Call for Abstracts for a Special Issue of Children, Youth and Environments
http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/

"Reconceptualising School Design: Child and Youth Environments for Learning"

Guest Editors:
Laura Malinin [log in to unmask]
Department of Architecture, University of Colorado 

Rosie Parnell [log in to unmask]
School of Architecture/Centre for Study of Childhood and Youth, University of Sheffield


Key words: school design, learning environments, learning and development, environmental sustainability, green schools, biophilic design, pedagogy, participatory design and planning, student voice


Aims
Nations around the world are re-examining the idea of school as both a physical place and as a set of practices related to learning and development. As ‘school’ broadens its scope in response to pedagogical developments and is reconstructed in the face of climate change, conflicts and disasters, the field of school design is challenged to respond with appropriate processes, spaces and places.

This special issue of Children, Youth and Environments will explore multi-disciplinary perspectives on school design. At the centre will be the aim to develop understanding of the relationship between a school’s physical environment, the processes undertaken to create that environment and a student’s learning and self-development. Papers will be based on real-world research in school or school design settings, with a focus on participant experience and voice. The issue will reflect an international perspective and will draw on ideas from theory, research, policy and practice. Papers will be particularly welcome that focus on: (1) the design, planning and development of schools in the developing world context; (2) environments of disadvantage and areas of reconstruction after conflict or disasters; and (3) schools for children and young people with special needs and/or from marginal communities.


Expressions of Interest
One-page abstracts of your paper ideas should be sent by March 30, 2011 to Rosie Parnell < [log in to unmask] > and Laura Malinin <[log in to unmask]>. Abstracts will be accepted any time prior to this deadline. A selection of abstract authors will be invited to submit full papers for peer review. Abstracts should mention how the ideas in the full paper will apply directly to research or practice.


Illustrative Questions
The following questions are intended as a stimulus for exploring a range of issues related to school environments. Authors are invited to submit papers that address one or more of these or related questions and where appropriate draw out the implications for design and related processes.

1.     How do children and youth experience their own school environments and what are the related issues that concern them?

2.     How can children and youth influence school design process and policy?

3.     What is the impact of ‘green’ and/or ‘biophilic’ school design on the children, youth and families who use the school?

4.     How can the designed environment support the cognitive needs of the learner including (but not limited to) issues of autonomy, specialized educational needs, creativity, and holistic self-development?

5.     How can the school’s physical environment become a learning resource or subject of study?

6.     What is the role of the designed environment in the social and emotional development of the student including key transitions between elementary/primary, middle school/junior high, and secondary/high school education?

7.     What is the role of the school in environments of disadvantage, disaster or conflict?

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Children, Youth and Environments
University of Colorado, Campus Box 314
College of Architecture and Planning
Boulder, CO 80309-0314
USA

Phone:  303-735-5199
Fax:       303-492-6163
URL:      www.colorado.edu/journals/cye

ISSN:  1546-2250




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