Is Well-being Key to Designing Sustainable Schools?

1. Andrea S. Wheeler, B.A. (Hons.), Dip. Arch. M.Phil., PhD, RCUK/ESRC Early Careers Interdisciplinary Fellow The University of Nottingham, School of the Built Environment/ School of Education, The Dearing Building, Jubilee Campus, Wollaton Road, Nottingham. NG8 1BB, email: andrea.wheeler@nottingham.ac.uk Is Well-being Key to Designing Sustainable Schools? to become active members of society. Many children are rightly worried about climate change, global poverty and the impact of our lifestyles. Schools can demonstrate ways of living that are models of good practice for children and their communities. They can build sustainable development into the learning experience of every child” (DfES, 2006, 2). Interviews where carried out with a series of groups of young people, all 16-19 years old in Further Education and living in the North Nottingham parliamentary constituency in focus groups. These interviews were conducted to investigate poor participation rates in further education of young people within this community. However, at the same time young people were asked how they understood sustainable communities, the Building Schools for the Future programme, the new Academies and the importance of sustainable schools. Moreover, the idea that teaching children to care more about their environments would lead to better places to live with less antisocial behaviour in their opinion would only work only if parents and families were also involved with this sort of idea and if it were consistent in all schools and at all ages. New schools and new designs would not be enough. Abstract Participation within the Building Schools for the Future programme risks becoming tokenistic. Understanding the relationship between well-being and sustainability however, suggests an approach that not only counters these accusations, but provides a way to achieve the Government’s dual objectives of providing better learning environments and sustainable schools. This paper demonstrates how issues of well-being and sustainability are understood, both within the Government’s new school building programmes and amongst young people from some of the most disadvantaged communities in Nottingham. 1 2 3 2. Method 4. Discussion To date over forty new schools within the BSF programme have been built. The Government plans to build over 400 in the form of New Academies. The Government plans that all schools should be sustainable by 2020. It has set up initiatives for Eco Schools and Outdoor Learning. The school building programme is experimenting with new forms of school systems and structure and with ways of involving the community in education, but will the potential of student participation ever be fully explored within the Building Schools for the Future programme? Collaborative design processes suggest places made to learn to listen and respond to others, and even to listen to the radical other and as yet without voice of natural and animal worlds. Participation in design programmes could teach young people the social skills and democratic decision making needed to address the global energy crisis, encourage sustainable behaviour and build sustainable communities, but what are the barriers to this sort of education? DfES (2006) Design of Sustainable Schools DfES Publications, PO Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Nottingham. NG15 0DJ (available for download at www.dfes.gov.uk) 3. Results The responses of young people from the communities of North Nottingham constituency suggested that they did understand the need for concern, recycling they thought would be something they would in general get used to, and the needs for energy efficiency in terms of insulation and double glazing were generally seen as good ones. They were unsure however, whether some technologies worked well in the UK for example, solar panels. Responding to the problem of global warming in the context of school building they thought it important for the future and for their children, however this was with some reservation as it was not as important as schools providing good education and good teachers. 1. Introduction Participation is central to policy, and the space of participation could also explore whether we can encourage sustainable behaviour. The DfES publication Design of Sustainable Schools, cites Alan Johnson: “Schools are here to give children the knowledge and skills they need References This research is part of a RCUK/ ESRC Early Career Interdisciplinary Fellowship Grant. How Can We Design Schools As Better Learning Spaces and To Encourage Sustainable Behaviour? Co-Design Methodologies and Sustainable Communities.