Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses
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ItemAligning learning environments, architectural programming, and educational aspirations in Saudi Arabian public primary schools: a multi-scalar analysis towards evidence-based design( 2022)Public schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are undergoing rapid educational reforms to meet the state’s Vision 2030. This includes preparing students with the 21st century skills considered necessary to actively participate and compete on the global stage—an objective linked to shifting national prosperity away from a reliance on oil to developing a more knowledge-based economy. Initiatives have been undertaken by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to adopt progressive education models and develop digital curricula across the Saudi public school system. These changes raise questions about how current and future school buildings and classrooms can respond effectively to emerging educational aspirations and reforms and support diversified pedagogies. How can Saudi public primary schools be programmed and designed to accommodate emerging educational aspirations? To answer this primary research question, architectural programming is explored as a medium through which to bridge the gap between the strategic goals of education (i.e., education policy) and the design and use of school environments. In this context, the study investigates the dynamic links between learning environments (physical and social), educational policy aspirations, and architectural programming (research and design process), with the aim to foster better evidence-based school design into the future. Complex adaptive systems theory and resilience theory are applied to analyse transformative systems linking architectural, educational, and political issues of change and adaptation. The study proposes a panarchy framework to conceptually frame the research inquiry and highlight multi-scalar tensions. An ethnographic approach and discourse analysis are employed to develop insights into the values, beliefs and behaviours of stakeholders who participate in planning, designing, and using school buildings. Key participants include policymakers, MoE consultants with experience in public school planning and design in Saudi Arabia, architectural programming and design experts from the Saudi MoE and Riyadh Education Department (RED), principals, teachers, and parents. Qualitative data is triangulated using multiple methods, including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, photographs, architectural drawings, archival research, observations, and questionnaires. The data is discussed as narrative ethnography, taking into consideration cultural contexts and socio-spatial experiences. Findings are communicated in interpretative ways through various discourse and spatial representation forms, including floor plans, images, and texts. The study findings indicate that architectural programming is one of the most strategic places in the education system where pedagogical policy changes and schools’ socio-spatial environments may be linked. Transitioning educational practices from largely didactic instructional approaches to more student-centred and progressive approaches, as suggested in the Kingdom’s education policy agenda, could be aided by changing school buildings through updating systems of production. Finally, the study offers recommendations for aligning learning environments, architectural programming, and educational aspirations through improved multidisciplinary communication between educators and architects, and more coordinated change and adaptation between four panarchy scales: ‘global education’, ‘state’, ‘school’, and ‘learning environment’.