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ERIC Number: EJ1092239
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Mar
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1365-4802
EISSN: N/A
The Idea and Reality of an Innovative School: From Inventive Design to Established Practice in a New School Building
Sigurðardóttir, Anna Kristín; Hjartarson, Torfi
Improving Schools, v19 n1 p62-79 Mar 2016
The physical environment in schools has in the literature of late been gaining recognition as a potential factor supporting educational change. This article draws a single case out of a research sample of 20 schools in Iceland to relate an inventive design process as the school was being developed and study the current state of established school practice. The main aim is to reveal educational ideas behind a relatively progressive school design and determine how they have turned out in everyday school life. Data include observations, surveys among staff members and interviews with both school leaders and teachers. The school was designed as an open plan building intended to enhance individualised learning and team teaching with strong ties to the wider community. A decade later, the original policy is still relatively firmly in place, in particular at the primary level, while teachers at the lower secondary level have been bending somewhat the initial design plan, leaning towards traditional teaching methods and more confined classroom layouts.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iceland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A