This study compared the effects on children of two schoolgrounds chosen for maximum variability of vegetation, one richly biodiverse and the other relatively barren. A total of 349 children in grades one through seven participated in three sections of the user-based research by: (1) sharing perceptions of each schoolground through interviews and classroom brainstorming sessions, (2) stating their preferences for various schoolground elements in a survey, and (3) indicating how they used their schQolground by drawing cognitive maps. Analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data indicated that on the biodiversified schoolground the quality of the children's outdoor experience is richer, the children's stated preferences are more diverse and more oriented toward nature, and the use of their outdoor environment is more complex, especially for primary children and for intermediate girls. All 19 Mann-Whitney tests showed statistically significant differences in comparing children's preferences for fourteen schoolground elements. Additionally, the biodiverse schoolground afforded children more opportunities for imaginative play, reflection and conversation. The results of this research made recommendations regarding participatory schoolground management based on interviews with several stakeholders, including children, teachers, administrators, parents, noon-hour supervisors arid ground maintenance staff. It also has implicatons or future study on curricular integration of environmental education, the healthy development of children, and for the design, management and maintenance of sustainably biodiverse schoolgrounds. / Graduate / 0727

This thesis examines ways in which educational and community-building opportunities can be enhanced on a school/park site located in the proposed sustainable community of East Clayton. It explores ways in which children construct knowledge of their world, through processes of direct interaction with, manipulation of, and reflection on their immediate environment. It proposes how the designed landscape of a schoolground can support these formative processes within the context of evolving attitudes and values concerning environmental education, community, and sustainability. A threefold framework, based on the concepts of contextuality , constructiveness, and relational space, was developed as a means of addressing the sensori-motor, cognitive, and social facets of learning.

This thesis examines ways in which educational and community-building opportunities can be enhanced on a school/park site located in the proposed sustainable community of East Clayton. It explores ways in which children construct knowledge of their world, through processes of direct interaction with, manipulation of, and reflection on their immediate environment. It proposes how the designed landscape of a schoolground can support these formative processes within the context of evolving attitudes and values concerning environmental education, community, and sustainability. A threefold framework, based on the concepts of contextuality , constructiveness, and relational space, was developed as a means of addressing the sensori-motor, cognitive, and social facets of learning. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

The primary intent of this thesis is to demonstrate how the schoolyard, through physical diversification focusing on a three-fold paradigmatic framework, can become a significant educational environment able to support the physical, cognitive and developmental skills in children. Research is used as a tool to inform and support the designs. Discussed in the first two sections are the history and evolution of school grounds, play and the environment, the effects of place-identity on self-identity, as well as the power of place in pedagogy. The design framework is supported by precedent studies, intending to reflect the design principles, programs, ideas and values of the ecological, curriculum-based and narrative landscape design layers. The final master plan design is an amalgamation of these three layers, representing an educational setting that will foster a dynamic interchange between children and their milieu.

The primary intent of this thesis is to demonstrate how the schoolyard, through physical diversification focusing on a three-fold paradigmatic framework, can become a significant educational environment able to support the physical, cognitive and developmental skills in children. Research is used as a tool to inform and support the designs. Discussed in the first two sections are the history and evolution of school grounds, play and the environment, the effects of place-identity on self-identity, as well as the power of place in pedagogy. The design framework is supported by precedent studies, intending to reflect the design principles, programs, ideas and values of the ecological, curriculum-based and narrative landscape design layers. The final master plan design is an amalgamation of these three layers, representing an educational setting that will foster a dynamic interchange between children and their milieu. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

Through collaborative work with Cornwall Council, this AHRC funded project has produced an in-depth study of the design of secondary school outdoor landscapes linking two areas of research – landscape design and cultural geography. It explores the politics underpinning the design, construction, use and function of the outdoor landscapes of secondary schools in Cornwall, focusing on the extent of active participation of children and young people in these processes. Contemporary research has illustrated that outdoor spaces are essential to the development and wellbeing of young people as they are places in which children can play or have fun whilst they experiment with their identity, learn to socialise and participate in informal education. This thesis examines the role children and young people may have had and their potential in helping to formulate the design and implementation of outdoor spaces, alongside planners, garden designers, teachers and other interested parties. There are three linked aims. • Exploration of the politics underpinning the design, redesign, use and function of the outdoor landscapes of secondary schools. Here, “politics” refer to the complex negotiations between people, practicalities (policy priorities, management) and school strategic vision and ethos (including the role of student voice). • Understand more about the local spatialities of childhood of secondary school age children in order to: i) explain the politics of design; and ii) propose a more nuanced approach to understanding the varying needs and expectations of secondary school-age children. By participatory methods, interviews and observations I was able to note the use and functionality of the grounds by and for pupils, teachers and site managers. • Using an understanding of the politics of design in Cornwall’s secondary schools, and with greater awareness of the spatialities of childhood, develop recommendations for evaluation of secondary school outdoor landscapes via a ‘school’s biography’ approach. While policy-facing literature contemplates the educational function of school spaces in the secondary sector, this research broadens the view of children and young people’s relationship with secondary school outdoor spaces, emphasizing the relationality between groups of children, and children and others. This project proposes work which is attentive to how constructions of childhood are achieved in practice, beyond the contingencies of policy making and educational practices. The extent to which school grounds meet pupils’ needs is a reflection of school ethos and the relative status of children and young people in the decision making process.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1930. / Vita. Published also as Teachers College, Columbia University, Contributions to education, no. 408. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: p. 67-71.

The deficiency of environmental understanding in conjunction with community and educational connections, isolates a problem. Few connections exist between the school, community, and the environment. Because of this, existing connections need to be enhanced and other connections need to be created. These linkages are essential to instilling ownership and stewardship of the land for the entire community. In addition, these linkages also provide vast opportunities for learning, observing, participating, and enjoying the environment.This creative project identifies and discusses the various issues that relate to the lack of connections between the school, the community, and the environment. From this analysis, three research questions evolved. To answer these questions, four case studies were reviewed and analyzed. The summary of these findings included the best features from each case study. These findings led to the formation of a model of design characteristics. The model was then applied to a site in central Indiana and led to the establishment of several design guidelines.These community-responsive guidelines are applicable to any site where connections between the school, community, and the environment are desired. / Department of Landscape Architecture

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1930. / Vita. Published also as Teachers College, Columbia University, Contributions to education, no. 408. Bibliography: p. 67-71. Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1934. / Vita. Published also as Teachers college, Columbia university, Contributions to education, no. 593. Bibliography: p. 110-116.