School as a place: a phenomenological method for contemplating school environments

Abstract

The study presents a phenomenologically based research procedure, whose intent is to examine people’s school experience and the meaning they ascribe to ‘school.’ Participants in this investigative endeavor are instructed to sketch an ‘ideal school,’ present their plan in a visual‐schematic manner, and provide an oral and written description of their design. Proposals are presented through a Location Task – a tool originally intended for use by architects in their routine work with clients. We discuss the rationale behind this procedure and describe the research tool and its application potential. Finally, we illustrate the data processing via the analysis of one proposal designed by a 17‐year‐old male student.

Keywords:

• school space
• school planning
• learning environment
• research methodology
• research tools
• phenomenology

Notes

1. Based on Zur (2008).