Children are the rightful users of school playgrounds, yet their voices on how such playgrounds are developed and maintained are often lacking. This case study presents a participatory design process involving 288 urban children and their teachers working with university students in the redesign of the school playground. The goal of the project was to develop a process for redesigning a school playground involving collaborative alliances between universities, elementary schools, and the public administration. This paper describes how that process was used with an elementary school in Italy to develop a vision for retrofitting the school's playground.
Developing a vision for the school's playground with active student participation occurred in two stages over a six-month period. Participation on the part of the students meant that they had significant control of the decision-making process and were able to influence it. During the “preparation stage,” university students served as moderators in assisting the elementary students in creating a vision and developing physical models of what they would like in the school playground. During the “design stage,” the university students used 3D design software to create virtual models of the “children-led vision” of the school playground.
While the project was designed for building alliances between universities, elementary schools, and Public Administration, the involvement of Public Administration was not achieved. The results of this case study, however, illustrates the value of shared projects between university and elementary students. It also documents children's ability to participate in a meaningful way in designing complex projects and highlights the importance of viewing school open spaces as extensions of the classrooms. The method involved all the children of a school – including children with disabilities. Different tools (drawings, photos, sketch-maps, and physical models) and individual teacher support were used to ensure meaningful participation of every child.
Early in the process of developing a vision, children's ideas of what constituted a “good playground” included the presence of lawns and trees (23%), slides, swings, and playhouses (42%), sport facilities (14%) and ornamental fountains (14%). At this stage, the children considered vegetation only as an adornment. Later in the process, children became aware that the same space could be used in different ways, that the playground could be an extension of their classrooms, and that time outdoors could complement traditional indoor lessons. They realized that green areas could be used for gardens, as habitats for animals, as play spaces, and as places to learn about nature. The children's final proposal indicated that they highly valued the natural environment.
This case study attests to the value of collaborations between universities and lower level educational institutions, with multiple benefits to the university students, the teachers, and the elementary students. The university students gained valuable learning experiences through their involvement with “real cases”; the teachers gained a deeper understanding of how outdoor spaces can promote student learning and well-being; and the elementary students became designers of their own spaces.
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