisstudying,shewantedtoremainastrueaspossibletothe

experienceoftheparticipantsshewasinterviewing.Thematicanalysisoffersa

flexibleapproachtoanalyzingqualitativedata,andasBraunandClarkepointoutin

theirarticlededicatedtothemethodology,thematicanalysisisactuallycompatible

withbothessentialistandconstructionistparadigms.Further,“thematicanalysis

canbeanessentialistorrealistmethod,whichreportsexperiences,meaningsand

therealityofparticipants,oritcanbeaconstructionistmethod,whichexaminesthe

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waysinwhichevents,realities,meanings,experiencesandsoonaretheeffectsofa

rangeofdiscoursesoperatingwithinsociety.Itcanalsobea‘contextualist’method,

sittingbetweenthetwopolesofessentialismandconstructionism,and

characterizedbytheories,suchascriticalrealism,whichacknowledgetheways

individualsmakemeaningoftheirexperience,and,inturn,thewaysthebroader

socialcontextimpingesonthosemeanings,whileretainingfocusonthematerial

andotherlimitsof‘reality’”(Braun&Clarke,2006,81).Asthisstudywas

exploratory,theresearcherchoseamethodofanalysissuitedtothedatacollected.

Andwhilenottiedtotheorygenerationlikesay,groundedtheory,thematicanalysis

nonethelessfocusesondevelopingthemesandorpatternsthatareclearlygrounded

inthedata,inamannerthatrigorouslydescribesandorganizestheinformation

collectedfromtheparticipants.

4.1.2IDENTIFYINGTHERESEARCHERItisimperativethattheresearcherisastransparentaboutherbiasesaspossible

becausetraditionalobjectivitycannotbeassumed.Inthisproject,theresearcher

has:

FeelingsofrespectandcareforthepeopleatBowenIslandCommunity

School

Adeepcommitmenttoplace‐basedlearningandsustainablepractices

withinschoolsandeducationalenvironments

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Inadditionshesees:

AstrongethicofcareatBICSaswellasanactivecommitmenttothenatural

world,whichthecommunityfostersthroughvariousfiled‐trips,special

events,assembliesanddaily‘missionpossible’tasks

Itisalsoimportantthattheresearcherisclearaboutthetheoreticalpositionofthe

thematicanalysisconductedasthematicanalysisisflexibleandcanberootedin

varioustheoreticalpositions.Theepistemologicalstancefromwhichknowledge

claimsinthisthesisaremadeisfoundedonDonnaHaraway’sconceptofsituated

knowledge(Haraway,1991).Harawayenvisionsawebholdingallpeople,

technologiesandlifeeachwithaknowledgebaseinformedby,butnotlimitedto,

theirsituatedpositionsontheweb.Harawaystatesthat,“theonlywaytofinda

largervisionistobesomewhereinparticular”(Haraway,1991,96).Theobjectiveof

thisstanceislearningtoconversebetweenpositionsinordertofosterpartial

connections.Theentiretyofthewebisbeyondthegraspofanyposition,thus

knowledgeclaimsarealwayspartial.Inthismodelobjectivityliesinthepursuitof

knowledgeclaimsthathaveincreasedresonancethroughtheweb.

Duringthisstudytheresearcher:

Issituatedwithpartialvision.Shehasmadepartialconnectionstotheagents

ofknowledge,orstudyparticipants,atBowenIslandCommunitySchoolwho

enhancedwhattheresearcherwasabletoseeandunderstand

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Attemptedtoleavespacefortheunpredictableandindependentknowledges

oftheseagents.

Sought“theconnectionsandunexpectedopeningssituatedknowledgesmake

possible”(Haraway,1991,96)

Assumesthatmeaningandexperiencearesociallyproducedandreproduced

asopposedtomeaning,experienceandlanguagehavingaunidirectional

relationship(Braun&Clarke,2006).Asaconsequence,

Believesthatsocio‐culturalcontextsandstructuralconditionsareimportant

elementstoconsiderinparticipantsaccountsoftheirexperience.

OriginatingfromAmericanBlackandChicanafeministacademicswhoidentified

theirownracializationassignificantsourcesofknowledgetobringtotheresearch

process(HillCollins,1999)ithasbecomecommonpracticeforqualitative

researcherstopositionthemselvesas‘insider’or‘outsider’.Thesetermsreferto

membershipstatusaboutthegrouponeisresearching.

PatriciaHillCollins(1991)andJamesBanks(1998)bothcomplicateandexpandthe

insider/outsiderbinary.ThoughthetermsCollinsandBanksidentifyintheirwork

donotsuittheresearcher’spositionwithinthisstudy,theideaswithin‘insider’and

‘outsider’areimportanttoconsiderandaremulti‐layereddependingonhowmany

variablescomeintoplayinone’sstudy.Inthisstudythevariablesinclude:the

demographicsofthepeoplethatattend,teach,andadministratetheBowenIsland

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CommunitySchool,theschoolbuilding,BowenIsland,place‐basedschoolsandthe

educationalsystemingeneral.

Withthesevariablesinmindtheresearcherisaninformedoutsider:

Sheisawestcoastresidentandknowsthelandscapeofthelower

mainlandwell

Sheworkswithintheeducationsystem

Shehashadexperienceteachinginplace‐basedprogramsandis

informedaboutplace‐baseddesign

Shehasexperienceasbothastudentandateacherinmultipleschool

buildings

Hersocialstatusisakintothepredominatemembersofthegroup

However,sheisanoutsidertothecommunityofBowenIsland,theBowen

IslandSchoolCommunity,andtoBowenIslandSchool

Sheisnotanarchitectandhasneverbeendirectlyinvolvedinthedesignofa

schoolbuilding.

4.2ETHICSANDPERMISSIONAformalinvitationtoconductresearchwasreceivedfromamemberofaresearch

team(theSFUsectionofthePacificCrystalProject)atBowenIslandCommunity

School(BICS).FormalconsentfromtheWestVancouverSchoolBoardandtheUBC

ethicalreviewboardwasgranted.Theprincipalagreedtooverseetheresearcher’s

presenceintheschool.

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TheprojectwasintroducedataBICSstaffmeeting.Therewasaninterestinthe

research,especiallytoinformstaffandcommunitymembersoftheresultsin

relationtoanoutdoorclassroomthatwillbebuiltinthefuture.

Twovisualinquirysessionswereconductedwiththetwograde6/7classes(52

students).Afterwhichoptionalassentformsfortheproductsoftheclasstobeused

duringtheresearchprojectwerehandedout.Onlyafewstudents(17)completed

themandhandedthemin.Thesestudentsweregivenparentalconsentformsthat

requestedtheirguardianstoconsenttotheproductsofthestudents’visualinquiry

classtobeusedasdataforthisprojectandforafurtherinterviewtotakeplace.Five

studentsvolunteeredtobeinterviewedandreturnedsignedparentalconsent

forms.Thosefiveparticipantswereinterviewedduringtheschooldayinthelibrary

inthefollowingtwoweeks.Althoughparticipantsweregiventheoptionof

withdrawingfromthisprojectatanypointnonechosetodoso.

Duringthisstudyalldocumentsincludingtheproductsofthevisualinquiry,the

digitalrecordingsofinterviews,transcripts,andco‐investigator’snoteswerekeptin

alockedfilingcabinetdrawerintheco‐investigator’sUBCoffice.Computerfiles

werepasswordprotected.Informationthatwassentviaemailattachmenttothe

principalinvestigatorandotherco‐investigatorswerepassword‐protected.The

principalinvestigatorandotherco‐investigatorsmaintainedallcopiesofstudy

documentsinlockedfilingcabinets.Allthenamesinthesedocumentsare

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pseudonymsandstudentsarereferencedasStudent1,2,3,4,and5.Theresearch

makesnouseofpersonalconversationsorsubjectsoutsideofthestudyofthe

pedagogicalimplicationsofschooldesignonstudents’relationshiptothenatural

world.Theprivatesociallivesofparticipantsarenotapartofthisstudy.

Interviewparticipantshadaccesstotheirowntranscripts.Transcriptswereonly

viewedbyremainingco‐investigatorsafterapprovalfromparticipantwasgiven.

Onlytheprincipalinvestigatorandco‐investigatorshadaccesstothedatasources.

Allinvestigatorsweremembersoftheresearcher’sM.A.committeeandare

academicfacultyandassuch,theyhadreviewedprivacyandconfidentiality

protocolsforthestudy.

4.3.PARTICIPANTS

Asthisstudy’sfocuswasintermediatestudents’participantsfromtheseniorgrades

ofBowenIslandCommunitySchoolwerechosen.Itwasanticipatedthatstudents’in

gradesixandsevenwouldbebestabletoarticulatetheirexperiencesandideas.In

addition,atBICSgradesixandsevenstudentsarelikelytohavethemostexperience

intheschoolbuildinghavingbeentherethelongest.Itwashopedthatthisdecision

wouldcontributetotherichnessofthedatacollected.

Thefiveresearchparticipants(threegirlsandtwoboys)werebetweenelevenand

thirteenyearsoldandwereallgradesixandsevenstudents:

Student1:Atwelve‐year‐oldgirlwhohadattendedBowenIslandCommunity

Schoolsincekindergarten.Student1’smotherworkedasamidwife,whileher

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fatherwasawoodworker.HermotherandfatherimmigratedfromWales

andEnglandrespectively.Shewasmature,articulateandenthusiasticduring

thefocusgroupandinterview.

Student2:Aneleven‐year‐oldgirlwhohadattendedBowenIsland

CommunitySchoolforthreeyears.Shehadpreviouslyattendedtwoschools

inPortCoquitlam.Student2’smotherwasatelephoneoperatorandherdad

hadahomebusiness.Student2identifiedas“CreeAboriginal”.Shewas

thoughtfulandinvolvedbothduringthefocusgroupandinterview.

Student3:Atwelve‐year‐oldgirlwhohadattendedBowenIslandCommunity

Schoolsincekindergarten.Student3’smotherworkedasageneralmanager

inagrocerystoreandherfatherworkswithcomputers.Student3’sparents

areofScottishdecent.Student3wasenthusiasticandcheerfulduringboth

thefocusgroupandinterview.

Student4:Athirteen‐year‐oldboywhohadattendedBowenIsland

CommunitySchoolsincekindergarten.Student4’smotherwasastay‐at‐

home‐mumandhisdadworksasabusdriver.Student4wasCaucasianand

bothhisparentswereCanadianborn.Student4wasenthusiasticduringthe

interviewbutoftenhisanswersweresuccinct.

Student5:Atwelve‐year‐oldboywhohadattendedBowenIsland

CommunitySchoolsincekindergarten.Hisfatherworkedinproject

managementandhismotherwasagardener.Student5identifiedasa

ChristianandhisparentswereofScottishdecent.Student5,outofallthe

interviewparticipantswasthemostbriefinhisanswers.

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4.4.PROCEDURES

4.4.1FIELDWORKANDDATACOLLECTIONTheresearchwaslimitedtotheschoolgroundsanditsbuildingsaswellasthe

informationreceivedfromstudentsduringinterviewsandtwofocusgroupsat

BowenIslandCommunitySchool.Theresearcherwishedtofocusonstudents’

perceptionsandvoicesabouttheirexperiencesinthebuiltenvironment.Therefore

theresearchdidnotincludetheideasofteachersandcommunitymemberswhoare

integraltoBowenIslandCommunitySchool.

Threedatacollectionmethodswithinthequalitativeparadigmwereusedtoaddress

thequestionhowareintermediatestudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworld

mediatedbythedesignoftheirschoolbuilding.

Twofocusgroupsorvisualinquirysessionswithtwograde6/7classes(fifty‐two

students)tookplace,fivein‐depthsemi‐structuredinterviewswithvolunteer

participantswereconducted,andfieldnoteswerekept.

4.4.2VISUALINQUIRY/TWOFOCUSGROUPSVisualInquiryisanarts‐basedmethodologythatusesnonverbalcommunicationto

investigateatopicofinterest.

Inthevisualinquirysessionstheresearcheraskedstudentsto:

1. Makealistofeverythingtheydefinedasnatureandnon‐nature,makingsuretoincludehumansontheirlist

2. Drawapictureofaschoolbuildingthatwouldfostertheirconnectiontothenaturalworld.

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3. Drawaplaceintheschoolbuildinginwhichtheyfeelthemostconnectedtonatureandexplainwhyinonesentence

4. Drawaplaceintheschoolbuildinginwhichtheyfeeltheleastconnectedtonatureandexplainwhyinonesentence

Asaresulteachparticipantproduced:

A. AtwocolumnlistB. Threepictures:

1. Depictinganidealschoolthatfostersstudentsrelationshiptonaturalworld

2. Depictingwhereinschooltheyfeelmostconnectedtonaturalworld3. Depictingwheyinschooltheyfeelleastconnectedtonaturalworld

Inadditiontobeingameanstocollectdatathesetwofocusgroupscomplemented

theinterviewsbyprovidinganopportunityfortheparticipantstoillustratetheir

knowledgeandfeelingsaboutschooldesignthattheymaynotbeabletoarticulate

verbally(Sirin&Fine,2007).Avisualinvestigationwasalsoconducivetohavinga

classdiscussionaboutthenaturalworld,schooldesign,andtheinter‐relationship

betweenthetwo,whichhelpedtorevealhowtheresearcherneededtostructurethe

restofthedatacollection.Theresearcherwaswellpositionedtodovisualinquiry,

assheworkedasanartistinasmallgalleryinToronto,hadtaughtarttoelementary

schoolchildren,andhadexperiencein“a/r/tography”4(Irwin,2004).

Boththevisualinquirysessionslastedforty‐fiveminutes,whichisequivalenttoone

schoolperiod.Theproductsofthevisualinquiryofthefiveinterviewparticipants

areincludedasdataanddiscussedinChapters5and6.Topicsthataroseduringthe4Thepracticeof“a/r/tographymeanstoinquireintheworldthroughanongoingprocessofartmakinginanyartformandwritingnotseparateorillustrativeofeachotherbutinterconnectedandwoventhrougheachothertocreateadditionaland/orenhancedmeanings”(Irwin,2005)

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visualinquirywereusedasastartingpointintheinterviews.Thecontentofthe

drawingswasalsousedtofocusthediscussionswithstudents.Inadditiontothis

theresearcherreferredbacktothetwo‐columnlistthatinterviewparticipantshad

madeduringtheinterviewwhilediscussinghowtheparticipantsdefinedthe

naturalworld.

4.4.3INTERVIEWSTheinterviewswereconductedduringschoolhoursintheschoollibrary.Each

interviewlastedfrom30minutesto1.5hours.Asemi‐structuredinterviewwas

chosenbecauseitcombinedanagendawiththebuiltinflexibilitytoasksubsequent

questions(Creswell2003).Eachinterviewwasdigitallyrecordedandtranscribed

bytheresearcher.Thetranscriptsweresubmittedtotheinterviewparticipantsfor

theiramendmentordeletion.Interviewtranscripts(orpartsofinterview

transcripts)wereincludedinthedataanalysisintheiramendedversions.

Questionsfortheinterviewsandthevisualinquiryweredevelopedbyexamining

previousstudiesandbyhavingdiscussionswithgrade6and7studentsabouttheir

schoolbuildings.Somequestionswereaddedafterapilotvisualinvestigationand

twopilotinterviewswithvolunteerparticipants.Additionalquestionswereadded

asneededforthesakeofclarityandcomprehensiveness.Theinterviewquestions

usedareshowninAppendixE.

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4.4.4.FIELDNOTESAsacomplementtoboththevisualinquiryandthesemi‐structuredinterviewsthe

researcherwroteandrecordedaudiofieldnotes.Althoughideasaboutwhat

constitutesfieldnotesareinconsistent(Sanjeck,1990;Wolf,1992)theresearcher

definedfieldnotesasawrittenaccountor“fieldworkdescriptionsofactivities,

behaviours,actions,conversations,interpersonalinteractions,andorganizational

processes”(Patton,2002,4)weremadeinordertoobtain“rich,detailed

descriptionsthatincludedthecontextinwhichtheobservationsweremade”

(Patton,2002,4).

Duringtimeinthefieldtheresearcherkept‘mentalnotes’and‘jottednotes’which

werethenexpandedinto‘fieldnotesproper’(Emersonetal.,2001).‘Mentalnotes’

(Emersonetal.,2001)happenduringtheobservationprocesswithoutpenand

paper.Thisresearcherusedmentalnotestoorienthermindtowardswhatwouldbe

writtenlater.‘Jottednotes’(Emersonetal.,2001)or‘scratchnotes’(Sanjek,1990)

werewritten“moreorlesscontemporaneouslywiththeeventsdepicted”(Emerson

etal.,2001,353).Everytwentytofiftyminutesofobservationtheresearcherwould

pausetowriteinthefieldnotebookshecarriedwithher.Thejottednoteswere

mostlyinlonghandwithsomeprivateabbreviations.Attheendofeachdayinthe

fieldthesejottingswereusedtorecallandreconstructsignificantscenesandevents

(Emersonetal.,2001,356).Thesereconstructionsaresometimesreferredas

‘fieldnotesproper’(Emersonetal.,2001).Thesenotesservedtorecordinsights

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aboutparticipantsandtheBICScommunity,BICSschoolbuilding,schoolgrounds,

andpossiblerelationshipsbetweenthesefactors.Itwashopedthatthesefieldnotes

andtheresearcher’svoicewouldbeabletocomplementthedatareceivedviathe

interviewsandvisualinvestigationandaddtotherichnessofthedatacollected.

InadditiontothefieldnotestheresearchertookphotographsofBowenIsland,the

schoolsite,schoolbuilding,andparticularplacesthattheparticipantsmentioned

duringfocusgroupsandinterviews.

4.4.5ANALYSISTheresearcheranalyzedtheinterviewsfirst.Eachinterviewwastranscribed

verbatim,asingleinterviewtranscriptwasreadinitsentiretyseveraltimesand

analyzedusingThematicAnalysismethodsasoutlinedbyBraun&Clarke(2006)

andsummarizedinthefollowingmanner:

Intherighthandmargintheresearcherbegantoinsertinitialimpressions,insights

andcomments.Aftertheresearcherwasfamiliarwiththetranscriptandthesenotes

sherereadeachtranscriptandbegantocollatetheseinsightsandcommentsinto

potentialthemesandwriteemergingthemesinthelefthandmargin.Onceasetof

themeswithinatranscriptwasestablished,patternsandconnectionsbetween

emergentthemeswereexplored.Directquotesillustratingthemeswerelistedto

verifythevalidityofthethemesandpatternsfound.Thisprocesswasappliedto

eachtranscript.Oncethisprocessforallthetranscriptswascomplete,the

researcherlookedacrossthedatasetfortheoverallstory,creatingathematic‘map’

oftheanalysis.Eachthemewasrefinedanddefinedinthisprocess.

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Thepicturesthatthefiveinterviewparticipantsproducedduringthetwovisual

inquiryclasseswerethenthematicallyanalyzedrelativetotheinformationgathered

intheinterviews.Finally,resultswereorganizedintoliststhatincludedthe

significantthemes,correspondingquotesordrawingsandpagenumbers.

Thisstudyusedtheinductiveapproach,meaningthespecificresearchquestion

evolvedthroughthecodingprocess.Thoughtheresearcheraskedparticipants

specificquestionsandhadbothpreexistingknowledgeandassumptions,thethemes

identifieddidnotnecessarilyrelatetothequestionsasked.Thethemesidentified

wereprimarilyidentifiedonasemanticlevel(Braun&Clarke,2006)thoughthe

researcherwasinterestedinexaminingunderlyingideasandassumptionsthat

informedthesemanticcontent(Braun&Clarke,2006).Datawasorganizedinto

patternsbasedonsemanticcontent,summarizedandtheninterpretedbythe

researcher.

Thenextchaptersharesadetaileddescriptivesummaryanddiscussionofboththe

picturesthatstudentsdrewdepictingaschoolbuildingthattheyimaginedwould

fosterastrongrelationshipwiththenaturalworldinitsoccupantsanddetailsfrom

thestudentsinterviewsabouttheircurrentschoolbuilding.

Thischapterisfollowedwiththepresentationofanaccountanddiscussionofa

groupofthemes,whicharesenseoffreedom,momentsofjoy,socialcohesiveness

andaesthetic/emotionalresponse,presentwithinthedataset.Thesethemes

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captureimpactsstudyparticipantshadinrelationtothedesignoftheirschool

building.

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5.0DESCRIPTIVESUMMARYANDDISCUSSION

5.1INTRODUCTIONThischapterpresentsthekeyfindingsforsomeoftheaprioriquestionsgathered

fromthevisualinvestigationandfollow‐upin‐depthinterviewsoffivegrade6/7

students.

Duringtheinterviewsandvisualinvestigationtheresearchergatheredinformation

onstudents’ideasofanidealschoolthatwouldfosteroccupantsrelationshiptothe

naturalworldcomparedtotheirthoughtsabouttheircurrentschoolbuilding.

Althoughthisinformationisinsomewayseparatefromtheresultsofthethematic

analysistheresearcherfeltitwasimportanttoincludeitasthisinformation

enrichesthestorythisdatatells.Theseresultsarepresentedasadescriptive

summaryinthischapterwiththefollowingheadings:

♦ Students’ideasofan“Ideal”SchoolBuildingthatwouldFostertheirrelationshiptotheNaturalWorldcomparedtotheirideasabouttheirCurrentSchoolBuilding

• VisualRepresentations:SchoolsthatwouldConnectStudentstotheNaturalWorld

• IdeasRegardingBuildingsandtheirSchoolBuilding

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5.2IDEASREGARDINGHOWBUILDINGSCANFOSTERASTRONGER

RELATIONSHIPWITHNATURE

Duringthevisualinquirystudentswereaskedtothinkaboutaschoolbuildingthat

wouldfosterstudents’relationshiptothenaturalworld.Theresearcherasked,

“Whatwoulditlooklike,wherewoulditbelocated,andwhatwouldbeinsideof

it?”.Theywerealsoaskedtolabelalltheimportantpartsofthediagram.

Intheinterviewsthestudentswereaskedtosharetheirideasandspeakabouttheir

drawings(fromtheearliervisualinvestigation).Thedrawingsandexplanations

revealedwhatstudentsknewintermsofsustainablebuildingpracticesand

technologiesandwhatelementsstudentsbelievedtobevitaltofostertheir

relationshiptonature.Reflectionsoninformationgatheredfromthedrawingsand

follow‐upinterviewsarepresentedbelow.Afterthesereflectionseachparticipant’s

drawingispresentedinmoredetail.

5.3VISUALREPRESENTATIONSOFSCHOOL’SCONNECTIONTOTHENATURALWORLD

5.3.1RESPONSETOASSIGNMENTINFOCUSGROUPSTheresearcheraskedgrade6/7studentsintwoclassestodrawinresponsetothe

followingquestions“whatwouldaschoollooklikethatwouldhelpconnectyouto

nature?Whatwoulditlookontheinside?Whatfeaturesinitwouldbeprominent?”.

Studentswerealsoaskedtolabelimportantplacesonthepicture.

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Thetwoclassesrespondedtothisassignmentdifferently.Inthefirstclass,students

begandrawingrightawaywithoutaskingmanyquestions.Allofthestudentsthe

researchersawwerebusilydrawingtheiridealschoolforapproximatelyten

minutes.Inthesecondclassstudentswerelessfocused.Somestudentsresponded

bydrawingtheiridealschoolswhileotherstudentschattedtotheirfriendsand

drewscribblesontheirpages.Thefivestudentswhovolunteeredtobeinterviewed

afterthevisualinvestigationtooktheassignmentseriouslyandproduceddetailed

drawings.Amongstthesedrawingsthereareconsiderablevarianceonwhatthe

studentsfocusedon.Twodrawingsshowthatthestudentsfocusedontheschool

buildingenvelopeandtheschoolgroundsanddonotrevealwhatisinsidethe

school.Onestudentfocusedalmostentirelyontheinterioroftheschoolbuilding

anddidnotshowwhattheschoolgroundswouldlooklike.Twoofthestudents’

drawingsshowtheschoolgroundsandsomeinteriorfeaturesoftheschool.

5.3.2VISIBLETRENDSINDRAWINGSElementsofnatureinandaroundtheidealschoolsaredominantinthestudents’

drawings.Forexamplethereareanimals,plants,forests,gardens,andpondsin

manyoftheimages.Allfivedrawingshadliveanimalspresent.Fourschoolshadlive

animalsinsidetheschool,whereasinoneschoolanimalsweredrawnjustoutside

schooldoorsbutuponquestioningthestudentimaginedanimalsinsidetheschool

aswell.Fourstudentsdrewgardensonschoolgroundsorintheschool.Three

drawingshadgardensonschoolgroundswhileonestudentdrewagardeninside

hisidealschool.Fourstudentsdrewortalkedabouthowtherewasaforestaround

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theschooltheyimagined.Infourofthedrawingswindowswereemphasizedandin

twoofthesedrawingsstudentsstressedthatthewindowsintheschoolwouldbe

open.Twostudentsdrewaquariumsinsidetheirschoolbuildings.Twostudents

drewextensiveskylightsthatwouldallowstudentstolookupandseeoutside.

5.3.4KEYATTRIBUTES

Student3wasoneoftheonlystudentsthatconsideredalternativetransportationin

herdrawing.Student3drewaskateboardandbikerackaswellasanareafor

studentstoridetheirbikesonschoolgrounds.

ThegreenroofusedforclassesdepictedinStudent2’sdrawingwasunique.

Student2hadneverseenorbeenontoagreenroof;however,shehadseena

televisionprogramallaboutgreenroofsthatexplainedtheirbenefitstothe

environment.

Student3wastheonlystudenttodevoteanentireclassroominherschoolasa

natureclassroom.Sheexclaimed,“itwouldbefun”(Student3,page11)tohavea

natureclassroomandexplainedthat“itwouldhavesolarpanelsandshowhowyou

canbegoodtonature”(Student3,page11).

Student4clearlydesignatedhisschooltobeoutoftown,whichwasespecially

strikinginrelationtoacommentStudent2madeinherinterview.Student2spoke

aboutapreviousschoolthatsheattendedwhichwasinthecenterofherthen

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neighbourhood.Shetoldtheresearcherthateverybodywalkedtoschool,whichwas

moreenvironmentalthandrivingortakingthebus.Shealsorecalledfondmemories

ofacrossingguardthathelpedherandherfriendswalkacrosstheroadtoschool.

Student4,unlikeStudent2,feltthathisidealschoolwouldbeseparatedfromabusy

townandrightonabeach.Thissuggeststhattheabilityforpeopletobeconnected

withnatureinthemiddleofatownseemsunlikelyforStudent4.

5.3.5RESEARCHINTENTIONSDuringthevisualinvestigationsessionsstudentswereaskedtovisualizeanddrawa

schoolbuildingthatwouldfoster,initsoccupants,anidealrelationshiptothe

naturalworld.Theresearchwasinterestedinthestudents’ideasabouttheir

relationshipstothenaturalworld,andwhatelementsofaschoolaffectthat

relationship.Thisactivitywasimaginedasastartingpointfordiscussionandasa

meanstoexplorehowbuildingscanorcannotsupportarelationshipwithnature.

Itwasalsopredictedthatitmightbeeasierformanystudentstodrawtheirideas

thanarticulatethemverbally.

Thedrawingsproduceddidprovideasastartingpointforashortdiscussionineach

focusgroupandthenforindividualdiscussionsduringthefollowupinterviews.

Thisbeingsaidthefocusgrouponlylastedforty‐fiveminutesintotal,whichmeant

thattherewasnottimetodiscusshowarchitecturalelementsatBICSdidordidnot

supporttheirrelationshipwithnatureingreatdetail.Theprimarymeansof

communicationoftheseideaswerethedrawingsthemselves.Duringtheinterviews

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thedrawingsservedanimportantroleinrevealinghowstudentsimaginedanideal

relationshipwiththenaturalworldandhowaschoolbuildingcouldsupportthat

relationship.

Somelessverbalparticipants,suchasStudent5,drewadetailedandimaginative

picture,whichleadtheresearchertobelievethatsomestudentsdid,infact,findit

easiertodrawtheirideasthantoverballyarticulatethem.

TheresearcherwasawarethattheBowenIslandCommunitySchoolhadsome

featuresthatseemedtocomplementtheschool’sgoalofprioritizingenvironmental

socialresponsibilityandwonderedifthestudentswouldincludeBICSfeaturesin

theirdrawingsoriftheywoulddrawacompletelydifferentschoolwithfeatures

thattheirschooldidnothave.

ThedrawingsthatBICSstudentsdrewwerevariable.Somestudentsincorporated

variousfeaturesthatcouldbefoundinBICS(suchasskylights,windowsthatfaced

gardens,orschoolbuildingrightnexttoaforest)intheirpictureswhileothers

imaginedschoolsthatlookedcompletelydifferent.

Inaddition,theresearcher’sknowledgeofhowbuildingscancreate“indoor‐

outdoorrelationships”(Taylor,1988)withtheuseofporches,windows,orliving

wallsmadeherwonderifthestudents’experienceorimaginationsofschoolswould

leadthemtoincludemanyofthesebuildingfeaturesintheirdrawings.

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Onecanseeindoor/outdoorrelationshipsinmany,ifnotall,ofthestudents’

drawings.Eachstudenthaselementsthatbringtheoutside(plants,animals,etc.)

insideand/orplacedtheirschoolwithinorbesidesomenaturalenvironment.

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5.4VISUALREPRESENTATIONS:SCHOOLSTHATWOULDCONNECTSTUDENTSTOTHENATURALWORLD

5.4.1STUDENT1

Figure15:Student1’sdrawingofaschoolbuildingthatwouldfosteraconnectiontothenaturalworldinitsoccupants

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Student1’sdrawingofanidealschoolisstrikinginitssimplicity.Theschoolbuilding

issmall,inordertohaveasmallerfootprint.Therearecontinuousglasswindows

thatcancompletelyopenwhichallowbuildingoccupantsaviewofthegarden,the

pond,andtheforest(whichsheexplainedintheinterviewthatsheimagines

surroundsthisbuilding).Whendescribingherprocessofimagininganidealschool

shesaid,“Ikindofpicturedthebackoftheschoolbutdifferentlywhereit’sallgrass

andthere’snoconcreteordriveoranythingandthere’sagardenwhichthereis.It’s

allgrassandforest.”(Student1,page14).

Inanidealschoolhavingwindowsthatcouldcompletelyopenisimportantto

Student1.Shebelievesthatinhercurrentschoolbuildingsheisseparatedfromthe

naturalworldbecausethewindowsonlyopenalittle.Shefeelsthatthecurrent

windows“justkeepthebreezegoingthroughbutitwouldbegoodtohavewindows

forthesmellsandsightsandallthatstuff”(Student1,page9).Student1explained

thatinthecurrentschoolbuilding,“Youcan’treallysmellanything.Thewindows

areclosedoff.Ithinkthewindowsshouldopenbecausethat’sbasicallywhat

windowsaresupposedtodo.Windowsaresupposedtoallowyoutobeoutside

inside”(Student1,page10).

DuringtheinterviewStudent1emphasizedhowimportanttheskylightsinher

currentschoolbuildingaretofacilitatestudentsrelationshiptothenaturalworld.

Thisdrawingisconsistentwiththatbelief.Student1addedthatthoughtheentire

halloftheidealschoolbuildingwouldbemadeoutofglassthat“maybesomeofit

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couldbesolarpanelsorsomethingsowedon’thavetouseenergywecanjustuse

energyfromthesun”(Student1,page23).

Student1alsoadded“IwouldreallyliketohaveclassesoutsidebecauseIfindit

easiertoworksoIfeelliketheyshouldhavemoreclassesoutside”(StudentI,page

9).Whenshewasrememberingherdrawingforthisexerciseshesaid,“therewerea

lotlessman‐madestructuresandalotmorenatureandtherewerebirdfeedersand

stufflikethatandtherewerepeoplehavingclassesoutsidejustoutsideonthe

grass.”(Student1,page14).Itisnottruethatshedrewpeoplehavingclassoutside

butitisimportantthatsheimaginedthatshehad.ObviouslyStudent1believesthat

classestakingplaceinnatureareanimportantelementthatfostersstudents’

relationshipwiththenaturalworld.

IntheinterviewStudent1added,“ItwouldbereallycoolifIcoulddesignaschool.I

wouldtrytomakeitoutofalllikenaturalthingsthatwouldn’tharmthe

environment…there’sreallynowaythatyoucouldavoidharmingthe

environment…itshouldbejustbetter.Notcompletelyunharmfultonaturebutit

couldbelikebettermaterial.Materialthat’snewerandkindofnaturalorsomething

likethat”(Student1,page14‐15).ThisshowsthatStudent1isalsothinkingthatthe

materialtheschoolbuildingisbuiltwithisimportantevenifshedoesnotknow

exactlywhatmaterialshewouldusetobuildaschool.

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5.4.2STUDENT2

Figure16:StudentdrawingofaschoolbuildingthatwouldfosteraconnectiontothenaturalworldinitsoccupantsStudent2’sdrawingofanidealschoolshowstheschoolbuildingsurroundedby

trees.Thereisasmallgardenatthefrontoftheschoolandthebuildinghasvines

growingallthewaydownit.Student2explainedthat,“itwouldbeverygoodforthe

environmentbecausethereisalotofnature.Thingslikebirdhomesandtrees.It’s

reallyhealthyforeveryonebecausetreesproduceoxygenforusandthevinesmake

itlookreallynice,andmakeitlookhidden.Likeahiddenbuilding.Becauselotsof

peoplelikehiddenbuildings”(Student2,page10).ThevinesthatStudent2

imagineswouldprovideathickboundary,whichisapropertythatChrisAlexander

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addressesinhisbookTheNatureOfOrder.Notonlydothevinesprovideasenseof

thicknessandastrongboundarythatuniteswhatisatthecenteroftheboundary

withtheworldbeyondit(Alexander,2001)butthevineswouldalsoprovideasense

ofintimacy.GastonBachelardrevealshowintimacyandtheimaginaryare

significantincausingjoyinThePoeticsofSpace(1969).

Thereisagreenroofontheschoolthathastrees,bushesandgrassesonitaswellas

abirdhouse.Inthispicturethereisaclassinprogressontheroofaswell.When

askedaboutthegreenroofStudent2saidthatitwouldhelptheenvironmentand

helpthebuilding.

Inthestudentsdrawingstheydrewfeaturesthathadpersonalmeaningforthem.

Forexample,Student2envisionsawindowthatopensrightontothegrass.Inthe

interviewedsheexplained,“that’sanopenwindow.AtBirchland,inthemusicroom,

alongthegroundwehadwindows.Itwasbasicallyanundergroundroomanditwas

ourmusicroomandyoucouldjustwalkupandwindowswereabouteyelevelso

youcouldreachthroughandpullsomegrassandbringthemin”(Student2,page

10).TheexperienceofnaturethatStudent2describeshavingatBirchlandwas

significanttoherbecauseshewasinteractingwiththenaturalworldexperientially.

Pullinggrassoutandbringingitinsidetheschoolisdestructive.Notonlythatbut

grassisusuallyahighlymanicuredaspectofnature.Itisinteresting,then,thatthis

experienceisextremelymeaningfulforStudent2andshethinksthataschool

buildingwithawindowatgrasslevelwouldfosteranattentiverelationshipto

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natureinitsoccupants.Thissuggeststhatourinteractionswithnaturearenot

alwayssymbiotic,andevenwhentheyaredestructivewefeelconnectedtothe

naturalworld.

Beingdestructivetonatureisamindlessthinghumansdo.Afewstudentsspoke

aboutthatindifferentways.Student2feltbeingdestructivewasoneelementofher

meaningfulrelationshipwiththenaturalworld.Anotherstudentspokeabouthowit

isgoodforhumanstoonlybeabletolookatnaturebecauseotherwisenaturegets

hurt.Student5toldastoryaboutchildrenlitteringontheBICSschoolgroundsand

otherchildrenmakingthelittererspickuptheirgarbage.Insocietywhatconstitutes

takingcareofnatureandhavingadestructiverelationshipwithnatureisconstantly

changingbasedonwhatisknownorpopularatthetime.Forexample,notsolong

agoplasticbagswereconsideredanecologicalalternativetopaperbags.Paper

camefromtrees,therefore,tousepaperbagswasdestructivetotrees.Currently,

plasticbagsareknowntodegradeveryslowlyandareconsideredtobemorean

environmentalconcernthanasolution.

Student2includesliveplantsandahamsterinsidetheschool,makingthepointthat

havingwhatsheconsiderstobenatureinsidetheschoolbuildingisimportantin

ordertofosterschooloccupants’relationshiptonature.Thissuggeststhatforthis

studentthedesignofthebuildingandschoolgroundsisnotenough;daily

interactionswiththenaturalworldinsideschoolbuildingsareimportantelementin

havinganattentiverelationshiptotheearth.

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5.4.3STUDENT3

Figure17:Student3’sdrawingofaschoolbuildingthatwouldfosteraconnectiontothenaturalworldinitsoccupantsStudent3’sdrawingshowsheridealschoolhastwofloors,windows,anaquarium,

andanatureclassroom.WhentheresearcheraskedStudent3whyitwouldbe

importanttohaveaclassroomdedicatedtolearningaboutnatureshesaid,“itwould

befun”(Student3,page11).Thenatureclassroomwould“havesolarpanelsand

showhowyoucanbegoodtonatureandstuff”(Student3,page11).Theinclusion

oftheaquariumshowsthatStudent3thinksthathavinganaquariuminsidethe

schoolprovidesanopportunityforstudentstolearnaboutseacreaturesand

connecttotheirimmediateenvironments(giventhatBowenissurroundedbythe

ocean).

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Student3’sdrawingalsohasadetailedschoolground.Thesegroundshaveaforest

“toplayandgetclosetonature”,agarden,abirdfountainandbirdfeeders,anda

fishpond.DuringtheinterviewStudent3explainedhavingthebirdfountainand

birdfeedersbysaying,“Youneverseebirds.Itwouldbereallycooltobeabletosee

birds.Theyarealwayshidingfromus”(Student3,page11).LikeStudent2’s

inclusionofthewindowatgrasslevelStudent3includesdifferentelementsfrom

personalexperienceswithnatureinherdrawing.Student3drewpineconeswith

peanutbutterontheminthetreesinbehindtheschoolinherdrawingbecauseshe

hadmadethiskindofbirdfeedersatschoolduringthewinter.Thisexperience

allowedhertointeractwithbirdsontheschoolgroundinameaningfulwayforher.

TheotherelementsofdesignthatStudent3includedinthisdrawingwereareas

relatingtotransportation.Student3includedaparkinglotbutmadesuretoexplain

theparkinglotatanidealschoolwouldbesmallerthantheonethatcurrentlyexists

atBICS.NotonlydidStudent3includeadominantbikeandskateboardracksothat

therewouldbespaceforpeopletobringandstoretheiralternativeandless‐

pollutingformsoftransportationbutshealsothoughtthereshouldbedesignated

spaceintheparkinglotforstudentstobeabletoridetheirbikewithhelmetson.In

Student3’smindthiswouldencouragestudentstobiketoschoolbecausethere

wouldbeaplacetorideyourbikeatschoolonceyouwerethere.

AlthoughStudent3’sdrawingofheridealschoolhasmanyfeaturesthataredifferent

thanBICSsheexclaimedthatwhensheimaginesaschoolthatisattentivetoher

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relationshiptonatureshesaidsheimaginedaschoollikeBICSbecause“everybody

alltheteachersandeverythingarealwaystalkingaboutnature”(Student3,page

11).

5.4.4STUDENT4

Figure18:Student4’sdrawingofaschoolbuildingthatwouldfosteraconnectiontothenaturalworldinitsoccupants

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Student4imaginedaschoolthatwouldfosterhisrelationshiptonaturethatwas

rightonthebeachandhadanoceaninthefrontyardandaforestinthebackyard.

Hedrewatowninthedistance,emphasizingthedistancebetweentownandthis

idealschool.Student4wantedlotsofwindowsthatcouldallopencompletely“so

youcouldfeelthenaturecomeinyoucouldhearandfeelwindandstuff”(Student4,

page15).Student4madesuretocontrastthewindowsinhispicturewiththe

windowsinhisBICSschoolclassroombystatingthattheywereopen.Hesaid,when

speakingaboutthewindowsinhisclassroom,that,“onlythetopandsomeofthe

bottomwindowsopenbutifthewholewindowwouldopenupwhenthewind

wouldcomeinyoucouldfeelitandyoucouldhearmorethings”.Student4,inhis

drawing,alsohadsunroofsorskylightsonalltheceilingsinsidetheschool“likethe

oneupthere(bigskylightinfrontfoyer)”(Student4,page14).Hefeltlikethe

skylightsfosteredhisrelationshiptothenaturalworld.Therearenoliveanimals

drawninsidetheschoolbuttherearelivefishintheoceanandbirdsintheskyjust

outsidetheschool.IntheinterviewStudent4saidthatwhenheimaginedaschool

thatwouldbeattentivetohisrelationshiptonatureheimaginedaschooltohave

“lotsofwindowsandpottedplantsandthingsinsideandmaybelikealittleanimal

orlikeabirdcageinside”(Student4,page14).ThereforeStudent4didimaginean

animalinsidetheschoolbuildingaswellashavinganimalslivingclosetotheschool,

eventhoughthisisnotevidentinhisdrawing.

ItisunclearwhyStudent4drewvandalismonhisschoolbuilding.Perhapsitwasa

playfulgestureinresponsetoanassignmentgivenbyapersonhedidnotknow

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well.Itisinterestingthoughbecausevandalismisadestructiveaction,aprocess

thattakesawayfromabuilding.Vandalismcouldbeseenasanactthathelpsto

decomposeabuilding,breakingitdowntoamorenaturalstate.

5.4.5STUDENT5

Figure19:Student5’sdrawingofaschoolbuildingthatwouldfosteraconnectiontothenaturalworldinitsoccupantsStudent5’sidealschoolbuildingfocusesontheinterioroftheschoolbuilding.

Student5’sidealschoolisfocusedonthemesbasedondifferentnaturalanimal

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habitats.Forexamplethefrontofficehasvinesandmonkeys;thegymhastrees,

monkeys,leopard,ariver,andpiranhas;oneclassroomhasdeer,bearsandfirs;one

classroomhasadesert,snakes,scorpions,wombatsandwatersnakes;andone

classroomhasanindoorsaltwatertankwithfishandsharks.Inotherwordsthe

interioroftheschoolwouldbefullofnature,mostclassroomswouldhaveanatural

habitatoneithersideandstudents,plantsandanimalswouldbeinteractingallthe

time.WhentheresearcheraskedhowStudent5thoughtthisschoolwouldallow

studentstohaveagoodrelationshiptonature,Student5said,“becausethereare

animalseverywhere”(Student5,page25).Whentheresearcherasked,“whatdo

youthinkyouneedtobeawareofnatureinaschoolbuilding?”Student5replied“to

havethingsliketheseaaquariumthatwehaveorlikehavingallthoseanimals,

havingnaturearoundyoulikeplants”(Student5,page25).ForStudent5,the

presenceofliveanimalsandplantsinsidetheschoolwasthemostimportantfactor

inaschoolbuilding’sabilitytofosterarelationshipwithnatureinitsoccupants.

AlthoughthematerialsStudent5imaginesthisschooltobemadeofareunclear

fromhisdrawing,duringtheinterviewStudent5saidthatheimaginedaschoolthat

wasattentivetoitsstudents’relationshiptonaturetohavemoreglassso“youcould

havetoseeoutindifferentangles”(Student5,page23),“amoreearthydesign

ratherthanjustabunchofblocks”(Student5,page23),andwouldhaveadditional

kindsofshapesratherthanabunchofrectanglesinordertoaddvariety.

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5.4.6CONCLUSIONThestudyparticipants’drawingsof‘schoolsdesignedwithstudents’relationship

withnatureinmind’showelementsthattheybelievemakeadifferenceinthelives

ofstudents.Students14’spicturesincludedetailsthatrevealandstressthe

importanceoftherelationshipbetweentheschoolbuildingandtheschoolsite.The

viewsfromandthesurroundingsoftheschoolbuildingareimportant.Althoughthat

Student5verballystressedthisimportanceintheinterviewhefocusedsolelyonthe

interioroftheschoolbuildinginhisdrawing.Allfiveparticipantsalsoincluded

variousexamplesofindoor/outdoorinterfacessuchaswindows,skylights,indoor

plantsandanimals.

Thesedrawingsincorporateelementsthesestudentshaveexperienced,enjoyed,

andfindmeaningfulaswellasfeaturesthattheyhavenotexperiencedbutimagine

wouldconnectthemtothenaturalworld.Thesedrawingsandthestudents’ideas

areimportanttoreflectonastheyshowpossibilitiesofwhatschoolscouldbe.

Schoolbuildingscanbeenvisionedinanewway.Theactualschoolbuildingcan

becomeatoolthatisassociatedwithlearningandconnectingstudentstothe

naturalworld.Duringthevisualinvestigation,forthestudentsofthisstudy,school

buildingsbecamejustthat,ifonlyintheirimagination.

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5.5RELATINGVISUALREPRESENTATIONFINDINGSTOTHEMATIC

ANALYSISThedatacollectedduringthisstudywasanalyzedusingthematicanalysis.Thematic

analysisisasearchforthemesthatemergeasbeingimportanttothedescriptionof

thephenomenon(Daly,Kellehear&Gliksman,1997).Themainthemes(senseof

freedom,momentsofjoy,aestheticresponse,socialcohesiveness)foundinthe

interviewtranscriptsarealsovisibleinthestudents’picturesofschoolsthatthey

imaginefostertheirrelationshipwiththenaturalworld.Thepresenceofthethemes

inthesepicturesreinforcesandaddsrichnesstothestorytoldbythedatacollected

inthisstudy.Additionallythesepictureswerethefirstthestudentsdrewduringthe

twofocusgroupsandonlythesecondactivityduringthesesessions.Studentsdrew

thispictureveryclosetothebeginningofthetimespentwiththeresearcher,before

theywereaskedinterviewquestions.Theearlypresenceofthesethemes,then,

suggestthattheyareinfactareflectionofstudentsunbiasedideasandexperiences,

ratherthanaprojectionofthewhattheresearcherintendedordesired.Atthe

outsetofthedatacollection,therelationshipofschoolbuildingwithschoolsiteand

indoor/outdoorinterfaces(thetwodesignelementsfoundtoimpactstudents’

relationshipwiththenaturalworld)wereevidentinthesepictures,which

reinforcesthevalidityofthisresultaswell.

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5.6IDEASREGARDINGBUILDINGSANDTHEIRSCHOOLBUILDING

Duringtheinterviewsstudentswereaskediftheythoughttheirschoolbuilding

taughtthemanything,howithelpedandharmednature,andiftheythoughtitwas

possibleforaschoolbuildingtohelpnature.Thestudents’answerstothese

questionsbegintoshowanideaofhowtheyexperiencedtheirschoolbuildingand

howtheyviewschoolbuildingsingeneral.

Insummary,students’answerstothesequestionsonlyprovidednominal

information.Studentsindicatedthattheydidnotthinkthattheirschoolbuilding

taughtthemanything.Manystudentsfeltthatbuildingsdonothelpthe

environment.Insteadbuildingsharmtheenvironmentbecauseinordertobuild

themtreesneedtobecutdown.However,afewstudentsthoughtitwouldbegood

ifbuildingsweredesignedtohelptheenvironment.TheonlywaytheBICSbuilding

wasnotedtohelpnaturewasthepreservationoftheforestbehindtheschool.

Studentsadmittedthattheydidnotoftenthinkaboutdesign,however,theydidfeel

theeffectsofaspectsofbuildingdesign.Studentsspecificallyspokeaboutlightand

howlevelsofbrightnessseemedtoaffecttheirmoodinabuilding,whetheritwas

theirhomeortheirschool.

5.6.1SCHOOLBUILDINGTAUGHTNOTHINGAlthoughmanyoftheintervieweesthoughtthatthepeopleinsidetheschool

buildingortheschool’secologicalattitudetaughtthemthings,manydidnotthink

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thatthebuildingitselftaughtthemanything.Examplesofstudents’answerstothe

questiondoyouthinkthatthisbuildingteachesyouanythinginclude,“notreally”

(Student3,page10)and“notreally.Notthebuildingitself.Butmaybetheschool

attitudewiththewholeconservingwaterandtheyteachyouwhatyoucandoat

hometoconservewaterandenergyandallthatstuffandnottolitterandbe

wasteful”(Student1,page12).Whenaskedifbuildingsingeneralteachher

anything,Student2replied,“notreally.Unlesstheyaredesignedtotellpeopleabout

theenvironment.LikeIheardonthenewsaboutgreenroofs.Somebuildingsthat

areoverthisheightandoverthissizehavetohaveagreenroofwithplantsandall

thatkindofstuffonit.Itreallyhelpstheenvironment,ithelpsthebuilding.”

(Student2,page9).Theseexamplesshowthatthoughsomestudentshadideasof

howbuildingscouldteachtheydidnotfeelthattheirschoolbuildingtaughtthem

anythingtheycouldthinkoforarticulate.

Itisnotsurprisingthattheinterviewstudentsfeltthattheirschoolbuildingdidnot

teachthemanything.Thisconceptdidnotseemimmediatelyaccessibletothese

gradesixandsevenstudents.Theideathatcurriculumisembeddedinevery

buildingandthatthatcurriculumispowerfulandinstructive(DavidOrr,1997)

seemsoutoftheawarenessfortheparticipantsofthisstudy.AlthoughOrr’s

argumentthatbuildingsteach,ifabuildingusesenergywastefully,forexample,“the

buildingtellsitsusersthatenergyischeapandabundantandcanbesquandered

withnothoughtforthemorrow”(Orr,1997,597)ispersuasivethereareno

empiricalstudiesthatshowhowbuildingsteachandwhattheyteach.Thisstudy

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begantheworkofgatheringdatafromstudents’livedexperiencetoseehowthis

argumentisperceivedfrombuildingusers.Eventhoughstudentsspokeabouttheir

experienceintheirschoolbuilding,thisstudywasnotabletoshowtherelationship

betweentheschoolbuildingandwhatthestudentslearnfromthebuilding.There

couldbemanycontributingfactorsforthis.Asitwasdifficultforstudentsto

articulateiforwhattheylearnedfromtheirschoolbuildingwhenaskeddirectly

becauseitisoutoftheirawareness,othertechniquesmighthaveyieldedricher

results.Forexample,ifthishadbeenanethnographicstudyandtheresearcherwas

abletoobservethestudentsforanextendedperiodoftimeitmighthavebeen

possibletoobservebehaviourthatmighthaveindicatedeitherthatstudentslearn

fromthebuildingandhowtheydosoorthattheydonotlearnfromthisbuilding.If

itwaspossibletoconductasecondinterviewwiththesamefiveBICSstudentsafter

theinitialdatawasanalyzedperhapstheresearchercouldaskquestionsinformed

bytheinitialdatathatwouldyieldmorespecificresults.Thelackofsufficientdata

couldalsobeduetotheageofthestudyparticipants.Perhapsifthisstudyhad

focusedontheteachersatBICSitwouldbemoreclearwhatthisparticularschool

“teaches”itsoccupants(inthewaythatOrrspeaksabout).

5.6.2BUILDINGSANDTHEIRENVIRONMENTALCONSEQUENCES

Afewstudentsthoughtitwouldbe“cool”iftheydidlearnthingsfrombuildings

ratherthanjustinsideofthem.Whenaskedhowtheycouldlearnfromtheschool

buildingitselfstudentswereunsureofwhattosay.

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Itbecameevidentthatstudystudentsfeltthatbuildingsdidnothelpthe

environment.Afewexamplesofstudents’commentsare,“it’sabuilding.Itdoesn’t

reallyhelpnature.”(Student3,page9)and“Buildingsjustdon’thelpthe

environmentthatmuch.Buildingsingeneral.”(Student2,page11).Student3

expandedonheranswerbysayingthatinorderforbuildingstobebuilttreesare

cutdown(Student3,page20)andStudent2saidthattheschoolbuilding“took

awayalotofnaturebecauseofhowbigitis”(Student2,page8).Whenaskedifshe

thoughtthewaythatBICSschoolwasdesignedhelpsnatureinanywayStudent2

said,“notreally,exceptthatitissurroundedbyforest.Whichisprettycool.Ilike

forests.”(Student2,page8).

Students’ideasabouthowbuildingsaffecttheenvironmentshowtheirawareness

thatwhathumansdoaltersnatureandthedominanceofbuildingsharmsthe

naturalworldmorethanbuildingscontributetonature.Itwasinterestingthatthe

conservationoftheforestbehindtheschool,whichwasaclearintentionofthe

designoftheprimarywingofBICS,wasmentionedasawaythattheBICSbuilding

helpedtheenvironment.

Althoughmostofthestudentsfeltthatbuildingsdonothelpnatureingeneral,one

studentthought,“buildingsshouldbebuilttohelpnature”(Student1,page21)

because“theentireworldisfocusedaroundglobalwarmingandeverybodytalks

aboutdoingstuffbutnobodyeverreallydoesanything.Somepeopledoofcourse

butIthinkthatwouldbeagoodideabecausewithoutactuallyhavingtoputina

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hugeeffortwhichalotofpeopledonothavetimetodotheycanjustmaketheir

homemoreenergyefficientlikeusebetterproductsandputinbetterlightbulbs

andstufflikethat”(Student1,page21).Student1feelsthatifbuildingswerebuiltto

helpnatureitwoulddemonstratethatpeopleactuallycaredaboutglobalwarming

becausetheywerewillingtotakeactionbybuildingbetterbuildings.Thisstudent

alsofeelsthathavingbuildingsthathelpnaturewouldallowpeopletotreatthe

environmentbetterwithouthavingtoapplymucheffort.

Itisinterestingthatthisstudentwantsbotharchitectsandbuilderstotakeaction

andreduceglobalwarmingbydesigningandbuildingbetterbuildingsandrealizes

thatpeopledonotwanttoputeffortintochangingtheirhabitsinordertobenefit

theenvironment.Ifmoreresourceefficientbuildingsexisted,peoplecouldusethese

efficientbuildingsandcontinuetheirnon‐activeattitude.Thebuilding,bybeing

efficientwoulddotheworkforthem.

5.6.3DESIGNOFSPACESWITHINSCHOOLSOnceitbecameapparentitwasdifficultforstudentstospeakaboutbuildingdesign

theresearcheraskedstudentsiftheythoughtaboutthedesignofspaces(for

examplethewayclassroomsarebuiltorthewaythatthelightsturnonandoff).One

studentreplied,“notreally.SometimesI’lljustnoticesomethinglike,‘thoseare

reallybadlightsforsavingenergyorwhatever’butIdon’treallythinkaboutit.I

don’treallymakeanefforttothinkaboutit.”(Student1,page20).Overthestudyit

seemedthatstudentsdidnotthinkaboutthedesignoftheirschoolmuch,however,

occasionallystudentswouldrefertospecificthingsthatrelatedtoschooldesign.For

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examplewhenStudent1wasspeakingabouttheclassroominwhichshefeltthe

mostconnectedtothenaturalworldinshesaid,“italsohasthisdoorthatyoucan

gooutside.Ithinkthat’sgoodsoyoucanjustgothroughthedoorandyouare

outsideinsteadofgoingthroughtheschoolandgettingoutside”(Student1,page

13).HereStudent1isclearlypointingoutthatshelikesthattheclassroomsheis

speakingabouthasitsowndoor(whichisadesignedfeature)thatgoestothe

outdoors.Insteadofaskingstudentsdirectlyaboutthedesignoftheschool

building,theresearcherfoundthataskingindirectquestionsrevealedmoreofthe

students’ideasabouttheirschoolbuilding.

Whenaskedifstudentsthoughtthatthedesignoftheirschoolbuildingwasneutral

ordidnotmatter,somestudentsdidadmitthattheyfeltdifferentlyindifferent

buildings.Student3’sanswertothisquestionincluded“somebuildingsiftheyare

morebrightthenyoufeelmorecheerful”(Student3,page20).Student1,also

describedfeelingdifferentlyintwodifferenthousesdependingonlevelsof

brightness,sunlight,andaircirculationaswellasamountofspace.Inonehousethat

was“reallybrightandairy”(Student1,page13)shefeltshecould“befreeand

jumpyandexcited”(Student1,page13)and“it’smorefun”(Student1,page13).In

anotherhousethatdidnotallowsunlightinandfelttight,althoughitwasabigger

house,shesaidshe“wasalwaysfeelinguhhhandsosad”(Student1,page13).When

askedhowshefeltintheschoolbuildingcomparedtothetwofeelingsshewas

describingStudent1said,“Ithinkit’ssomewhereinthemiddlebutmoretowards

thehappysidebecauseit’sreallybigandopenandhighceilings,bighallways,it’s

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alwaysreallybrightbecauseofthewindowsandeverythingbutstillit’slikeschool

rightsoI’mnotmyhappiestherebecauseyoucan’tinteractwithnaturemuchmore

thanseeingitinthisschoolandsoit’slikeinbetween”(Student1,page13).

BothStudent3’sandStudent1’sanswerprimaryaddressestheamountoflightand

howthatcontributestotheirhappiness.However,Student1addsthatthesenseof

opennessisalsoimportanttoher.

Theseareexamplesofwhatstudentssaidabouttheircurrentschoolbuildingand

theirideasofbuildingsingeneral.Itwouldbeimportanttoconductfurtherstudies

inordertoexpandonthisworkandcometoadeeperunderstandingofhowschool

buildingsaffecttheiroccupants.

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6.0THEMATICANALYSISANDDISCUSSION

6.1INTRODUCTIONThischapterpresentsthekeyfindingsofthethematicanalysisofthevisual

investigationandfollow‐upin‐depthinterviewsoffivegrade6/7students.There

weretwoaspectsofthedesignofBowenIslandCommunitySchoolthatclearly

informedtheintermediatestudyparticipants’relationshipswiththenaturalworld.

Thesetwodesignaspectswere:

1. Schoolsiteandthepresenceofnearbynature2. Indoor/outdoorinterfacessuchaswindows,skylights,computers,the

seaquaria,naturalbuildingmaterialsandtransitionzones(e.g.stoopsorcoveredporches).

Thethemespresentinthedatacollectedwere:senseoffreedom,momentsofjoy,

socialcohesiveness,andaesthetic/emotionalresponse.Thesethemespointtowards

impactsofstudents’experienceofbothaspectsofBICSdesign,havingaccessto

naturalplacesontheschoolsiteandoutdoor/indoorinterfaces.

Thethematicanalysisisorganizedinthefollowingsections:

A.Students’ResponsestoSchoolSite(orHavingAccesstoNaturalPlacesontheSchoolSite)

1. Senseoffreedom2. Momentsofjoy3. SocialCohesiveness4. Aesthetic/emotionalresponse

B.Students’ResponsestoIndoor/OutdoorInterfaces

1. Senseoffreedom2. Momentsofjoy3. Socialcohesiveness4. Aesthetic/emotionalresponse

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6.2STUDENTS’RESPONSESTOSCHOOLSITE

6.2.1SENSEOFFREEDOMStudentsexpressedhavingasenseoffreedominrelationtohavingaccesstonatural

placessuchastheforest,memorialgardenandthecommunitygarden.

Thereweremanydifferentkindsoffreedomrelatedtothedesignoftheschoolsite

expressedduringtheinterviewsandintheirdrawings.Thesefreedomsincluded

freedomsfrom(e.g.freedomfromwork,freedomfromthenoiseoftraffic)aswellas

freedomsof(e.g.freedomofsolitude,freedomofexpression,freedomof

imagination).

FreedomfromotherpeopleorfreedomofsolitudeStudent1expressedthatthememorialgardenprovidedherfreedom,more

specificallysolitude,whenshewasaskedwhereshehadherbestideasatschool.

Heranswerincludedbeingoutsideinthememorialgarden.Sheexplainedthat,“it’s

rightnexttoagarden,there’scherrytreesthereandthere’splantsagainandthen

overtherethere’sabigtreeandthere’salittleledgeoutbytheoffice.Ilikesitting

therebecausenobodyevergoesouttheresoit’srightthereandit’sverycalming

andnobodybugsmethereoranything.”(Student1,page3‐4).

Thisquotehighlightstheproximityofthegardentotheschoolandthecalmand

privacyStudent1feelswhensheisontheledgewithinthememorialgarden.The

gardenhasaconcentrationofplantsandtheirpresenceisimportanttoStudent1.

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Sheemphasizesshefeelsbothcalmandinspiredaroundplants.Earlierinthe

interviewStudent1mentionedthatshelikeddesigningclothesandtheplantsgave

herideas,whichindicatesthatlikeMoore(1997)suggeststhenaturalworldfosters

hercreativity.

Schoolisoftenbusy,noisy,andchaoticanditisimportantforchildrentohavean

easilyaccessibleplaceonschoolgroundsthatisrelaxingandeveninspiring.

Perhapsnaturalspacescanmoreeasilyofferstudentsaplaceofbeautyandsolitude.

Thephrases“nobodybugsmethere”and“nobodygoesoutthere”alsostandout.It

isclearthatStudent1feelsthatwhensheisinthememorialgardenshedoesnotget

disturbed.Shefeelsfreetobe,think,anddoasshepleases.Thisfreedomcanbe

contrastedtotimesinclasseswheresheisnotfreeeitherbecausesheneedsto

completeataskthatateacherhasassignedtoherorbecausepeoplewilldisturbher

inonewayoranother.InLastChildintheWoodsRichardLouvpresentsastudyof

Finnishteenagersinwhichastudentdescribestheimportanceofgoingintonature

soshedidn’thavetodealwithanyoneelse.Beinginnaturewasherway“toescape

withoutfullyleavingtheworld”(Louv,2008,52).Student1similarlyfeltlikeshe

didnothavetodealwithanyonewhenshewasinthememorialgarden.

Inexpressing“nobodygoesoutthere”Student1alsoshowsthatshefeelsthe

memorialgardenishersandnobodyelse’s.Thisisinterestingbecauseother

studentsdidspeakaboutthegarden,indicatinghowtheywentandplayedinthe

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gardenoften.However,Student1,hasasensethatnobodygoesthere.Itisimportant

toStudent1tohaveherownprivatespaceandtofeelownershipofthisnatural

space.Theownershipthatshefeelsconnectshertoherschoolandpossibly

reinforcesherrelationshipwithnature.

Similarly,thoughexpressedslightlydifferently,whenStudent3wastalkingabout

whyshelikedbeingintheforestontheschoolgroundsshesaidoneofthereasons

wasthatitwasquietandshecouldn’thearthecars(Student3,page2).Student3

feelsfreedomfromnoisewhensheisintheforest,whichalsocanbeseenasakind

ofsolitude.

FreedomofexpressionAlthoughseveralstudentsreferredtothefacttheyfeltfreeroutsideintheforest

thanintheschoolbuildingthebestexamplethatillustratesthefreedomof

expressionthatstudentsseemtofeelinthenaturalplacesontheschoolsiteis

elaboratedbelow.

Student1exclaimedthat,“Notoutsideontheplaygroundbutmoreliketheforest

placesIcanbeme,bymyselfkindof,youknow,whereit’snotalllikeconstruction

andarchitecture.It’sjustnatural.”(Student1,page4)

TheforestisaplacethatStudent1feelsshecanbeherself;thisisapowerfulfeeling.

Shefeelsfreetobeherselfintheforest,whichisnatural,andshedoesnotfeelfree

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tobeherselfontheplayground,whichisconstructed.Boththeplaygroundandthe

forestaresupervisedatBowenIslandCommunitySchool.Istheresomethingabout

naturalspacesthatallowpeopletoacceptthemselvesorgivesthempermissionto

bemoreofthemselves?

Onecommonalitytheplaygroundandbuildingsshareisthatthereisacodeof

behaviourwhenoneisonorinthesekindsofenvironments.Thiscodeofbehaviour

ismorerestrictivethanthelessdefinedcodeofbehaviourforbeinginaforest.This

couldbeonereasonitiseasiertoStudent1tofeelfreeinthiskindofspace.

Perhapstoo,althoughsupervised,onecaneasilyfeellessundersurveillanceinthe

forest.Onereasonforthisisthattherearemorevariationsandlooseparts5than

thereisontheplayground.Therearemoreobjects,suchastrees,tofeelhiddenby,

andthereforeitiseasiertofeelfreetodoasonepleases.Student5statedthathe

triedto“staywithinthetreeparts”asheliked“thetreesmorethantheopenspace”

(Student5,page13).Unfortunatelythisstudentdidnotsaywhathelikedabout

beinginthetreescomparedtobeingintheopen,howeveritispossiblethathefeels

moreprotectedandmorehidden..

5“Loosepartshaveinfiniteplaypossibilitiesandtheirtotallackofstructureandscriptallowschildrentomakethemwhatevertheirimaginationsdesire”(WhiteandStoecklin,1998)

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FreedomofimaginationOneofStudent2’sfavouriteplacesintheworldwastheforestontheschoolsite.She

spokeabouthowherandherfriendwouldoftenplayimaginarygamesthere

(Student2,page6).Similarly,oneofStudent3’sfavouriteplacesattheschoolwas

thememorialgarden.Student3revealedhowshewouldimaginebranchesof

certainbushesandtreesinthememorialgardentobeajailandplaywithher

friendsthere(Student3,page2).Thesetwostudentsfeltfreetouseimaginations,

whilebeinginrelationshipwithothersinnaturalplacesontheBICSschoolgrounds.

Whenstudentsareinnaturealltheirsensesareexcitedwhichcouldcontributeto

theimaginativefreedomtheyfeelbothintheforestandinthememorialgarden.

TheexperiencesthatthesetwostudentsdescribesupportMoore&Wong’s

statementinNaturalLearningthatstates,“naturalspacesandmaterialsstimulate

children’slimitlessimaginationsandserveasthemediumofinventivenessand

creativity”(Moore&Wong,1997).TherearealsostudiesthatsupportNicholson’s

“loose‐parts”theorywhichsuggestthatchildrenaremoreimaginativeinnature

thaninmanufacturedplayareas.The“loose‐parts”theorycanbesummarizedby“in

anyenvironment,boththedegreeofinventivenessandcreativity,andthe

possibilityofdiscovery,aredirectlyproportionaltothenumberandkindof

variablesinit”(Nicholson,1971asquotedinLouv,2008,89).Natureisconsidered

tohave“therichestsourceoflooseparts”(Louv,2008).

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6.2.2MOMENTSOFJOYThereweremanydescriptionsinstudents’accountsoftheirexperiencesinthe

naturalplacesonBICSschoolsitethatstoodoutasspecificmomentswheretheyfelt

joyordelight.

Student1expressedjoywhenshespokeaboutvisitingthecommunitygarden

duringrecessandlunch.Shesaid,“Ijustlikelookingatitandstuff.Causeit’sfunto

watcheverythingbecauseyougointhebeginningoftheyearandthereislittle

sproutsandthenyougolaterandthere’sbigshootsandstuff.”(Student1,page8)

ThegardenisStudent1’sfavouritespaceatschool.Student1doesnotactively

gardenthere,thoughsheisanactivegardenerathome.Insteadshegoesthereto

watchthegarden.Shespecificallyspeaksaboutseeingthesameplantsgrowover

time.AsStudent1observesthelifecycleofplantsshemostlikelyhasfeelingsof

respectandawe.Sheisengaginginobservationandperhapsnoticingdetailsabout

theplantsthatsheiswatchingwhichmightbefuelingotherquestions.

Student1alsotoldtheresearcherthatshelovestobeinthisgardenbecauseit

“makesmefeelreallygood”,“itcalmsmedownandrelaxesmeandallmyfears,

worries,stressjustgoesawayandIcanrelaxandhavefun”(Student1,page5).The

researcheraskedStudent1whatshewasstressedaboutandherreplywas,“well,

usuallyhomeworkorprojectsthatIhavetodoorItakesinginglessonsand

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sometimesifIhaveaconcertcomingupandIhaven’tmemorizedmysongor

whatevertherearejustlittlethingslikethatbutespeciallyhomeworkbecause

homeworkisahugeoneandI’malwaysstrugglingtogeteverythingdonebecause

thereissomuch”(Student1,page5).

Theschoolcommunitygardenisanimportantde‐stressorinStudent1’slife.Itis

importanttohavethiscalmplaceatschoolbecauseschoolworkandsocial

pressuresaremajorinfluencesofstressinchildren’slives.Feelingrelaxed

contributestoStudent1’sabilitytohavefun.

Thisfindingisnotsurprising,asmanystudieshavefoundthatcontactwithnature

canhelppeoplehandlestress.Onestudywithchildreningradestwotofivefound

that“more[nature]appearstobebetterwhenitcomestobolsteringchildren’s

resilienceagainststressoradversity”(WellsandEvans,2003,327).Student1’s

commentsthatthegardenhelpsherfeelmorerelaxedreinforcesWellsandEvans

findingsthatnaturecanbolsterchildren’sresilienceagainststress.

Anotherstudent,Student2,alsoexpressedexperiencingmomentsofjoywhileinthe

communitygarden.WhenStudent2spokeaboutthegardenshesaidthatshe

especiallyenjoyedthegarden,“whenit’ssunny.Andrightafteritrains.Definitely.

Becauseyoucansmellthedewandthereisraindrops.Anditmakeseverything

sparkle”(Student2,page7).

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Student2spokeaboutthegardenhereyeslitup,hervoicegotlouderandshespoke

morequickly.TalkingaboutthegardenafteraraingotStudent2excitedandherjoy

waspalpable.Althoughtheliteratureregardingchildren’sconnectiontonaturedoes

notnecessarilyaddressthejoychildrenfeelasaresultofcontactwithnaturethere

issupportthatshowsthat“mostadultslookingbackontheirchildhoodcitethe

naturalworldasanemotionallycriticalaspectoftheiryouth”(Kellert,2005,71).It

isnotsurprisingthenthatBICSstudents’storiesoftheirexperienceswiththe

naturalworldwerejoyful.

6.2.3SOCIALCOHESIVENESSWhenstudentsspokeabouttheirexperiencesinthenaturalplacesontheschoolsite

manyoftheirstoriesinvolvedbeingintheforestorgardenswithotherpeoplethey

caredabout.Itseemedthatoneoftheimpactsofthesenaturalspaceswasthatthey

fosteredthegrowthofrelationships.

OneofStudent2’sfavouriteplacesintheworldwastheforestontheschoolsite.She

spokeaboutherandherfriendoftenplayimaginarygamesthere(Student2,page

6).Similarly,oneofStudent3’sfavouriteplacesattheschoolwasthememorial

garden.Student3revealedhowshewouldplaywithinthegardenwithherfriends

(Student3,page2).Student3alsotalkedabouttheforestasoneofhertwofavourite

placesatschool.Whentheresearcheraskedherwhatshelikedabouttheforestshe

said,“It’sjustquiet.Andyoucanbuildfortsinit.Wealwaysbuildfortsinit.Andwe

playinthemandstuff.”(Student3,page2).Whenaskedtoelaboratethestudent

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said,“Wood,andtreebranchesthathavefallendownandeverything.Justpilethem

andwebuildlittleshelters.”(Student3,page2).

BuildingfortsintheforestisonewaythatStudent3andherfriendsareshowing

industryandcompetencebycreatingsomethingfromthenaturalmaterialsthey

find.Atthesametimetheyareinrelationshipwitheachother,somewhatawayfrom

theworldofadults.Forchildrenatthisstageintheirdevelopment,establishinga

selfthatisseparatefromadultcontrol(Erikson,1968)isameaningfulactivityand

iswrittenaboutextensivelyinliteratureaboutchildrenandnature.Havingaccessto

naturalplacesatschoolthatallowforactivitiessuchascollectivefortbuildingand

collectiveplayseemstobuildsocialcohesivenessamongstudents.

Therearestudiesintherelatedliteraturethatalsosuggestthatnaturemay

encouragesocialinteraction.Louv,inLastChildintheWoodsstatesthat,“onereason

fortheemotionalbenefitsofnaturemaybethatgreenspacefosterssocial

interaction”(Louv,2008,51).LouvnotesthataSwedishstudyconductedby

Huttenmosershowed“thatchildrenandparentswholiveinplacesthatallowfor

outdooraccesshavetwiceasmanyfriendsasthosewhohaverestrictedoutdoor

accessduetotraffic”(Louv,2008,51).Theinformationgatheredinthisstudy,

thoughitwasnotcomparative,seemstobeinagreementwiththeresults.

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6.2.4AESTHETIC/EMOTIONALRESPONSEStudentsalsoexpressedanaestheticoremotionalresponseforthenaturalplaceson

theschoolsite.

WhenaskedwhereshehadherbestideasatschoolStudent1’sanswerincluded

beingoutsideinthememorialgarden.Shesaid,“Ilikesittingatthebaseofthe

stairs.Idon’tknowwhy.Ijustlikeit(Student1,page3).Whenaskedwhatsheliked

aboutthememorialgarden,sheexplainedthat,“it’srightnexttoagarden,there’s

cherrytreesthereandthere’splantsandthenovertherethere’sabigtreeand

there’salittleledgeoutbytheoffice.Ilikesittingtherebecausenobodyevergoes

outtheresoit’srightthereandit’sverycalmingandnobodybugsmethereor

anything.”(Student1,page3‐4).

Thegardenoffersheraspacethathasanaestheticquality.Thegardenhasa

concentrationofplantsandtheirpresenceisimportanttoStudent1.She

emphasizesthatshefeelsbothcalmandinspiredaroundplants.Earlierinthe

interviewStudent1mentionedthatshelikeddesigningclothesandtheplantsgave

herideas.

Student3,namedthememorialgardenamongherfavouritespacesintheschool.

Whenaskedwhatshelikedaboutthememorialgarden,shereplied,“It’sreally

pretty.Therearelotsofflowersandpeoplemakeithardtomakeitpretty”(Student

3,page2).Whenaskedwhereinthegardenshepreferstobe,sheresponded:“just

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underneaththebranchesandstuff.Meandmyfriendwereplayingpolicecaptures

andwewerepretendingitwasalittlejailthing.Itwasreallyfun”(Student3,page

2).

Student3hasanaestheticresponsetothisnaturalspace.ForStudent3,thebeauty

ofthegardenisimportant.ThisbeautyinspiresStudent3towanttobeinthisspace

anduseherimagination.Shealsomentionstheefforttheschoolcommunityputs

intothemaintenanceofthegardenandseesthatpeopleatherschoolcareaboutthe

gardenandperhapsfeelscaredforbecauseofit.

UnlikeStudent1whospokeaboutsittingattheedgeofthegardenStudent3talks

aboutplayingrightunderthetreesandbushesthatareinthegarden.Thebeautyof

thegardenattractsher.Thisstudentcanbeinsideofthegardenanditisaplacethat

enableshertobesocialwithothersbecauseitprovidesaplacetoplay.Through

play,shemakesthisspacehersbyimaginingandmakingitherownwithherfriend.

WhenStudent1andStudent3spokeaboutthememorialgardentheprepositions

theyusedfortheiractivitiescaughttheresearcher’sattention.Christopher

Alexander,DouglasPatersonandRobertIrwinallpointtowardstheimportanceof

examiningprepositionsinrelationtohowpeopleencounterandoccupyspaces.

Accordingtothislineofthought,oneofthethingsthatmakeaplacespecialisits’

prepositionalpossibilitiesandthemoreprepositionalpossibilitiesthataplacehas

thebetterthedesign.ForexampleGranvilleIslandisspecialbecauseofits’

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“under”ness.IfGranvilleIslandweresimplyanisland,asopposedtoanislandunder

abridge,GranvilleIslandwouldfeellessspecial.BothStudent1and3haveastrong

responsetothememorialgarden.Student1speaksaboutbeing“beside”thegarden

andStudent3speaksaboutbeing“under”thebranchesor“within”thegarden.This

impliesthatthegardenisaspacethathasdifferentprepositionalpossibilities,

whichaddstoitsattractivequality.

Student5describedtheforestas“special”.ThefactthatBICShadanaturalplay

space,theforest,embeddedintotheschoolgroundsdifferentiatedthestudents’

schoolfromotherschools.Whenaskedwhathelikedabouttheforest,“occasionally

adeeractuallywandersintheresoit’sgoodtoseethatandit’sjustachangefrom

whatmostschoolsareit’sjustabiggroundswithoutanytreesonit.It’sjust

special”(Student5,page2).Student5feltthatitwasspecialforaschooltohavea

forestedareaonitsgrounds.ItispossiblethatStudent5’ssenseofprideregarding

theforestconnectshimtotheschool.Itislikelythatthepresenceoftheforestat

schoolincreasesthepossibilitythatStudent5hasadailyrelationshipwiththe

naturalworld.Heseeswildlifeandenjoysbeinginandhavingaccesstotheforest.

Whencomparingthesefindingstotheliteratureitisinterestingtonotethat

HeerwagenandOrionssuggestthatanaestheticoremotionalresponsetoa

landscapeisanimportanthabitabilitycue.Infact,“thesenseofaestheticpleasure

andemotionalenticementassociatedwithnatureis,inWilson’sview,the“central

issueofbiophilia””(Heerwagen&Orions,1993,142).Thisinitialaestheticor

emotionalresponseifpositivecantriggeraprocessofexplorationthatcanlead

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peopletoremaininanenvironmentforeitherabriefamountoftimetoconduct

certainactivitiesorforextendedamountoftime.Theparticipantsinthisstudy,at

leastinregardstothenaturalspacesontheschoolsiteshowedpositiveaesthetic

andemotionalresponses.Thismeansthattheyareattractedtothesespacesand

havedecidedtoexplorethemrepeatedly.

6.3STUDENTS’RESPONSESTOINDOOR/OUTDOORINTERFACESIndoor/Outdoorinterfacesarethepoints,areas,orsurfacesthatcanbeconsidered

tobeajuncturebetweenindoorsandoutdoors.Therewereseveralindoor/outdoor

interfacesatBowenIslandCommunitySchool.Forexamplethemostprevalent

indoor/outdoorinterfacesthatstudentsbothdiscussedanddrewwerethe

windows,whichprovidedaviewtotheoutdoors.Otherindoor/outdoorinterfaces

atBICSwerethetwoskylights,thenaturalbuildingmaterialsusedintheprimary

wing,theseaquaria,computers(incertaincircumstances),andthecoveredarea

thatconnectsthefrontoftheschoolbuildingandthestairs.

6.3.1SENSEOFFREEDOMStudentsindicatedthatcertainindoor/outdoorinterfacesgavethemasenseof

freedom.Thespecificfreedomthatseemedmostprevalentinrelationtointerfaces

seemedtobeafreedomfromtheinterior,boththeinterioroftheschoolbuilding

andtheinteriorofastudentsmind.

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FreedomfromtheinteriorOnestudentfelthedidhisbestworkatschoolinhisclassroomwhenhecouldlook

outthewindow.Helikedlookingoutthewindowbecause“lotsoftimesthere’s

somethingnewtolookat.It’snotthesamething”(Student4,page5).Theviewout

thewindowofferedvariety.Whenstudentswereaskedwhattheycouldseeoutthe

windowtheyreplied,“youcanlookoutsideandseeanimalsandplantsoutside”

(Student4,page11),“thewindowsletyouseeout”(Student5,page17),and“our

classroomhasareallybigwindowthatoverlookstheforestandsometimeswesee

deersandsquirrelsandallthetimetheforestisthereandit’srightnearthegarden

sowecanalwaysseethenatureoutsidethewindow”(Student1,page8).In

additiontovariety,though,lookingoutthewindowofferedstudentssomethingelse

aswell.

Student4feltthatifhecouldn’tlookoutthewindowwhenhewasworkinghe

“wouldn’tfeelasconcentratedand[he’d]getboredprettyoften”(Student4,page5).

Student4explainedthatlookingoutthewindowhelpedhimconcentratebecause

thisactivityaffordedhimashortrespitefrombothhisworkandtheinnerworkings

ofhismindtosomeextent.Lookingoutthewindowinhisclassroomfocusedhis

attentionontheexternalworld,whichhelpedhimwhenhewas“stumped”onhis

work.Theindoor/outdoorinterfaceorwindowprovidesausefulmeansofescape.

Thewindowgivesthestudenttheopportunitytotakehisconsciousnesssomewhere

else.Thisisimportanttothisstudentandhedescribesthisopportunityas

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extremelyhelpfultohimspecificallybecausehefeelsthisabilitycontributestohis

productivity.

Althoughotherstudentssaidthatthewindowortheviewoutthewindowwastheir

favouritepartoftheirclassroomnooneelsementionedthatlookingoutthewindow

aidedtheirconcentration.Thesestudentshoweverdidsaythattheylookedoutthe

windows“allthetime”(Student3,page13),“mostofthetime”(Student5,page19),

“quiteabit”(Student1,page19)and“anenormousamount”(Student2,page13).

Whenthesestudentssharedwhytheylikedlookingoutthewindowtheiranswers

revolvedaroundwhattheysawoutthewindow,suchasaparticularplantthey

liked,animals,thegarden,theforest,etc.Theabilitytolookoutthewindows

allowedstudentstovisuallyinteractwithnatureaswellasgavethemasenseof

freedom.Thewindowexpandedtheclassroominasensetoencompasstheworld

rightoutsidetheschoolwalls.Oneofthingsthatbecameapparentasstudentsspoke

aboutthewindowsinBICSwastherelationshipoftheschoolbuildingontheschool

site.Thisrelationship,thefactthatmuchoftheforestwasleftintactontheschool

groundsandthelocationofthecommunitygardeninthecourtyardhasasignificant

impactonthebuildingoccupants.Thereisafeelingofthe“muchness”ofthe

windowsatBICS–therearemanywindowsofconsiderablesizeandfromalmost

everywindowonecanseeanaturallandscape.Otherschoolbuildingshave

windowsbutoftenthesewindowsfaceconcretelandscapes,housesorschoolfields.

TheviewoutofthewindowsofBICSprovidesadifferentexperience.Theviewat

BICSisaconstantreminderofnaturalworldthatisjustoutsidetheschool’sdoors.

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TheBICSstudent’scommentsregardingthewindowsintheirschoolcanbe

comparedtostudiesthathavefocusedonpositiveeffectsofexposuretonaturein

theworkplace.Althoughthisstudywasqualitativeandfocusedprimarilyonfive

students,Student4’scommentssuggestthathefeltmoreproductivewhenhecould

lookoutthewindowsthatfacedthenaturalworld.Variousresearchers(Heerwagen

&Hase,2001;Boubekri,1991;Browning&Romm,1998;Fisk&Rosenfeld,1997;

Heerwagen&Orians,1986;Kaplan,1995;Katts,2003)havestudiedhowviewingof

natureatworkeffectsworkersandfoundresultssuggestingthatproductivitywas

increasedasaresult.Althoughnoneofthesestudiesusedelementarystudentsasa

studypopulationthesamebenefitsmightapplytostudentsinschool.Inadditionto

studiesrelatingproductivitytoviewsofnature,Faber,KuoandSullivan’s(2002)

studyshowsarelationshipbetweenthenaturalnessofwindowviewsandgirls

abilitytoconcentrate.

6.3.2MOMENTSOFJOYIndoor/Outdoorinterfacesprovidedstudentswithmomentsofjoyandcelebration.

Lookingoutwindowsnotonlyhelpedsomestudentsconcentratebutalsomade

somestudentshappy.ForexampleStudent5saidthatlookingoutthewindowatthe

forestfromtheprimarywingmadehim“feelhappy”(Student5,page19).Another

studentsaidthatshewashappierwhenherdeskinherclassroomfacedthewindow

becauseshecouldseeplantsinthecommunitygarden.Shesaid,“Ilikelookingat

thetreethat’sgrowinginthemiddleandthereisalltheallthegiantsunflowersand

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stuff(Student2,page13).Latershesaid,“wellitjustremindsmeofnatureandhow

luckywearetoliveinsuchabeautifulplace”(Student2,page15).

BeingabletoseethegardenatschoolmadeStudent2feelluckyandacknowledge

thefactthatshelivesinabeautifulplace.Shefeltmostawareandconnectedto

naturewhenshewasinorlookingatthecommunitygarden.Forthisparticular

studentthiswassignificantbecauseshespokeabouthowshedidnotfeelconnected

atschool.Student2’sexperienceofthegardenisamulti‐sensoryone,shetakesin

smells,sights,andsoundsandtheytiehertoBowenIsland,theschoolsite,which

shecalls“herplace”.Shecaresaboutthegarden,andfeelsnurturedbyit.

Indirectcontactwithnatureviathewindowsintheirclassroomsbenefitedthese

BICSstudents’emotionalwell‐being.WithintheresearchofHumanandNatural

Systemssomeofthesamestudiesthatfoundworkerswithwindowsfacingnature

canincreaseproductivitytheresultsalsofoundthatworkershadhigherlevelsof

satisfactionandemotionalwell‐being(Kellert,2005).Theinterviewssuggestthat

thiscouldalsobetrueforstudentsinschool.

Studentsalsospokeabouttheirexperiencelookingatnaturethroughtheskylights

atBICS.Theseskylightsdidmorethanbringnaturallightintothehallways.They

highlightedorcelebratednaturalweatherevents,whichbecamemeaningful

experiencesforthestudents.

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Inadditiontothewindows,skylightswerementionedasattributesoftheschool

buildingthatfosteredawarenessofthenaturalworldinstudents.Thestudents

couldsee“thesky,birds,lotsoftrees”(Student3,page19),“nature”(Student3,

page19),“snow”(Student1,page9),“leaves”(Student1,page9),and“rain”

(Student4,page11)throughtheskylights.Thestudentsnoticedthatitwasdarker

inthehallwayinthewinter,especiallywhensnowwaspiledupontheskylight.

Studentsalsonoticedthatsometimesbirdswouldlandontheskylightandthey

wouldbeabletoseehowaseagullwalkedjustabovethem.

Therainontheskylightswassomethingthatmorethanonestudenthighlightedas

aneventinparticularthatmadethemmostawareofnatureinsidetheschool

building.InthefollowingexampleStudent4speaksabouttherain:“sometimesout

thereinthemainhallyoulookupandthere’stheglassthingsitrainsandyoucan

hearitalot”(Student4,page11).Skylightsaccentuatedtherainandallowedthe

buildingoccupantstocelebratenaturalweatherevents.Student1revealedthatthe

skylightwasonewayshecouldtelltheseasonsinherschoolbuilding.Shesaid,“The

skylight.Wellsnowlandsonitandit’sreallyweirdbecauseit’sdimlylit.Because

theydon’tusuallyhavethatmanylightsoninthathallbecauseofthehugeskylights

soit’salllikedimandweirdkindoflooking.”(Student1,page18)Snowisanother

eventthattheskylightscelebrate.Snowgathersontheskylightsandcreatesa

remarkabledimnessbecausethehalllightsarerarelyturnedon.Otherstudentsalso

referredtothegrandeuroftheskylights.Student3exclaimed,“there’sthatHUGE

windowintheimmediatehallthatjustgoesonandon”(Student3,page8).

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AlthoughtheskylightswerereferredtolessthanotherfeaturesinBICS,students

werecaptivatedbytheexperiencesofthenaturalworldthattheskylightscreated.

SometeachersatBICSusetheskylightsexplicitlyintheirlessonsaboutweather,

whichpossiblyreinforcesstudentstonoticeanddelightinwhatcanbeseenfrom

them.

6.3.3SOCIALCOHESIVENESSWhenstudentsspokeaboutinteractingwithindoor/outdoorinterfacesoftenthey

describedsolitaryexperiences.Onlyoccasionallystudentsmentionedeventsthat

suggestedhowtheseinterfacescontributedtosocialcohesiveness.

However,onestudentsingledoutatransitionzoneasaplaceintheschoolbuilding

shefeltmostinspired.Sheoftenoccupiestheshelteredspacejustoutsidethefront

dooroftheschool.Shesaidwhenshe’stheresheis“with[her]friendsso[sheis]all

happy”andthatfromthereshecould“seetheentireplayground”(Student3,page

5).Thistransitionzoneprovidesshelterfromtherain,agatheringplace,andaview

fromoftheentireplayground.Allthreeofthesecharacteristicsofthisinterface

contributetoitsattractivenesstotheschooloccupants.

Student3’srecollectionofherexperiencehighlightsthepositionalpowersheand

herfriendsfeelwhentheyoccupythistransitionzone.Sheandherfriendshavethe

abilitytoseealargeareawhereotherchildrenareplayingwhichisimportantand

givesthisgroupofstudents’power.Beingabletospendtimeinthisspottogether

alsoallowsthesestudentstodeveloprelationships.Thisrelatestotheideaof

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prepositionsandhowgoodplaceshavemanyprepositionalpossibilities(Paterson,

1993).InthisinstanceStudent3isfeeling“aboveitall”butalsoverymuch“with”

herfriends.Theseprepositionalrealitiescontributetoherenjoymentofthis

interface.

Theotherindoor/outdoorinterfacethattheresearcherobservedfosteringsocial

cohesivenesswastheseaquaria.OnthreedifferentvisitstoBICSstudentswere

gatheredroundtheseaquaria.Oncetheresearchersawthatstudentswerecrowded

aroundthetankjustaftertherecessbellhadrung.Theywereontheirwayoutside

butlingeredandstoppedtolookattheidentificationchartthatrestedonthetopof

thetank.Anotherdaystudentsweresittinginfrontoftankatthebeginningofthe

schooldaymakingobservationnotesintheirjournals.Agroupoffivestudents

wouldcomeandstayforfiveminutesandthenthenextfivestudentscame.Later

thatsamedayanotherclasswasusingtheseaquariaasinspirationforcreative

writingandillustratingtheirstorieswithpicturesofseacreaturesfromthetank.

However,noneofthestudyparticipantsspokeabouttheirexperienceofthe

seaquariainrelationtootherstudents,parents,orteachersduringtheinterviews.

Somestudents,didhowever,drawtheseaquariaastheplaceintheschoolthatthey

feltmostconnectedtothenaturalworld.

6.3.4AESTHETIC/EMOTIONALRESPONSETheseaquariawasoneinterfacethatinspiredastrongaestheticandemotional

responseinstudents.SimilarlytoStudent5’sfeelingabouttheforest,Student2felt

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theseaquariawasspecial.DuringtheinterviewStudent2exclaimed,“youdon’tsee

aseaquariumeveryday.It’smyfavourite,seacucumbers.Yeah,theyspitouttheir

gutsforprotection.Youcanstillseeitsguts.”(Student2,page9).Thisinterfacewas

potentforthisstudent.Shewaslearningabouttheseacreaturesfromher

experienceofwatchingthemandfeltthattheseaquariataughtherthat“naturecan

bereallyreallyreallypretty”(Student2,page9).Thepositiveemotionaland

aestheticresponseinrelationtotheseaquariaStudent2hadattractedhertothe

seaquariaandfosteredherlearningabouttheseacreaturesinsideit.Thepridethat

shefeelsabouthavingthetankinherschoolmostlikelycontributestoherpositive

feelingsabouttheschoolingeneralaswell.

Thenaturalmaterials,particularlythewoodbeams,treecookie,andcedarplanks,

usedintheprimarywingofBICSactedasaninterfacethatbroughttheoutdoors

insidetheschoolbuilding.Althoughthreeparticipants(Student1,Student2and

Student5)pointedouthowtheypreferredeithertheclassrooms,theviewsfromthe

windowsorbeinginthehallintheprimarywingonestudentinparticular

articulatedhowshefeltaboutthisparticularindoor/outdoorinterface.Student2

saidthatshefeltreally“reallyclosetonature”(Student2,page22)whenshewasin

theprimarywing,“becausetheymadethewholeplaceoutoftreesthatwere

standingthereandit’sreallypretty”(Student2,page7).Shesaidthatseeingthe

wood“tellsmetheworldisreallybeautiful”(Student2,page22).Whenthe

researcheraskedifitwouldmakeadifferenceinherschooldayifthewholeschool

buildingwasbuiltthatwayshesaid,“probably.ItwouldmakethisplacelookSO

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muchniceranditwouldputsomanypeopleclosertonature”(Student2,page22).

ThisstudentenjoyedbeingintheprimarywingmorethanintheolderpartofBICS

schoolbuilding.Oneofthebiggestimpactsofthenaturalwoodforthisstudentisan

appreciationofboththeparticularbeautyofthewoodfeaturedinthedesignand

thegeneralbeautyoftheworld.ThepresenceofthewoodalsofostersStudent2’s

connectiontothenaturalworld,particularlyherconnectiontotheforestonthe

schoolproperty.

Itisdifficulttoknowifthewholeschoolwasbuiltusingnaturalmaterialswhether

studentswouldhaveadifferentexperienceofschool,themselves,orthenatural

world.However,Student2preferstobeinthispartofthebuilding,wantstheentire

schoolbuildingtobedesignedusingnaturalmaterialsandthinksthatiftheentire

schoolwasdesignedthatwaypeopleusingthebuildingwouldfeelclosertonature.

ItwashardforStudent2toarticulatewhatwashappeninginsideofherwhenshe

wasintheprimarywing.Perhapsiftherewasmoretimetheresearchercouldask

hermorequestionstotrytodetermineifsheislearningsomethingparticularfrom

theuseofnaturalmaterialsinthisdesignedspaceandifso,whatitwas.However,

Student2’sstrongaffinityforthespacesuggeststhatthereisaninternalreaction

happeninginsideofherwhensheisintheprimarywing.InEnvironmentand

ChildrenChristopherDayclaims“appearancespeaksofunderlyingvalues”(Day,

2007,137).TheprimarywingatBICSisnotsterileandtheuseofthenatural

materialsshowsarelationshiptonature.Perhapsthevaluesthatarepassedonto

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buildingoccupantsincludesterilityisnotnecessaryandthatrelationshiptonature

isimportant.Thewoodistouch‐friendly,warmandalterationtolerant,providinga

welcomingenclosurefortheoccupants.Thescaleoftheprimarywingisnoticeably

smallerthantheoriginalpartofBICS.Thisenablesstudentstofeelvaluedand

welcomedbecauseboththeirsizeandperspectiveisconsidered.

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7.0CONCLUSIONANDRECOMMENDATIONS

7.1SUMMARYOFFINDINGSTheinitialresearchquestionswerehowareintermediatestudents’relationshipswith

thenaturalworldmediatedbythedesignoftheirschoolbuildingandwhichpartsof

BICSschoolmediatedintermediatestudents’experiencesofthenaturalworld? Inthis

section,thefindingswillbediscussedbrieflyinrelationtotheseinitialresearch

questions.

7.1.1 WHICHELEMENTSOFBICSMEDIATESTUDENTS’RELATIONSHIPWITHTHENATURALWORLD

AsdescribedinChapter6,thereweretwodesignfeaturesthatmediatedstudents’

experienceofthenaturalworld.First,therelationshipbetweentheschoolbuilding

andtheschoolsitebothemphasizedandallowedforthepresenceofnatural

environmentssuchastheforest,memorialgardenandcommunitygarden.The

presenceofthesenearbynaturalenvironmentswascriticalinprovidingspacesfor

studentstoregularlyencounterthenaturalworldatschool.Therelationshipofthe

schoolbuildingtothelargerpropertyhighlightedtheexistenceofthesenatural

environments.Second,theindoor/outdoorinterfacessuchasthewindows,

skylights,naturalbuildingmaterials,seaquariaandoccasionallycomputers,invited

studentinteractionswithnatureinsidetheschoolbuilding.Thetransitionzonewas

theexception,providingstudentswithanelementoftheindoors,shelter,whilethey

werejustoutsidetheschoolbuilding.

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7.1.2HOWSTUDENTSEXPERIENCETHEELEMENTSOFBICSTHATMEDIATETHEIRRELATIONSHIPWITHTHENATURALWORLD

Thequestionofhowstudents’experiencetheelementsofBICSthatmediatetheir

relationshipwiththenaturalworldwasbroadinitsscope.Thedatashowedthere

weremanyfactorsworkingsimultaneously.Thefindingsthen,cannotstandontheir

ownbutonlyinrelationtoeachother.

ThroughoutthisstudystudentsrevealedexperiencesofBICSthatwereimportantto

them.Inrelationtotheirexperiencesinthenaturalenvironmentsonschool

groundsandinteractingwiththeindoor/outdoorinterfaces,studentsoftenhadan

aestheticresponseandfeltasenseoffreedom,joy,andsocialcohesiveness.

Severalstudents’experiencesofBICSreinforcethefindingsofvariousrelated

studies.Forexamplethefindingsofthisprojectreinforcethat:childreninmiddle

childhoodhaveastrongpreferenceforoutdoorplaces(Moore,1986);naturecan

bolsterchildren’sresilienceagainststress(Wells&Evans,2003);viewsofnature

canaffectproductivity(Heerwagen&Hase,2001);welldesignedplaceshave

multipleprepositionalpossibilities(Paterson,1993);andcontactwiththenatural

worldcanimproveone’sconcentration(Taylor&Kuo,1998,quotedinLouv,2008,

89)andstimulatecreativity(Moore&Wong,1997).

Inadditiontotheconnectionstorelatedliterature,thisstudyfoundthatBICS

studentsfeltcaredforandspecialasaresultofhavingaccesstonatural

environmentsonschoolgrounds.BICSstudentshadasenseofownershipand

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investmentinBICSasaschoolandasaplacebecauseoftheirsenseoffreedomand

joyfulandaestheticresponsestotheforestandgardens.Aswellasprovidingjoy,

studentsfeltthataccesstowindowsintheirclassroomsallowedthemtotakemini‐

breaks,whichcontributedtotheirproductivity.Additionally,thewindowsand

skylightsweresignificantinconnectingstudentstotheseasonalchangesofnature.

TeachersatBICSworkwiththeindoor/outdoorinterfaces,incorporatingthe

skylightinlessonsaboutclouds,orusingtheviewofaravenoutthewindow,to

connecttoclasscurriculum.

HavingwoodedandplantedareasonBICSschoolgroundsprovidedaplacefor

studentstobuildameaningfuldailyrelationshipwiththenaturalworldandtheir

peersduringtheirmiddlechildhoodyears.Thepositioningoftheskylightsand

windowsatBICShighlightedthenaturalsurroundingsaswellasprovidingstudents

withdailylearningopportunities.Permeabilitytotheoutdoorgreenspaceprovided

BICSstudentswithasenseoffreedom,happiness,andaestheticpleasure.

7.1.3ASCHOOLBUILDINGTHATFOSTERSANIDEALRELATIONSHIPWITH

THENATURALWORLDThedrawingsinwhichstudentsillustrated“schoolstheyimaginedwouldfostera

relationshipwiththenaturalworldintheiroccupants”revealedimportant

elements,bothgroundedinpersonalexperienceandtheirimagination.Intheir

drawingsstudentsprovidedveryspecificexamplesofsignificantconnectors

betweenthemselvesandnature,suchaspeanutbutterpineconesusedas

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birdfeedersorwindowsatgrasslevel.Thesedetailswouldnotnecessarilyhave

beenrevealedthroughtheinterviewprocessandservedasimportantdatarelevant

tohowstudentsconnectwiththenaturalworldatschool.Studentsalsoimproved

onexistingelementsofBICSintheirdrawings.Afewstudentsincludedwindows

thatopenedallthewayratherthanonesthatsimplyopenedatthetoporbottom,as

thewindowsattheirschooldo.Thestudents’illustrationsalsodrewontheir

imaginations,includingelementssuchasskateboardracks,monkeysintheoffice,

schoolsadjacenttobeachesinfrontoftheocean,vinescoveringtheschool,

fountains,andagreenroofforclasses.Thesedrawingsshowsomeofthemultiple

possibilitiesforeducatorsandarchitectstoconsiderwhenthinkingaboutdesigning

schoolsthatconnectstudentstonature.Thevisualinvestigationprocesswasan

indicationthatschoolbuildingoccupantshaveawealthofideasabouttheirschools

andschoolbuildingsingeneralandcouldbevaluableresourcesinthedesign

process.

7.2IMPLICATIONSOFSTUDY

7.2.1IMPLICATIONSFOREDUCATORSTheresultsofthisstudyindicatethatthedesignofschools,especiallyinregardsto

thepresenceofnearbynatureandindoor/outdoorinterfaces,mightplayamore

significantroleinchildren’srelationshipwiththenaturalworldthanhasbeen

widelyrecognized.Manystudieshaveexaminedthenatureofchildren’s

relationshipwiththenaturalworldbuthaveneglectedtoconsiderhowschool

buildingsplayaroleinthatrelationship.

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Accesstonearbynatureatschoolcanhavepositiveimpactsonchildren,including

nurturingsolitude,creativity,imagination,expression,socialinteraction,delight,

andrelaxation.Thesefindingsarerelevantforeducatorsandthoseinthefieldof

education.Thesepositiveimpactsaffectchildren’swell‐beingatschool.Thereare

manyschoolsthathavenaturalizedtheirschoolyardsinsomeway,andthesedesign

embellishmentshelpchildrenreceivepreviouslymentionedbenefits.However,it

oftentakesagreatdealoftime,energyandfinancialresourcestocompleteevena

modestschoolnaturalizationproject.Manyschoolsdonothaveforestsorgardens

ontheirpropertyandduetovariousgeographicorsocioeconomicrealitiescannot

undertaketheadditionoftreesorplants.

Perhapsinthesecircumstancestakingadvantageoftheexistingindoor/outdoor

interfacesorcreatingadditionalindoor/outdoorinterfacesaremorerealistic

options.Thisstudyfoundthatindoor/outdoorinterfacesfosteredlearningand

appreciationofbeautyaswellasconnectedstudentstoweathereventsand

seasonalchanges.Studentsindicatedthatindoor/outdoorinterfacesgavethema

senseoffreedom,whichincreasedtheirhappinessatschool.

Ineveryschoolbuildingthereareindoor/outdoorinterfaces,however,thereisa

systemicideathateducatorsandstudentsshouldbesolelyfocusedonacademic

activitiesduringclasstime.Sometimesbecauseofthissystemicnotion,whichfinds

itswayintothecurriculumandteachers’attitudes,interfacessuchaswindowsare

133

seenasdistractionsandarecoveredupinsomeway,usingblindsorconstruction

paper.Thepotentialfortheseinterfacestofosterstudents’relationshipswiththe

naturalworldarethereforeobstructed.Perhapsifthebenefitsofindoor/outdoor

interfacesweremorewidelyacceptededucatorswouldutilizeexistingwindowsand

skylightsdifferently.Forexample,teacherscouldlinkcurriculumtooutside

activities,encouragestudentstoobservesomethingvisiblefromawindow,orturn

offthelightsandusenaturallightingavailabletothem.Takingnoteofnatural

occurrencesmayservetoconnectstudentstothenaturalworldaswell.Creating

moreindoor/outdoorinterfacesmightalsobeaviableoptionformanyschoolsthat

wishtofosterstudents’connectiontothenaturalworld.Theadditionofindoor

plantsoranaquariumcanbesignificanttostudents’schoolexperience.

Theimplicationsforthisworkmaybeparticularlyrelevanttoeducatorsinurban

schools.Studentsfeelcaredforandahavesenseofownershipasaresultofthe

senseoffreedom,joy,aestheticpleasureandsocialcohesivenessinrelationtothe

presenceofmultipleindoor/outdoorinterfacesandnearbynature.Ifthesetwo

elementsareabsentordiminished,urbanstudentsmightfeellesscaredforand

havelessofasenseofownershipatschool.

7.2.2IMPLICATIONSFORTHOSEWHOINFLUENCETHEDESIGNOFSCHOOLSTheproductsofthevisualinvestigationshowedparticipantshadvaluabledesign

ideasforschoolsthatcouldprovideopportunitiesforstudentstorelatetothe

naturalworld.Thisimpliesthatstudentscouldbeimportantcontributorstothe

schooldesignprocess.

134

Additionally,BICSstudentsfoundthattherelationshipoftheschoolbuildingtothe

schoolsiteandthepresenceofmultipleindoor/outdoorinterfaceswereofprimary

importanceintermsoffosteringtheirrelationshiptothenaturalworld.Thesetwo

designaspectsofschoolsarenotunconsideredbyschooldesigners,however,often

theseelementsarethoughtofassecondary.Itisinterestingthenthatschool

buildingoccupantsarestronglyinfluencedbythesefeatures.Whenthepositioning

ofthebuildingontheschoolsiteallowsforandhighlightsthepresenceofnatural

elementsstudents’enjoymentofschoolincreases.Indoor/outdoorinterfaces,such

aswindows,skylights,naturalbuildingmaterialsandtransitionzones,are

significanttostudents’abilitytoconnecttothenaturalworldatschool.Theposition

oftheseinterfacesplaysarole.Windowsthatfaceanaturalizedspaceandskylights

inhallwaysaresignificantconnectorstothenaturalworldthathighlightweather

andseasonalchanges.Transitionzonesthathavemanyprepositionalpossibilities

holdaddedenjoyment.Hopefully,theresultsofthisstudyserveasareminderthat

designingschoolsthatenable,evenencourage,studentstointeractwiththenatural

worldmakesacriticaldifferenceinchildren’slives.

7.3LIMITATIONSOFSTUDY

Therewereseverallimitationstothisstudythatcanonlybeconsideredinrelation

tothelocation,timeframe,participantsandinvestigativemethodsemployedinthe

research.ThestudywasconductedatBowenIslandCommunitySchoolprimarily

duringthemonthofJune2009.Thefivestudyparticipantswereintermediate

135

studentsagedeleventothirteen.Twofocusgroups,lastingforty‐fiveminuteseach,

andfivesemi‐structuredinterviews,lastinghalfanhourtoanhour,were

conducted.

AlthoughapilotstudywasconductedatWindsorHouseSchoolwithintermediate

studentsagedeleventothirteentheresearcherhadlimitedpriorexperience

interviewingchildren.Duringthisstudytheresearcherlearnedalotaboutdoing

researchwithyoungchildren.Theresearcherfoundthatduringtheinterviews

thesestudyparticipantscouldtellstoriesabouttheirexperienceshowever,often

theyneededtobeaskednumerousclarifyingquestions.Thereweretimesduring

theinterviewstheresearcherfelthesitanttoaskparticipantstoelaborateorclarify

astatementduetoafearofbeingintimidatingortakingtoomuchoftheirtime.

Inadditionthelengthoftheinterviewscanalsobeseenasalimitation.Duetothe

ageoftheparticipants,interviewsneededtobekeptwithinatimelimitstudents’

couldmanage.However,givenmoretimetheremighthavebeenachancetoask

furtherclarifyingquestionsandpursuelinesofthoughtinwhichindividual

participantswereinterested.ForexampleinStudent5’sinterviewhesaidthathe

“likedthetreepartsmorethantheopenspace”(Student5,page13).Hadtime

permitted,askingformoredetailsaboutthestudent’spreferencesmayhave

resultedinusefuladditionaldata.Asecondinterviewwitheachparticipantcould

haveprovidedthisextratime,however,duetotheproximitytotheendoftheschool

year,asecondinterviewwasnotconducted.

136

Duringtheprocessofanalyzingthedatatheresearcherrealizedadditional

questionsthatcouldpotentiallyfurtherclarifytheresults.Astheresearcherwas

interestedinfactorsthattriggeredstudents’awarenessofnaturesheaskedthe

studyparticipantswhatbeingawareofnaturemeanttothemandwhereinthe

schoolbuildingtheyweremostawareofnature.However,itmighthavebeenuseful

toaskstudents,“Isbeingawareofnatureimportant?Ifso,why?Ifnot,whynot?”

Answerstothesequestionscouldfurtherinformtheresearchdatathatwas

collectedduringthisproject.

Similarlyalthoughtheparticipantssurprisedtheresearcherbytalkingaboutthe

schoolgroundswhensheaskedthemabouttheirexperiencesinsidetheschool

buildingtheresearcherdidnotask“Isitimportanttohavenaturalspacesonschool

grounds?Ifso,why?Ifnot,whynot?”.Asecondinterviewwithstudyparticipants,

withthesequestionsinmind,mighthaveenrichedtheresults.However,asthe

studentsinthisstudywereinthelasttwogradesatBowenIslandCommunity

School,someofthemwouldhavebeeninnewschools,whichmighthave

complicatedorobscuredthedata.

Theageoftheparticipantsmighthaveinfluencedthearticulationoftheir

experiencesofschoolbuildingsasthecognitiveandlanguageskillsofgradeschool

childrenarenotasdevelopedasadults.Itispossiblethatteacherswouldbegood

additionalindicatorsofhowchildrenexperiencetheirschoolbuildingandwhatthey

137

learnfromit.Thisstudyfocusedonasinglepopulation,intermediatestudents,and

thereforethevoiceandperspectiveofadultsismissingfromthiswork.

Alongerstudyoveranextendedperiodoftimecouldaddresssomeoftheseissues.

Additionalinterviewscouldbeconducted,oralternativelymoreethnographic

observationofstudentsintheirschoolbuildingandontheirschoolgroundsmight

haveaddedtothedata.Thisstudyfocusedonstudents’experienceintheirschool

building.Researchwasconductedattheendoftheschoolyearontheassumption

thatstudentswouldhavehadasufficienttimeintheschoolbuildingfreshlyintheir

mindsandbodiesuponwhichtodraw.However,itispossiblethatalongerstudy

couldbeginwithobservationofstudentsandlater,towardtheendoftheyear,

interviewscouldbeconducted.Withtheadditionaltimetoobservestudentsinthe

schoolbuilding,itwouldbepossibleforaresearchertoexperientiallyhaveasense

ofhowstudentsinteractwithandrespondtobothindoor/outdoorinterfacesand

accesstonearbynature.

Despitetheselimitations,thisprojectbeginstoprovidemuchneededempirical

researchabouthowchildrenexperiencetheirschools,howschoolbuildingsmediate

students’relationshipwiththenaturalworldandhowstudentsimagineschools

couldfostertheirrelationshiptothenaturalworld.Thisstudyisastartingpointand

theresultssparkinterestingquestionsthatstronglysuggestthereismuchmoreto

discoverinthisfield.

138

7.4FUTURERESEARCHFurtherexplorationofhowintermediatestudents’relationshipswiththenatural

worldaremediatedbyschooldesignisnecessary.

Researchingthiswithahighernumberofstudyparticipantsmightprovideagreater

understandingofthecommonalitiesanduniquecharacteristicsofstudents’

experiencewithintheintermediatestudentpopulation.Similaritiesanddifferences

betweengender,age,andculturalbackgroundofthepresentfindingscouldbe

examined.

Thisstudyfocusedonstudents’experienceofaschoollocatedinasemi‐rural

environment.Thepresenceofaforestandtwogardensonschoolpropertyisan

uncommonoccurrence.Asimilarstudyinanurbanschoolcouldprovidevaluable

comparativedata.Itwouldbeinterestingtoseeiftherelationshipoftheschool

buildingwiththeschoolsiteplayedaroleinmediatingstudents’relationshiptothe

naturalworldinanurbanschool.Itwouldbetellingiftheschoolfieldorotherparts

oftheschoolgroundswereexperiencedasnatureforstudentsinurbanschoolsorif

nearbyparksplayedamoresignificantroleinurbanstudents’experienceofthe

naturalworldatschool.Perhapsthisdesignelement,therelationshipbetweenthe

schoolbuildingandtheschoolsite,wouldnotappearindatafromurbanschools.

Perhapsanadditionaldesignfeaturewouldappearasanimportantmediator.It

wouldalsobecriticaltoexplorehowindoor/outdoorinterfacesactedasmediators

139

inurbanschoolswithsmallerwindowsorwindowsfacing“non‐nature”andan

absenceofskylights.Thisstudy’sfindingssuggestthatstudentsfeelcaredforanda

havesenseofownershipasaresultoftheirsenseoffreedom,joy,aestheticpleasure

andsocialcohesivenessinrelationtothepresenceofmultipleindoor/outdoor

interfacesandnearbynature.Ifthesetwoelementsareabsentordiminished,do

urbanstudentsfeellesscaredforandhavelessownershipfortheirschools?Thisis

animportantquestiontoconsider,especiallyinrelationtostudents’productivity,

creativityandabilitytoconcentrateinschool.

Inaddition,longitudinalworkwouldbevaluable.First,itmightcreatericher

qualitativestudy.Second,itcouldprovideinsightintotheimpactsofbothnearby

natureatschoolandindoor/outdoorinterfacesovermultipleseasonsorthecourse

ofbeingastudent.Researchoverthecourseofayearmightexplorequestionssuch

as,“Howdoesaschoolbuildingmediatestudents’relationshipwiththenatural

worldchangeinwinterversussummer?”whereasresearchoverthecourseofafew

yearsmightexplorequestionssuchas,“Howdostudents’needschangeovertimein

relationtotheirrelationshipwiththenaturalworldandhowdoestheschool

buildingmediatethatrelationship?”or“Howdothepresenceofdesignfeaturesthat

fosterstudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworldatschoolaffecttheir

relationshipwiththenaturalworldlaterinlife?”.Longitudinalresearchexploring

howschooldesignmediatesstudents’relationshipwiththenaturalworldovertime

andduringvariousperiodsoflifewouldbeavaluablecontributiontoour

understandingofhowschoolbuildingsaffectourrelationshipswithnature.

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APPENDICES

AppendixA:GuardianInterviewConsentFormResearchProject:RethinkingSchoolDesign:howschooldesignmediatesstudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworld

GUARDIANINTERVIEWCONSENTFORM

Iunderstandthatthereasonmychildisinvitedtoparticipateinthisinterviewisbecauses/heisamemberofBowenIslandCommunitySchool.Andisbetweentheageof12and16.Iunderstandthatbecausemychildisunder18yearsofage,forthepurposesofthisstudy,guardianconsentmustbeobtainedpriortotheinterview.Iunderstandthatmychild’sparticipationinthestudyof“RethinkingSchoolDesign:howschooldesigninformsupperelementarystudents’conceptionsofthenaturalworld”isvoluntary.S/hemayrefusetoparticipateorwithdrawfromthestudyatanytime.Iunderstandthatasaguardian,Imaywithdrawmychildfromthisstudyatanytime.Iunderstandthatunwillingnesstoparticipateordecidingtowithdrawfromthestudywillnotbearanyconsequencesformeormychild’ssocialoracademiclife.Iunderstandthatexclusionfromthestudywillnotbemadevisibleorremarkedonbyco‐investigatorIndiraDutt.Iunderstandthatasaguardian,Indiraisavailabletomeetwithmetoreviewtheconsentforminfurtherdetailedifdesired.Mychildisbeingaskedtodedicateamaximumofthreehoursintotaltothisproject:onehalfhourtoreviewtheconsentform,onehourtoconducttheinterview,onehalfhourforafollow‐upinterviewifneeded,andonehourtoreview,amend,ordeletetheinterviewtranscript.TheinterviewwilloccuratBowenIslandCommunitySchoolnolessthanoneweekaftertheconsentformhasbeensigned.TheentireprocesswilloccurbetweenMayandDecember2009.Iunderstandthatapseudonymwillbeusedinallinstanceswherethisinterviewisreferredtowithinoraboutthisproject.IunderstandthatBowenIslandCommunitySchoolwillbenamedinthisproject.IunderstandthatthepersonconductingtheresearchwillbeIndiraDutt,andthatthisprojectwillbeusedforherMAthesisintheDepartmentofCross‐CentreFacultyInquiryinEducationattheUniversityofBritishColumbia(UBC).IunderstandthatDr.RayColeofUBCsupervisesthisthesisandthatthethesiscommitteeofthis

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projectincludesDr.MaryBrysonandDr.DavidZandvliet,whoishimselfamemberoftheBowenIslandCommunitySchoolcommunity.IunderstandthattheinitialinterviewtranscriptwillonlybeavailabletoIndiraDuttandmychild.Iunderstandthatthemodifiedtranscriptwillbeavailabletothoseontheprojectcommittee.IunderstandthatthisthesiswillbeapublicdocumentmadeavailablethroughUBCandBowenIslandCommunitySchool.IunderstandthatIndiraDuttintendstowritefuturearticlesbasedonthisthesis.Iunderstandthatifinthecourseoftheinterviewprocessanyinformationdivulgedwhichleadsco‐investigatorIndiraDutttobelievethatachildmaybeabused,neglected,orforanyotherreasonisinneedofprotection,thiswillbereportedtotheappropriateofficialservices.IunderstandthatifatanytimemychildorIwouldliketocontactIndiraDuttorRayColeaboutanyaspectofthisprojectwearewelcometodosoattheabovecontactinformation.IunderstandthatifmychildorIhaveanyconcernsaboutmytreatmentorrightsasaparticipant,wemaytelephonetheOfficeorResearchServicesattheUniversityofBritishColumbiaat604‐822‐8598.Ihavereadandretainedacopyofthehandout“ResearchatBowenIslandCommunitySchool”andofthisyouthinterviewassentformformyrecords.Iunderstandmyroleandparticipationinthisstudy.Iunderstandmychild’sroleandparticipationinthisstudy.IDO DONOT (circleone) CONSENTtoandapproveof________________________________(child’sname)participationinthisstudyasaninterviewparticipantandIhaveacopyofthisletterformyfiles.Signature:_________________________________ Name:_____________________________________Date:______________________________________IDO DONOT (circleone)CONSENTtohavetheproductsof_________________________(child’sname)in‐classvisualinquiry[seeattachedsheet]beusedasdataforthisproject.Signature:________________________________ Date:______________________________________Co‐investigatorIndiraDuttcancontactme(checkallthatapply):

o ThroughBowenIslandCommunitySchool

o Byemail ___________________________________________

o Byphone ___________________________________________

o Bymail ___________________________________________

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AppendixB:YouthVisualInquiryAssentFormResearchProject:RethinkingSchoolDesign:howschooldesignmediatesstudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworld

YOUTHVISUALINQUIRYASSENTFORMIunderstandthatthereasonIaminvitedtoparticipateinthisvisualinquiryisbecauseIamamemberofBowenIslandCommunitySchool.IunderstandthatbecauseIamunder18yearsofage,forthepurposesofthisstudy,guardianconsentmustbeobtainedpriortoallowingtheproductsofthisvisualinvestigationtobeusedasdata.Iunderstandthatmyparticipationinthestudyof“RethinkingSchoolDesign:howschooldesigninformsupperelementarystudents’conceptionsofthenaturalworld”isvoluntary.Imayrefusetoparticipateorwithdrawfromthestudyatanytime.Iunderstandthatunwillingnesstoparticipateordecidingtowithdrawfromthestudywillnotbearanyconsequencesformysocialoracademiclife.Iunderstandthatexclusionfromthestudywillnotbemadevisibleorremarkedonbyco‐investigatorIndiraDutt.IunderstandthatIambeingaskedtodedicateamaximumofonehourduringclasstimetocompletethevisualinvestigation.Thevisualinquirywillhappeninclasstimeunderthesupervisionofmyteacher.Iunderstandthatapseudonymwillbeusedinallinstanceswheretheproductsofthevisualinquiryclassarereferredtowithinthisproject.IunderstandthatBowenIslandCommunitySchoolwillbenamedinthisproject.IunderstandthatthepersonconductingtheresearchwillbeIndiraDutt,andthatthisprojectwillbeusedforherMAthesisintheDepartmentofCross‐CentreFacultyInquiryinEducationattheUniversityofBritishColumbia(UBC).IunderstandthatDr.RayColeofUBCsupervisesthisthesisandthatthethesiscommitteeofthisprojectincludesDr.MaryBrysonandDr.DavidZandvliet,whoishimselfamemberoftheBowenIslandCommunitySchoolcommunity.IDO DONOT (circleone)

ASSENTtohavetheproductsofmyin‐classvisualinquirybeusedasdataforthisproject.

Signature:_________________________________ Name:_____________________________________Date:______________________________________

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AppendixC:YouthInterviewAssentFormResearchProject:RethinkingSchoolDesign:howschooldesigninformsupperelementarystudents’conceptionsofthenaturalworld

YOUTHINTERVIEWASSENTFORM

IunderstandthatthereasonIaminvitedtoparticipateinthisinterviewisbecauseIamamemberofBowenIslandCommunitySchool.IunderstandthatbecauseIamunder18yearsofage,forthepurposesofthisstudy,guardianconsentmustbeobtainedpriortotheinterview.Iunderstandthatmyparticipationinthestudyof“RethinkingSchoolDesign:howschooldesigninformsupperelementarystudents’conceptionsofthenaturalworld”isvoluntary.Imayrefusetoparticipateorwithdrawfromthestudyatanytime.Iunderstandthatunwillingnesstoparticipateordecidingtowithdrawfromthestudywillnotbearanyconsequencesformysocialoracademiclife.Iunderstandthatexclusionfromthestudywillnotbemadevisibleorremarkedonbyco‐investigatorIndiraDutt.IunderstandthatIambeingaskedtodedicateamaximumofthreehoursintotaltothisproject:onehalfhourtoreviewtheconsentform,onehourtoconducttheinterview,onehalfhourforafollow‐upinterviewifneeded,andonehourtoreview,amend,ordeletetheinterviewtranscript.TheinterviewwilloccuratBowenIslandCommunitySchoolnolessthanoneweekaftertheconsentformhasbeensigned.TheentireprocesswilloccurbetweenMayandDecember2009.IunderstandthatmyguardianhasseenthisconsentformandhasbeengiventheopportunitytomeetwithIndiraforhalfanhourtoreviewitifdesired.Iunderstandthatapseudonymwillbeusedinallinstanceswherethisinterviewisreferredtowithinoraboutthisproject.IunderstandthatBowenIslandCommunitySchoolwillbenamedinthisproject.IunderstandthatthepersonconductingtheresearchwillbeIndiraDutt,andthatthisprojectwillbeusedforherMAthesisintheDepartmentofCross‐CentreFacultyInquiryinEducationattheUniversityofBritishColumbia(UBC).IunderstandthatDr.RayColeofUBCsupervisesthisthesisandthatthethesiscommitteeofthisprojectincludesDr.MaryBrysonandDr.DavidZandvliet,whoishimselfamemberoftheBowenIslandCommunitySchoolcommunity.IunderstandthattheinitialinterviewtranscriptwillonlybeavailabletoIndiraDuttandmyself.

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Iunderstandthatthemodifiedtranscriptwillbeavailabletothoseontheprojectcommittee.IunderstandthatthisthesiswillbeapublicdocumentmadeavailablethroughUBCandBowenIslandCommunitySchool.IunderstandthatIndiraDuttintendstowritefuturearticlesbasedonthisthesis.Iunderstandthatifinthecourseoftheinterviewprocessanyinformationdivulgedwhichleadsco‐investigatorIndiraDutttobelievethatachildmaybeabused,neglected,orforanyotherreasonisinneedofprotection,thiswillbereportedtotheappropriateofficialservices.IunderstandthatifatanytimemyguardianorIwouldliketocontactIndiraDuttorRayColeaboutanyaspectofthisprojectwearewelcometodosoattheabovecontactinformation.IunderstandthatifmyguardianorIhaveanyconcernsaboutmytreatmentorrightsasaparticipant,wemaytelephonetheOfficeorResearchServicesattheUniversityofBritishColumbiaat604‐822‐8598.Ihavereadandretainedacopyofthehandout“ResearchatBowenIslandCommunitySchool”andofthisyouthinterviewassentformformyrecords.Iunderstandmyroleandparticipationinthisstudy.IDO DONOT (circleone) ASSENTtoandapproveofmyparticipationinthisstudyasaninterviewparticipantandIhaveacopyofthisletterformyfiles.Signature:_________________________________ Name:_____________________________________Date:______________________________________IDO DONOT (circleone)ASSENTtohavetheinterviewaudiorecordedandtranscribed.IunderstandthatIwillbegivenacopyofthetranscripttoamendordelete.Iunderstandthatonlythemodifiedtranscriptwillbeshowntoprojectmembersotherthanco‐investigatorIndiraDutt.Iunderstandthatonlythemodifiedtranscriptwillbeusedasdata.Signature:________________________________ Date:______________________________________Co‐investigatorIndiraDuttcancontactme(checkallthatapply):

o ThroughBowenIslandCommunitySchool

o Byemail ___________________________________________

o Byphone ___________________________________________

o Bymail ___________________________________________

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AppendixD:VisualInquiryforResearchRethinkingSchoolDesign:howschooldesignmediatesstudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworldVisualInquiryforResearch:Tobeconductedinasingleclassblockwithgradeteacherpresentintwograde6/7classesatBowenIslandCommunitySchool.PartA:

Drawalinedownthemiddleofyourpaper.Makealistofasmanythingsyoucanthinkthat

relatetonatureononesideandtonon‐natureontheotherside.

(Aftersometime…Haveyouput“people”or“humans”onyoursheetyet?Pleaseaddthem

whereyouthinktheybelongandwriteonesentencethatexplainswhy.)

PartB:

Whatwouldaschoollooklikethathelpsyoutoconnectwithnature?Whatwoulditlookon

theinside?Whatfeaturesinitwouldbeprominent?

Pleaselabelimportantplacesonthepicture.

PartC:

a)Drawaplaceintheschoolbuildingthatyoufeelthemostconnectedtonature.Please

labelimportantplaces/pointsonyourpicture.Writeonesentenceaboutwhyyoufeelthat

way.

b)Drawaplaceintheschoolbuildingthatyoufeelleastconnectedtonature.

Pleaselabelimportantplaces/pointsonyourpicture.Writeonesentenceaboutwhyyou

feelthatway.

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AppendixE:InterviewQuestionsforResearchRethinkingSchoolDesign:howschooldesignmediatesstudents’relationshipswiththenaturalworldInterviewQuestionsforResearch:Contextofparticipant:

DoyouliveonBowenIsland? HowlonghaveyoulivedonBowenIsland? HowlonghaveyoubeenatBICS? Haveyoueverattendedotherschools?Ifyes,whichschools? Howwouldyouliketobedescribedforthepurposesofthisproject?/How

wouldyoudescribeyourself?Whataretheparticipants’viewsontheirschoolbuilding?

Whatareyourfavouritespacesinthisschoolandwhy? Whereareyourleastfavouriteplacesintheschoolandwhy? Aretherespacesintheschoolthatyouareallowedtochangeinsomeway? Aretherespacesintheschoolthatchangeduringtheschoolyear? Wheredoyouhaveyourbestideasatschool? Whereintheschoolbuildingdoyoufeelmostenergetic? Whereintheschoolbuildingdoyoudoyourbestwork?

Whatistheparticipants’relationshiptonature?

Howoftendoyouspendtimeoutdoors?Perday?Perweek? Whatdoyoudooutdoors? Howdoyoufeelaboutspendingtimeoutdoors? Whatdoesnaturemeantoyou?Whatimmediatelycomestomind? WhatplacesonBowendoyouconsidertobenature? WhatplacesonBowendoyouconsidertobenon‐nature? Onascaleof1to10howimportantdoyouthinknatureis?Why? Howoftendoyouspendtimeoutdoorsduringtheschoolday? Areclasseseverheldoutside?Ifso,where? Doyouenjoybeingoutsideatschool? Whatisyourfavouriteoutdoorspace?Whatdoyoudothere?Whoisusually

withyouwhenyouareinthatspace?

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Howistherelationshipbetweenschoolbuildingandrelationshiptonatureunderstood:

Whatdoesitmeanto“beawareofnature”? Whenorwhereareyouintheschoolwhenyouaremostawareofnature? Whataspectsofthisschoolsupportyoubeingawareofnature? Howaretheysupportyoubeingawareofnature? Arethereanyaspectsofthisschoolthatseparateyoufromnature? Howdotheyseparateyoufromnature? Howdoesyourschoolhelpnature? Howdoesyourschoolbuildingharmnature? Howdoesyourschoolprovideyouwithviewsofnature? Whatwouldyourschooldaybelikeifyoudidn’tgettolookoutside? Howareyouableinteractwithnatureinsideyourschoolbuilding? Doyouthinktheschoolbuildingisneutral? Doyouthinkthatbuildingsteachyouanything? Whatdoesthisbuildingteachyou?

Whatistheimaginedpotentialofschoolbuildingstofosteraconnectiontonatureinparticipants?

Howcouldyourschoolbuildinghelpnature?Whatdoyouimagineaschoolthatisattentivetoyourrelationshiptonaturetobelike,looklike,etc.?

school design and students' relationships with the natural world

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