ABSTRACT

Participatory school ground design projects have acknowledged benefits for children’s sense of empowerment, ownership and learning, but the play behaviour outcomes of these school ground projects are less understood. The aim was to investigate the use of a renovated school ground in Colorado, USA that had engaged students in the redesign process. Behaviour mapping investigated the spatial distribution of children’s (n = 342) play behaviours, through observations of active, constructive, imaginative, reflective and conversational school ground play. Walk-along and semi-structured interviews with 52 students aged 5–13 years and 9 school staff explored views of the school ground design post-construction. The results indicate that there were aspects of the school ground design that warranted further improvement to facilitate social interaction, girls’ preferred play choices, and older children’s sense of challenge in the school ground. The research presents design recommendations and reflects upon the benefits of continued community engagement in school redesign.

摘要

参与式学校场地设计项目已经承认对儿童赋权感、主人翁感和学习感的好处，但这些学校场地项目的游戏行为结果却鲜为人知。目的是调查美国科罗拉多州一个经过翻新的学校场地的使用情况，该场地让学生参与重新设计过程。行为映射通过对积极、建设性、富有想象力、反思性和对话性的学校地面游戏的观察，调查了儿童 (n = 342) 游戏行为的空间分布。对 52 名 5-13 岁的学生和 9 名学校工作人员进行了步行和半结构化访谈，探讨了施工后学校地面设计的观点。结果表明，学校场地设计的某些方面需要进一步改进以促进社会互动，女孩喜欢的游戏选择，以及年龄较大的孩子在校园里的挑战感。该研究提出了设计建议，并反思了社区继续参与学校重新设计的好处。