The theory of behavior settings and the concept of affordance helped to frame a study on the redesign of school grounds in Bangladesh. Behavior settings are defined as ecological units where the environment and behavior are linked in time and space. The related concept of affordance refers to the possibilities that an environment has to offer a user of that environment. School grounds in Bangladesh are usually barren without any designed features. This study explored the views of children, teachers and parents in the design of an outdoor primary school environment to accommodate teaching, learning and play.
Twenty-nine children (age 8-12), nine teachers, and five parents participated in this study. All of the participants were a part of a primary school community in a rural area of Bangladesh. Focus groups, children's drawings, and a model-making exercise provided data for this study. The children's focus groups included discussions about what they would like in their school yard for learning and play and what activities they would like to do with their peers and/or alone. Focus groups with teachers and parents included similar discussions. The teachers also discussed the type of elements that could be added to the outdoor environment to help them teach curriculum subjects and how such elements might be grouped into learning areas. Teachers and children then worked together to build a model of their preferred school ground.
Results indicated that children wanted elements to be functional for both play and learning. They wanted to connect with nature, to explore their environment, to challenge themselves, to be physically active, and to socialize with friends. The children also wanted their school grounds to be more attractive. Parents placed a high value on gardening, while teachers preferred an area with loose materials where children could engage in independent learning activities. The final design, which incorporated all of these elements, included eight primary behavior settings: a natural learning area, gardens, an outdoor classroom, a water area, a loose materials area, an open yard, huts, and a play area. A path was included to connect these different settings.
The participatory approach used for this study reflects an understanding of the importance of engaging children and teachers in the design of a user-friendly outdoor school environment providing rich opportunities for both learning and play.
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