Presentation
“The Future We Want?” The sustainable school as a place of wellbeing
2nd International Conference on Geographies of Education
(2012)
Abstract
This paper discusses the findings of a 3 year RCUK post-doctoral research project with children in secondary schools describing the methods adopted and the conclusions of findings. This paper speculates on the future for the design of the ‘sustainable’ school. It poses the following questions: are there new ways of thinking, living and being emerging, demanding support from educationalists; and does the ‘sustainable’ school and its design, provide a testing ground for supporting changes in patterns of living? These questions are explored and illustrated through the dialogue, drawings, narratives and performances of secondary school children. The paper draws heavily on theories of participation with children and adopts educational philosophy and architectural theory to present a critical review of themes emerging from workshops with secondary school children. Governments have to begin to take steps to account for natural and social capital and beyond meeting merely material goals towards a range of outcomes captured through the use of the term 'wellbeing'. It is not a matter of lifestyle practices, we can or cannot adopt, it demands both ontological and political interrogation: what does it mean to be in an ethical or just relation to the environment and to other human beings? Who is this historical human being characterised so well by his/her exploitation of the natural environment and how do we understand his or her rights? The paper examines how children engage with these sorts of ideas and creatively envision pedagogical and associated design solutions.
Disciplines
Publication Date
September, 2012
Citation Information
Andrea Wheeler. "“The Future We Want?” The sustainable school as a place of wellbeing" 2nd International Conference on Geographies of Education (2012) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/andrea_wheeler/18/