To what Extent Do School Leaders in Slovenia Understand Physical School Environments as a Learning Factor?
Keywords:
leadership, basic education, schools, physical environment, learning, Slovenia
Abstract
School leaders are a central factor of the quality of learning and teaching in schools. It is generally believed that the staff model their behaviour on leaders, which means if school leaders understand the physical school environment to be an important factor of learning, school staff (teachers and other professional staff) will also do so. To discover how school leaders assess the school environment as a factor of learning, 150 school leaders in primary education in Slovenia were invited to complete an online questionnaire. They were asked about their views regarding to what extent their school as physical environment encouraged certain factors. Fourteen listed factors were assessed on five-point numeric scales. The results show that in their school environment, school leaders assessed ecology, movement, and respect the highest, and feelings, imagination, and space the lowest. Their estimates of the assessed factors differ depending on the type of school building (new, old, renovated) only on the factors of movement, creativity, and logic and mathematics in favour of old schools. The results provide interesting information especially for school policy and everyone involved in the planning, building, or renewal of school premises.
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References
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TomÅ¡iÄ ÄŒerkez, B., & ZupanÄiÄ, D. (2011). Physical Space and the Process of Education. CEPS Journal, 1(2), 5–9.
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Barett, P., & Zhang, Y. (2009). Optimal Learning Spaces Design Implications for Primary Schools. SCRI Research Report /on line/. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/38/47/43834191.pdf.
Beuermann, D. (2011). Celostna Å¡ola: Proces sedmih izzivov [Holistic School: The Process of Seventh Challenges]. Ljubljana: Debora.
Bida, G. (2012). Prikriti kurikulum, ideologija, prostor [Hidden Curriculum, Ideology and Space]. Sodobna pedagogika, 63(1), 96–111.
Bizjak, H. (1996). Sprostitev in ustvarjalnost v Å¡oli: Pedagogika za tretje tisoÄletje [Relaxation and Creativity in School: Pedagogics for the third Millennium]. Ljubljana: samozaložba (self-published).
Bregar GolobiÄ, K. (2012). What Kind of School Do We Want? The Architecture of Schools as an Element of (Hidden) Curriculum. Sodobna pedagogika, 63(1), 74–94.
Burke, C. (2005). The Edible Landscape of School. In M. Dudek (Ed.), Children‘s spaces (pp. 245–277). New York: Routledge.
CenciÄ, M., & Å temberger, T. (2014). Vodenje vzgojno-izobraževalnih zavodov in vpliv na ustvarjalnost vzgojiteljev [Leading Educational Institutions and its Impact on Teachers’ Creativity].
Sodobna pedagogika, 65(4), 66–80.
Ciaccio, J. (2004). Totally Positive Teaching: A Five-Stage Approach to Energizing Students and Teachers. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum development.
Conzemius, A., & O’Neill, J. (2001). Building Shared Responsibility for Student Learning. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Day, C. (2004). Places of the Soul: Architecture and Environmental Design as a Healing Art. London, New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
Day, C., & Midbjer, A. (2007). Environment and Children: Passive Lessons from the Everyday Environment. Amsterdam etc.: Elsevier Ltd.
Day, C., & Parnell, R. (2003). Consenzus Design: Socially Inclusive Process. Oxford etc.: Architectural Press.
Dudek, M. (ed.) (2005). Children‘s Space. New York: Routledge.
FilipiÄ, P., KavÄiÄ, L., Kuhar, Å ., Maljavac, T., Struna Bregar, A., & Viki Å ubic, B. (2014). Igriva arhitektura [Playing Architecture]. Ljubljana: Zavod Republike Slovenije za Å¡olstvo.
Horvat, B. (2013). On lesson and reflective form of life: 13. međunarodni znanstveni skup ‘Dani Mate Demarina’. Obrazovanje za razvoj, Pula, 11 and 12 April 2013.
Humphrey, E., Janosik, S. M., & Creamer, D. G. (2004). The Role of Principles, Character, and Professional Values in Ethical Decision-Making. NASPA Journal, 41(3), 675–692. Retrieved from http://www.elps.vt.edu/janosik/StuDev2009/EthicalDecisionMaking.pdf.
IvaniÄ, M. (2009). Å ola vzgaja. Å ola in trajnostni razvoj [Schools as Teachers. Sustainable School Buildings: From Concept to Reality]. In Mednarodna konferenca (International conference). Ljubljana, SLO, 1–2 October 2009). Retrieved from www.mss.gov.si/si/konferenca_oecd.
IvanuÅ¡ Grmek, M. (2003). UÄni prostor [Learning space]. In M. BlažiÄ, M. IvanuÅ¡ Grmek, M. Kramar, & F. StrmÄnik (Eds.), Didaktika: VisokoÅ¡olski uÄbenik [Didactics: Higher Education Textbook] (pp. 322–328). Novo mesto: VisokoÅ¡olsko srediÅ¡Äe, InÅ¡titut za raziskovalno in razvojno delo.
Kenkmann, A. (2011). Adapting and Design in Spaces: Children and their Schools. CEPS Journal, 1(2), 11–24.
Kuhar, Å . (2009). Å ola vzgaja. Å ola in trajnostni razvoj [Schools as Teachers. Sustainable school buildings: From concept to reality]. Mednarodna konferenca (International conference).
Ljubljana, SLO, 1–2 October 2009. Retrieved from www.mss.gov.si/si/konferenca_oecd.
LPA (2009). Green School Primer: Lessons in Sustainability. Mulgrave: The Images Publishing Group.
Meador, D. (2013). Respect in Schools: A Policy to Promote Respect in Schools. Retrieved from http://teaching.about.com/od/SchoolPolicy/a/Respect-In-Schools.htm.
Navodila za graditev osnovnih Å¡ol v Republiki Sloveniji [Instructions for the Construction of Primary Schools in the Republic of Slovenia] (2007). Ljubljana: Republika Slovenija, Ministrstvo za Å¡olstvo in Å¡port (Republic of Slovenia, Ministry for Education and Sports). Retrieved from http://www.mss.gov.si/fileadmin/mss.gov.si/pageuploads/razpisi/investicije/prijava_investicij_navodila_OS_8_6_07.pdf.
Nicholson, E. (2005). The School Building as Third Teacher. In M. Dudek (Ed.), Children‘s Space (pp. 44–65). New York: Routledge.
OECD Programme on Educational Building and Department for Education and Skills (2006). 21st Century Learning Environment. OECD publishing. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/mem2009/20120924-21-st-21st-century-learning-environments-oecd.
PEB Exchange: The Journal of the OECD programme on Educational Building (2002). 2(46),1–28. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/country-studies/34270691.pdf.
Playce (2012). Arhitekturni detektiv: Raziskuj, opazuj, zaÄuti, prisluhni [Architectural Detectives: Research, Observe, Feel, Listen]. Radovljica: Didakta.
Richards, J. C., & Lockhart, C. (2007). Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms. Cambridge. New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
Rodari, G. (1996). SreÄanje z domiÅ¡ljijo [The poetics of imagination]. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga.
Roncelli Vaupot, S. (2001). Z zakoni opredeljeni vloga, naloge, odgovornosti in imenovanje ravnateljev v državah Evropske unije in Slovenije – izhodiÅ¡Äa za izobraževanje ravnateljev? In:
Management v evropskem okolju: zbornik 1. strokovnega posveta Visoke šole za management v Kopru [Roles, tasks and responsibilities defined by laws and the appointment of school heads in the countries of the European Union and Slovenia – a platform for training school heads. In: Management in the European Context: Proceedings, 1. Scientific conference of the School of Management in Koper], Bernardin, SLO, 10–11 November 2000, pp. 215–228. Koper: Visoka šola za management. Retrieved from http://www.fm-kp.si/zalozba/ISBN/961-6268-64-3/215-228.pdf.
Schratz, M., Laiminger, A., MacKay, F.K.P., Křižková, E., Kirkham, G.A., Baráth, T. et. al. (2013). The Art and Science of Leading a School: Central 5: A Central European View on Competencies for School Leaders. Budapest: Tempus Public Foundation.
Sigurđardóttir, A. K., & Hjartarson, T. (2011). School Buildings for the 21st Century – Some Features of New School Buildings in Iceland. CEPS Journal, 1(2), 25–43.
Štemberger, T. (2013). Pomen ustvarjalnosti vzgojitelja v njegovi vzgojno-izobraževalni praksi [The role of preschool teacher‘s creativity in her/his educational practice]. Doktorska disertacija [PhD Thesis]. Koper: University of Primorska, Faculty of Education.
Taylor, A. (2009). Linking Architecture and Education: Sustainable Design for Learning Environments. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
TomÅ¡iÄ ÄŒerkez, B., & ZupanÄiÄ, D. (2011). Physical Space and the Process of Education. CEPS Journal, 1(2), 5–9.
Vodopivec, A. (2014). Arhitekturna ustvarjalnost med sanjami in resniÄnostjo [Architectural Creativity between Dreaming and Reality]. In I. Simoniti (Ed.), Ustvarjalnost [Creativity], (pp. 19–31). Ljubljana. Slovenska matica.
Woolfolk, A. (2002). Pedagoška psihologija [Educational Psychology]. Ljubljana: Educy.
Woolner, P. (2010). The Design of Learning Spaces: Future Schools. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.
Žajdela, I. (2013). Sobivanje na gori: Romanje treh Slovenij na Svete Višarje [Coexistence on the Mountain: The Pilgramage of three Slovenias on the Mountain Svete Višarje]. Družina, 82(32), 1.
Published
2017-06-30
How to Cite
Cencič, M. (2017). To what Extent Do School Leaders in Slovenia Understand Physical School Environments as a Learning Factor?. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 7(2), 141–162. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.174
Section
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