INHABITING EDUCATIONAL DESIGN by Anna Peterson A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Program in Education in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (September, 2015) Copyright © Anna Peterson, 2015 for my mother ABSTRACT The natural and built environments of schools have a profound impact on our understanding of the world and our place within it. Their role in shaping how we feel, think, and act, however, is often underestimated. As a result, static design solutions continue to dominate the educational landscape. Knowledge regarding the ways in which we inhabit educational design informs the dynamic potential of school architecture as pedagogy. The broad purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of educational design. Research questions included: (a) What can be learned from the experiences of architects and principals involved in the design of two exemplary public schools?, (b) How do students and teachers experience the design of these educational environments?, and (c) How can their experiences inform educational design? A qualitative, phenomenological, case study methodology was chosen to investigate educational design from the perspectives of 29 students, 10 teachers, 2 principals, and 3 architects at two comprehensive schools (Grades 1–9) in Helsinki, Finland. Students and teachers took over 1600 photographs and selected 400 for discussion at photo-elicitation interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with principals and architects. Analysis identified the theme at the heart of the data as a lack of congruency between the intended purpose(s) and users’ experiences of the design of their schools. This insight led to the development of the Educational Design Intentions (EDI) Model, which explores tensions within participant-identified design intentions and their implications for educational design. This study identified: (a) key insights regarding participants’ experiences of inhabiting their schools, (b) the need for post-occupancy evaluations, especially from an educational and humanistic perspective, and (c) how educators and architects can more fully inhabit a shared vision of educational design. Knowledge regarding the interplay between educational stakeholders and the design and use of their schools has the potential to facilitate change at participant schools, increase knowledge in the field, diversify school design, and focus future research. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This journey was made possible by the generosity of many: To the students, teachers, principals, and architects of Latokartano and Arabian Peruskoulu who brought this research to life, thank you, for sharing your insights and experiences of educational design. To my supervisory committee, Drs. Rena Upitis, Stephen Elliott, and Peter Taylor, thank you, for your expertise and for shepherding my graduate school experience. It has been a privilege to work with you. To my examining committee, Drs. Anna Kristín Sigurðardóttir, Martin Hand, Richard Reeve, Marta Straznicky, thank you, for enriching the work. To Christopher Alexander, thank you, for leaving tracks to environments that intensify life. To Reino Tapaninen, thank you, for your guidance and dedication to school architecture. To Alistair Blythe and Hanna von Ahlefeld, thank you, for inviting me to join in your international exploration of educational design and policy. To my friends around the world, thank you. I am inspired by the compassion and creativity with which you engage the world. To my wonderful family, thank you, for your encouragement and unwavering support. Sharing this experience with you has made an almost impossible dream a brave new reality. To the financial assistance provided by the following agencies and institutions, thank you: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Doctoral), the Micheal Smith Foreign Study Supplement, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, the Queen’s University Tri-Council Recipient Recognition Award, Queen’s Graduate Award, and the Faculty of Education’s Graduate Growth Funding and Alice Corry Award in Education. Thank you, Kiitos, Takk Fyrir, Merci, ᖁᔭᓐᓇᒦᒃ, Tusen Takk, Danke schön, Grazie … iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Study Context .............................................................................................................................. 2 Purpose and Research Questions ................................................................................................. 4 Why Finland? ............................................................................................................................... 6 Public Education in Finland ..................................................................................................... 7 Overview of the Study ............................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 17 The Relationship Between Lived Experience and Architecture ................................................ 17 Common Ground .................................................................................................................... 18 Exploring Lived Experience ............................................................................................... 18 Exploring Architecture ....................................................................................................... 20 Key Aspects of the Experience of Architecture ................................................................. 22 Pivotal Developments ............................................................................................................ 26 The Languages of Architecture .......................................................................................... 26 A Seminal Pattern Language .......................................................................................... 27 Patterns of Home ............................................................................................................ 30 School Design Principles ................................................................................................ 31 The Third Teacher .......................................................................................................... 32 Key Interactions ..................................................................................................................... 33 School Architecture and the Experiences of Students and Teachers .................................. 33 School Architecture and Human Physical Needs ........................................................... 34 School Architecture and the Transformation of Space to Place ..................................... 36 School Architecture and Ecological Literacy ................................................................. 38 Challenges .............................................................................................................................. 41 iv Misunderstanding of Commonly Used Words ................................................................... 41 Divergent Views of School Design .................................................................................... 42 Design Processes and Users’ Experience ........................................................................... 42 A Way Forward ...................................................................................................................... 44 Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) .................................................................................... 44 Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Educational Environments ................................................ 46 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 49 Qualitative Research .............................................................................................................. 49 Phenomenology ...................................................................................................................... 50 Case Study .............................................................................................................................. 51 Emergent Design .................................................................................................................... 52 Cultural Considerations .......................................................................................................... 53 Ethical Clearance and Consent ............................................................................................... 53 Site Selection .......................................................................................................................... 54 Latokartano ......................................................................................................................... 55 Arabian ............................................................................................................................... 56 Participant Selection ............................................................................................................... 58 Methodological Overview ......................................................................................................... 60 Image-Based Research ........................................................................................................... 60 Camera Selection ................................................................................................................... 61 Observations, Field Notes and Photographs .......................................................................... 62 Steps in the Research Process ................................................................................................ 62 Photography Research Task for Students ........................................................................... 63 Photography Research Task for Teachers .......................................................................... 64 Photo-Elicitation Interviews with Students and Teachers ..................................................... 64 Semi-Structured Interviews with Principals and Architects .................................................. 66 Data Organization .................................................................................................................. 66 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 67 Inter-rater Reliability .............................................................................................................. 68 Validity and Trustworthiness ................................................................................................. 70 v Summary .................................................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER 4 TOWARD AN INTEGRATION OF EDUCATION AND ARCHITECTURE ................................ 72 School Architecture in Finland .................................................................................................. 72 Learning From Principals and Architects .................................................................................. 73 A Principal’s Experience of Educational Design ................................................................... 75 Architects’ Experiences of Educational Design ..................................................................... 79 Latokartano ......................................................................................................................... 79 Arabian: Renovation ........................................................................................................... 82 Arabian: Addition ............................................................................................................... 85 A Principal’s Post-Occupancy Experience ............................................................................ 88 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 89 CHAPTER 5 LIVING WITH EDUCATIONAL DESIGN ........................................................................... 93 Description of Subthemes ...................................................................................................... 96 Living with Openness ................................................................................................................ 99 Comfort with Open Environments ....................................................................................... 101 Auditory and Visual Distractions ......................................................................................... 102 Safety .................................................................................................................................... 103 Classroom Organization and Use ......................................................................................... 105 Teacher Interactions ............................................................................................................. 108 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 110 Navigating Efficiency .............................................................................................................. 111 Student Lockers .................................................................................................................... 112 Staffroom Kitchens .............................................................................................................. 115 Science Classroom ............................................................................................................... 117 Dual-Purpose Classrooms .................................................................................................... 120 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 124 Essential Designs ..................................................................................................................... 124 Storage .................................................................................................................................. 125 Display Spaces ..................................................................................................................... 128 Teacher Social and Workspaces ........................................................................................... 133 Staffroom .......................................................................................................................... 134 vi Workspaces ....................................................................................................................... 136 Student Social Spaces .......................................................................................................... 138 Quiet Spaces ......................................................................................................................... 141 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 143 Places of Promise ..................................................................................................................... 143 Libraries ............................................................................................................................... 144 Balconies .............................................................................................................................. 149 Courtyards ............................................................................................................................ 151 Plant Rooms ......................................................................................................................... 154 Schoolyards .......................................................................................................................... 155 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 158 Chapter Summary .................................................................................................................... 159 CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 160 Inhabiting Educational Design ................................................................................................. 161 Capturing and Communicating the Experiences of Inhabiting School Architecture ............... 165 Inhabiting a Shared Vision of Educational Design .................................................................. 169 The Limits of Language ....................................................................................................... 170 Isolation Impedes Innovation ............................................................................................... 171 Study Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 173 Suggestions for Further Study ................................................................................................. 174 A Cautionary Note ............................................................................................................... 175 Significance of the Study ......................................................................................................... 176 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 180 APPENDIX A ETHICAL CLEARANCES ........................................................................................... 198 APPENDIX B LETTERS OF INFORMATION AND CONSENT FORMS .................................................. 201 APPENDIX C ARCHITECTURAL PLANS FOR LATOKARTANO ......................................................... 217 APPENDIX D ARCHITECTURAL PLANS FOR ARABIAN ................................................................... 219 APPENDIX E SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ............................................................................. 223 APPENDIX F MIND MAP ............................................................................................................... 229 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Education system in Finland (Sahlberg, 2011, p. 40). .................................................... 8 Figure 2. Variance within and between schools in student reading performance on the 2009 PISA study (Jetsonen, Johansson, Nuikkinen, Sahlberg, 2011, p. 23). .......................... 9 Figure 3. Average net teaching hours per school year in Finland, the United States, and in OECD countries (Sahlberg, 2011, p. 91). ................................................................................ 12 Figure 4. Structure of the Literature Review. .............................................................................. 17 Figure 5. Dining hall and assembly area at Latokartano. (PESARK press image). ..................... 55 Figure 6. Student entrances at Arabian. ....................................................................................... 57 Figure 7. Participant photographs for discussion. ........................................................................ 65 Figure 8. Overarching theme, sub-themes, and parts of each sub-theme. ................................... 97 Figure 9. Glass walls between classrooms at Latokartano. (PESARK press image). .................. 99 Figure 10. Audio/visual distraction and glass walls. ................................................................. 102 Figure 11. Overlap of old and new classroom technology. ....................................................... 105 Figure 12. Limited options for teacher space in classrooms. ..................................................... 107 Figure 13. Student lockers. ........................................................................................................ 114 Figure 14. Dirty mugs on staffroom counter. ............................................................................. 116 Figure 15. Science classroom at Latokartano. ........................................................................... 117 Figure 16. Overlap of resources in science classroom at Latokartano. ...................................... 118 Figure 17. Original music classroom at Arabian. ...................................................................... 120 Figure 18. Music classroom on the stage at Latokartano. .......................................................... 121 Figure 19. Combined cooking and textile arts classroom at Latokartano. ................................. 122 Figure 20. Improvised teaching space for textile arts at Latokartano. ....................................... 123 Figure 21. Storage for musical equipment at Latokartano. ........................................................ 125 Figure 22. Additional storage in the loom room at Latokartano. ............................................... 126 Figure 23. Senior students wish for atmosphere found in younger students’ classrooms. ........ 129 Figure 24. Glass display case at Arabian. .................................................................................. 130 Figure 25. Kindness tree on the library glass wall at Latokartano. ............................................ 132 Figure 26. Staffroom at Latokartano. ......................................................................................... 134 Figure 27. Staffroom and workspace at Arabian. ...................................................................... 136 viii Figure 28. Workspace adjacent to staffroom at Latokartano. .................................................... 137 Figure 29. Student sofas at Arabian. .......................................................................................... 138 Figure 30. Student sofas in home areas at Latokartano. ............................................................ 139 Figure 31. Quiet place in the art classroom at Arabian (foam in corner). .................................. 142 Figure 32. Library at Latokartano. ............................................................................................. 144 Figure 33. Library at Arabian. ................................................................................................... 144 Figure 34. Art in the library at Arabian. .................................................................................... 145 Figure 35. Empty bookshelves in the library at Latokartano. .................................................... 146 Figure 36. Balcony at Arabian. ................................................................................................... 149 Figure 37. Balcony at Latokartano. ............................................................................................ 150 Figure 38. Courtyard at Latokartano. ......................................................................................... 151 Figure 39. Courtyard at Arabian. ............................................................................................... 151 Figure 40. Stylized flower in the courtyard at Latokartano. ...................................................... 152 Figure 41. Plant room at Arabian. .............................................................................................. 154 Figure 42. Schoolyard at Arabian. ............................................................................................. 156 Figure 43. Forest adjacent to the schoolyard at Latokartano. ..................................................... 158 Figure 44. Student playing on the sofa. ..................................................................................... 166 Figure 45. Image of student artwork on the glass walls. ............................................................ 166 Figure 46. Students as part of the architecture of their schools. ................................................ 167 Figure 47. Educational Design Intentions (EDI) Model. ........................................................... 178 ix