Architectural Design and Teaching and Learning: Observations from Award Winning Green Preschools

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between physical settings and pedagogy. It specifically considered whether preschools which have been evaluated as exemplary as evidenced by winning green school awards also provided excellent environments for teaching and learning. A multiple case study approach was used to study three award-winning green preschools in Berkeley (USA), Bali (Indonesia), and Hong Kong (China). Not withstanding marked differences in the cities, analyses focused on similarities and differences between architects' and educators' notions of preschool quality specifically in relation to environmental sustainability. In general stakeholders from the educational sector are concerned about structural and process preschool quality. On the other hand, architects tend to focus on environmental design. Further, architects tend to privilege sustainability from the design point of view while preschool educators tend to focus on green practices such as recycling. Practical implications of the findings for the physical design of preschools, educational goals of children and sustainability goals for the environment are discussed.