Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Pupil involvement in school (re)design: participation in policy and practice

den Besten, O., Horton, J. and Kraftl, P. (2008) Pupil involvement in school (re)design: participation in policy and practice. Co-Design. 4(4), pp. 197-210. 1571-0882.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: Over the last decade, an array of policy interventions relating to children, young people and education in the UK have positioned pupil participation in the (re)design of school environments as a key imperative. Indeed, pupil participation is an explicit, core ideal of major, ongoing school (re)construction and (re)design programmes in the UK such as Building Schools for the Future, Academy schools, and Primary Capital Funding. The aim of this paper is to juxtapose the ideals of participation as expressed in national policy statements, via-à-vis the ways in which participation in these contexts is being done (or not) in practice. To this end, the paper presents findings from in-depth interviews with Local Authority officers responsible for the implementation of policies relating to school (re)building and (re)design in diverse localities. These interviews show how the idea(l) of pupil participation may, in practice, be foreclosed by contingencies, budgets, issues, debates, personalities and events at grassroots level. The paper will suggest that national policy-making regarding participation should be better grounded in the complex and diverse realities of the (re)design of school environments in practice
Uncontrolled Keywords: School design, pupil participation, Building Schools for the Future
Subjects: L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB3201 School architecture and equipment. School physical facilities
Creators: den Besten, Olga, Horton, John and Kraftl, Peter
Funders or Sponsors: Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Projects: Realising participatory design with children and young people: a case-study of design and refurbishment in schools
Publisher: Routledge
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > The Centre for Children and Youth
Research Centres > Centre for Psychology and Social Sciences
Date: 1 December 2008
Date Type: Publication
Page Range: pp. 197-210
Journal or Publication Title: Co-Design
Volume: 4
Number: 4
Language: English
ISSN: 1571-0882
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
Related URLs:
References: Bentley, T., Oakley, K., Gibson, S., and Kilgour, K., 1999. The Real Deal: what young people really think about government, politics and social exclusion. London: Demos. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2002. Education Act 2002. London: DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2004a. Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners. London: DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2004b.Working Together: giving children and young people a say. London: DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2004c. Schools Capital: investment for all. London, DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2004d. Transforming Schools: an inspirational guide to remodelling secondary schools. London: DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2004e. Building Schools for the Future: a new approach to capital investment. London: DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2004f. Children Act 2004. London: DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2005. Youth Matters. London: DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2006. The Five year Strategy for Children and Learners: maintaining the excellent progress. London: DfES. DfES [Department for Education and Skills], 2007. Schools to make a difference. http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/academies/what_are_academies/?version=1 DfES/SBDU, 2002. Schools for the Future: designs for learning communities. London: DfES. Hart, R., 1997. Children’s Participation: the theory and practice of involving young citizens in community development and environmental care. New York: UNICEF. HM Treasury, 2003. Every Child Matters. London: HM Treasury. Kraftl, P. and Horton, J., 2007. ‘The Health Event’: Everyday, Affective Politics of Participation. Geoforum, 38, 1012-1027. Kraftl, P., Horton, J. and Tucker, F., 2007. Edited special issue of Built Environment on ‘Environments for children’, 33(4). Matthews, H., 2001. Children and Community Regeneration: creating better neighbourhoods. London: Save the Children
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/1664

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