Space and place in researching male early high school leaving in Orange Farm Township
2013

Vangile Bingma
Department of Sociology
University of Pretoria
South Africa

Space and place in researching male early high school leaving in Orange Farm Township

South African Journal of Education
33320131 Art. #738, 13 pages, http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.zaearly high school leavermaleplacereflexivityspacestigma
email@example.com I reflect on the methodological processes underpinning a dissertation that investigated male learners' reasons for leaving high school early and the strategies they employed to negotiate everyday life. A qualitative case study was conducted with nine male early high school leavers between the ages of 18 and 25, as well as 12 stakeholders involved in the Orange Farm Township, south of Johannesburg. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, document reviews, and observations. Narrative analysis revealed complications related to the notions of space and place of the potential participants and the researcher. In the first place, the difficulty was not in identifying participants, but in establishing rapport to the extent that they agreed to participate in the research. Assumptions about space and place gave rise to expectations that had to be managed, and consequently the researcher had to rethink the methodological choices. In particular, participants' perceived real social positions and their relation to different social spaces had to be negotiated. It is suggested that relatively novice researchers, researching male early high school leaving in familiar spaces, can mitigate complications of space, place and stigma during fieldwork by using multiple sources of data and strategic, flexible interviewing techniques.

Introduction

Relatively novice researchers using qualitative methodologies and observing conventional research prescriptions may encounter situations that necessitate practical reflection beyond the available conventions. Such situations may be conceptualised in what Lee-Treweek and Linkogle (2000:24) term "dangers" encountered in the field or dangers that emanate from fieldwork relations. This paper is based on a research dissertation written as part of the requirements of a Master of Social Science in Sociology degree (Bingma, 2012) that investigated male early high school leavers in Orange 1 Farm Township, located south of the Johannesburg city centre. The aim of the paper is to outline the methodological processes that informed the dissertation and, in hindsight, to reflect on the processes and their implications on the research process. This reflection is important in providing points of methodological engagement for novice researchers working in the area of early school leaving and male early high school leaving in particular.

Background

Early school leaving is a key problem confronting school systems and it calls into question the school systems' organisational components (Coleman, 1988), curriculum and pedagogical approaches (Freire, 1970;Illich, 1970), and the very context within which schooling occurs. The context of schooling may relate to issues of school governance (Xaba, 2011). To understand early school leaving requires in-depth consideration of each case to unpack the decision-making processes involved for each individual and to map out the life chances of the many individuals concerned. It is necessary to employ qualitative methodology to identify the nuances and interplay of the social factors involved in the process of deciding to leave school prior to completing Grade 12. Qualitative methodology is also necessary to obtain an in-depth understanding of the problem. However, qualitative research targeted at early school leavers that have already left the school system is difficult when one cannot rely on official admission registers (Mahlomaholo, 2011). The difficultly lies not only in recruiting participants (Flisher & Chalton, 1995), but also in establishing a rapport with them to the extent that they will agree to tell their stories. The difficulty is compounded by the social stigma attached to early school leaving (Bingma, 2012). With its many contradictions (Harber & Mncube, 2011), schooling remains an important element in broader social discourses about developing a knowledge economy. SAPA (2008) and the Department of Basic Education (2011) provide perspectives on the official positions on the topic of early school leaving. Scholarly work dealing with early school leaving in South Africa includes research by Flisher and Chalton (1995); Inglis (2009) ;Motala, Dieltiens and Sayed (2009) ;Porteus, Clacherty, Mdiya, Pelo, Matsai, Qwabe and Donald (2000); Sibanda (2004);and Wegner, Flisher, Chikobvu, Lombard and King (2008).

The research dissertation under discussion was conducted with reference to the Orange Farm Township (Bingma, 2012). This township was established in the late 1980s as a direct result of the social disorganisation and growing conflict that characterised the dying years of apartheid (Crankshaw, 1993). Orange Farm was declared a township in 1997. Like many townships, it is characterised by social reconstruction and/or destruction. In fact, townships cannot be understood outside the broader national dynamics of a society playing out in local contexts (Mills, 1959).

The Orange Farm Township was chosen as a field site because observations had previously been conducted in the area for a small-scale Honours research report (Bingma, 2008). This area was also chosen because the researcher was familiar with the area and lived in this area permanently for eight years from 1997 to 2004. Although the researcher has not lived in the Orange Farm community permanently since 2005, the township remains a home to her as her family home is located in the community and she visits the area frequently.

The above circumstances made the researcher both an insider and outsider in field relations. The term insider denotes the familiarity of the researcher with the physical space, with some of the participants, as well as with the broader social experiences of the community members under study. Insider did not include the everyday lived experiences of the participants as members of a category of people that the researcher was interested in understanding. The latter point involves being an outsider -the researcher is not a male early high school leaver and does not share this group's experiences of negotiating everyday life. The researcher can also be considered an outsider because of gender and education level in relation to the target population (Bingma, 2012).

The methodology used in the dissertation included a qualitative case study designed to answer the research questions. Data were collected through in-depth interviewing techniques and observations. The data were analysed through narrative analysis. The above decisions were informed by the following research questions: • Why did male learners leave high school prior to completing Grade 12? • How did male early high school leavers negotiate their everyday lives? The objective of the research was to explain male early high school leaving through personal accounts by the participants and this objective directed the methodological choices. A decision was made to conduct 15 to 20 interviews with male early high school leavers in different sections of the Orange Farm Township. However, only nine primary participants between the ages of 18 and 25, as well as 12 stakeholders including teachers, a ward councillor, youth groups (for example, LoveLife), health service representatives, and community members were interviewed. These participants were selected through the use of purposive and snowball sampling methods. The final report used pseudonyms for the primary participants and stakeholders to ensure anonymity. Information that could be used to identify the participants was not included in the report. Extensive observations formed part of the data collection process to supplement existing literature on Orange Farm and photographs were an integral part of recording the activities of the males throughout the township (Bingma, 2012).

Over and above reflecting on the methodological processes that underpin the dissertation (Bingma, 2012), this paper is a modest contribution to the literature on early school leaving and it highlights the potential complications of space and place when researching male early high school leaving in a familiar context, as well as the methodological decisions that facilitated and/or hindered the process.

Conceptual framework

Conceptually, the dissertation is embedded within the sociology of education subfield. This subfield considers education processes and experiences in relation to numerous other local and national social processes (Ballantine & Spade, 2007). This paper draws mainly on the work by Goffman (1963) in dealing with stigma and the ideas explored by David Harvey (2004), Herbert Gans (2002) and John Urry (2001) that address issues of space and place. The dissertation used the notion of insider and outsider mentioned above to address the dilemmas encountered during fieldwork. Stigma was used as a broader conceptual tool through which male early high school leaving could be understood alongside social capital (Bingma, 2012).

In hindsight, the notions of space and place seem more lucid in framing and aggregating the processes that unfolded. Also, the dissertation under discussion used stigma to read, albeit superficially, the relations between the participants and the researcher (Bingma, 2012). Stigma is central to this paper and is important in illuminating the analysis of fieldwork relations in general. Goffman (1963:3) asserts that stigma is a discrediting quality. He differentiates between "discreditable" characteristics, which are not readily noticed, and "discredited" characteristics, which are objectively visible. One can argue that male early high school leavers are a discreditable group whose characteristics are not readily noticed because their 'differentness' is not immediately evident. Stigma must be established in society for it to exist (Goffman, 1963) and the role of power is central to its social reproduction (Link & Phelan, 2001). When the dividends of completed schooling in the context of socioeconomic opportunities are considered, it may be said that early school leavers occupy a lower position on the "status hierarchy" (Link & Phelan, 2001:379) because of the value placed on a high-school certificate. Early school leavers are labelled "outcasts and losers" (Panday & Arends, 2008:1), as well as dumb and/or lazy.

Stigma

A person who is stigmatised then has a "sense of not knowing what the others present are really thinking about him" (Goffman, 1963:14). The problem becomes one of dealing with the facts of one's shortcomings and whether "to tell or not to tell" (Goffman, 1963:42). In a context where social constructions of masculinity are linked with the ability to provide materially (Ratele, 2001;Connell, 2005), a male early high school leaver's social identity is discredited in that he may struggle to meet the societal expectations of being a provider because of high unemployment levels amongst the youth in South Africa (Gordhan, 2011).

The notion of managing a discreditable attribute of one's social identity is useful in making sense of narrative data. In examining subjectivity as it emerges in narratives, Bloom (1996:193) argues that respondents evaluate their own narratives through a process that provides opportunities wherein desires for "positive selfrepresentation" are replaced by attempts to understand the self. Bloom (1996:193) refers to that process as "nonunitary subjectivity in narrative representation". Nonunitary presentations of the self underline how individuals make sense of and negotiate contradictions and ambiguities in their life course. According to Newman (2002), the negotiation of what can or cannot be spoken, in part, is influenced by the meanings individuals attach to social interactions with others.

Space and place

Space and place are interesting concepts in as far as they transcend disciplines as analytical tools. Although Harvey (2004), Urry (2001) and Gans (2002) have different points of departure regarding space and place, this paper connects ideas emerging from their works to aid methodological thinking regarding conducting research on male early high school leavers. As a point of departure, the literature consulted states that space can be conceived of in multiple ways (Harvey, 2004;Urry, 2001;Gans, 2002). In Space as a Keyword, Harvey (2004:2-4) identifies the concepts "absolute space", "relative space" and "relational space". The interest lies in the link between absolute space, which is fixed, and relative space, which depends on the subject of the relativisation and the person doing the relativising (Harvey, 2004).

An example of these different types of space is a street corner -streets are absolute public spaces that are used by everyone. In many South African townships, street corners are particular spaces where young men gather and are likely to be seen. However, young women who stand on street corners are not considered 'respectable'. Therefore street corners as absolute spaces are gendered (Urry, 2001:13) and are appropriated and imbued with particular meanings by collectives. Urry's (2001) three features of space are useful in expanding on the idea of street corners as absolute spaces that are permeated by particular gendered meanings. Urry (2001:11) identifies "spatial practices" which are constituted by, amongst other things, individual routines with the possibilities of being entrenched in the landscape over time. This point captures the idea that street corners are spaces where young men congregate. The perceived unrespectability of young women who occupy the same space is also related to Urry's (2001:11) concept "spatial practices". For example, street corners are occupied by gangs and are also used as gambling spots in different sections of the Orange Farm Township. These practices are not generally associated with young women.

The next feature of space is related to the "representations of space" (Urry, 2001: 11) that order and represent the space. Here gambling can be used as an example of a practice that has become representative of street corners. To illuminate further, it can be argued that the dominant representations of space, coupled with stigma, complicate fieldwork processes (Bingma, 2012). The representations of space and the types of stigma associated with the spaces involve the different meanings bestowed on spaces by individuals and collectives. Gans (2002) argues that a space can have varying effects on different people. For example, the impact of a building may vary for different people and may even be minimal or nonexistent for some people. Here Gans asserts the multiple ways in which groups can "turn natural space into social space and shape its uses" (Gans, 2002:329).

In addition to spatial practices and representations, there are "spaces of representation … symbolic differentiations and collective fantasies" (Urry, 2001:11). The notion of 'home' can be used as an example of "spaces of representation" or "collective fantasies" (Urry, 2001:11). Hooks (1991, as cited in Urry (2001:15), notes how a home can consist of multiple locations. Urry (2001:15) also notes the importance of "mobilities" or the ability to move between these multiple locations. This point captures the dilemma of untangling the role of the researcher who is considered an insider during field observations and general field relations. This dilemma is emblematic of what Bourdieu (1990:56) calls "embodied history" resulting from the researcher's past lived experiences of the researched space -in this case the township.

Considering the above discussion on 'space' and 'place', for the purposes of the following discussion, 'space' will refer to the physical and tangible aspects of a location, such as streets and buildings, and 'place' will be used to identify one's social position or location which is intangible and fluid, but that has real consequences for individuals' everyday lives.

Researching familiar spaces

Social science research often requires the researcher to enter foreign spaces. The researcher may not be aware of the "threats" involved in such research until they have entered the space (LeeTreweek & Linkogle, 2000:10). Whilst these threats may be negative, LeeTreweek & Linkogle (2000:10) contend that these threats can be "methodologically and theoretically productive", as in the case of the research dissertation under discussion. The interest here lies in when researchers enter their current and/or former social worlds and are then forced to negotiate the "mobilities" (Urry, 2001:15) between their current and former worlds. In the following section, the possibilities and limitations of researching a familiar space, in relation to recruiting potential participants, as well as methods of data collection are considered. Complications of stigmatisation with regard to the intended research population are also considered.

Establishing rapport and data collection

When conducting research in one's current and/or former social world, the issue of establishing a rapport with the research participants may be taken for granted. With regard to the dissertation under discussion, potential participants were found, however the target was not met in terms of the number of interviews conducted as mentioned above. Some individuals did not honour the arrangements of the scheduled interviews. Furthermore, these potential participants were again approached and although they voiced their interest in participating in the research, they did not arrive for the interviews. On reflection, it was found that there were two factors at play -one factor in relation to place and the other in relation to space -as well as an intersection between the two which was complicated by stigma (Bingma, 2012).

One has to locate the participants' mistrust of the researcher in the broader context of the stigma associated with early school leaving in general. Early school leavers occupy a particular place in people's imaginations as they are labelled as "outcasts and losers" (Panday & Arends, 2008:1). Goffman's (1963) notion of the management of information was evident during the process of recruiting participants for the study. Individuals who were approached wanted to ascertain what the research entailed and what the risks and benefits of the research were prior to identifying themselves as early high school leavers and agreeing to take part in the project (Bingma, 2012). Selfidentification as a male early high school leaver forced the individuals to place themselves in the social world in relation to others and in relation to the researcher in particular. The thought of being judged as a failure amid increased public calls for a focus on the knowledge economy made the potential participants feel uneasy and ambivalent. Although early school leavers are a diverse group, assumptions about their reasons for leaving school early seem to centre on their perceived academic failure. As some of the individuals under study knew the researcher, they felt obliged to participate in the study when they were approached to do so. However, these individuals were not necessarily interested in telling their stories. The researcher's perceived academic success in relation to the potential participants was perhaps counterproductive to the data collection process (Bingma, 2012).

Studying familiar spaces can also provide many opportunities in as far as the research process is concerned. These opportunities involve knowledge of the physical space and social expectations in relation to local etiquette. Familiarity refers to being aware of the unspoken rules pertaining to the social setting, where to go and where not to go. The researcher was aware of the spaces which she could move in and out of, as well as those that, unofficially, she could not enter during the fieldwork process in the Orange Farm Township because of gendered "spatial practices" (Urry, 2001:11). The target population consisted of, amongst others, young men who potentially took drugs and could be found in backrooms and secluded areas in the township (Bingma, 2012). Such spaces were not visited which resulted in the elimination of a section of the target population because of safety considerations.

Many of the potential participants congregated in social spaces to smoke dagga and to use other drugs (such as nyaupe), as well as to gamble and handle scrap material to be sent to the scrap yard, were not visited. Thus assistants were helpful in facilitating interviews to connect with individuals in such groups. Four participants were recruited through assistants. All of the assistants were male and had reasonable access to the target population because of their gender. The rest of the participants were located by the researcher while walking around the township either alone or with a female friend. The objectives of the research were explained to the potential participants and when an individual agreed to participate, an interview was conducted on the spot to eliminate further hindrances preventing data collection. It can be said that whilst familiarity in this situation was useful, it could also be posited that familiarity hindered the exploration of the possibility of transgressing local etiquette, which would have offered new ways of straddling gendered local spaces (Bingma, 2012).

When an individual agreed to participate in the research, language became an important element in the negotiation process and in the process of bridging the perceived differences between the researcher and the participant. The researcher is proficient in most of the languages spoken in the township. The researcher is also familiar with the local Tsotsitaal which she learnt when she lived in the township and which was also learnt during an Honours small-scale research project involving interviewing three male early high school leavers and a female early high school leaver (Bingma, 2008).

According to the Oxford Dictionary of Sociology (Scott & Marshall, 2009), language can be used to exclude and defend insiders against those that are considered to be outsiders. The above understanding of language is significant as the participants in the study used phrases and words that carried meanings that were fundamentally different to the everyday meanings associated with these phrases or words. For example, the term 'church' means the coming together of young men in a group and the term 'praying' means to smoke dagga (Bingma, 2012). Such prior knowledge of the meanings of these terms facilitated the extent to which participants could 'open up' to the researcher. Also, the researcher's familiarity with the high-school culture in the township made this culture easier to explain by being able to draw on her own experiences. These factors made the process more meaningful and engaging.

Flexible interviewing, as a data collection strategy, provided the means through which the abovementioned factors could be negotiated. Participants were asked about their peers at different points in the interview. They spoke openly about their observations and at times conceded that they did not exclude themselves from the broader problems such as drug abuse associated with young men in the township. It was found that it would therefore not be unusual for individuals to represent themselves in ways that reflect less negative attributes because assumptions about early school leaving seemed to centre on apparent academic failure (Bingma, 2012). Goffman's (1963:3) notion of managing the "discreditable attribute[/s]" of one's social identity is useful in the analysis of the phenomenon of early school leaving. Individuals managed the details surrounding their "discreditable attribute" (Goffman, 1963:3) through a process of selecting what could and could not be said about this attribute (Bingma, 2012). Bloom's (1996) work may also prove useful here and it can be argued that presentations of the self in a context of stigma are non-unitary. Individuals negotiate contradictions and ambiguities in their life course as they tell their stories and place themselves in relation to others.

Another complication of space and place is related to the venue for conducting interviews. An office could not be secured at the local multiple-purpose centre, so space was rented at the Orange Farm Community Library. The library is used for many community projects and specifically for projects focusing on young people. However, only two interviews were conducted at the library hall (Bingma, 2012). On reflection, it was found that the library's spatial location was a problem and that it was also layered with notions of place. The fact that the library is located next to the Orange Farm Police Station was also unhelpful.

Whilst two participants were comfortable with being interviewed at the library, most of the potential participants did not attend the scheduled interviews (Bingma, 2012). Their reluctance may be linked to the relationship between the police and the young men in many South African townships. Steinberg (2010) discusses how young black men living in townships in post-apartheid South Africa continue to be targeted by the police which thus blurs the lines between criminals and young men in general. This occurrence is a familiar one as the researcher has witnessed young men being indiscriminately picked up by police vans and locked up overnight at the local police station.

In relation to the library as an interview space, Gans (2002) notes how a space can have varying meanings for different people. Gans (2002) states that a building can have different effects on different people and that it may even have no effect on some people. Whilst the Orange Farm Library was a neutral space for the researcher and its proximity to the police station had additional safety benefits, it did not hold the same meanings for the potential participants. The police station possibly represented the individuals' tenuous relationship with the police in the community -demonstrating the link between space and place.

At this stage, dilemmas of space and place for data collection are considered. As the researcher was an insider, she could observe occurrences with a 'familiar eye' and as a consequence, she may, for example, have failed to observe what an outsider might have been able to observe immediately. The observations and the stakeholders and participants' narratives often reinforced each other in ways that produced specific readings of Orange Farm (Bingma, 2012). The researcher's familiarity with the physical and social space, as well as her own place in the social space meant that particularities and peculiarities that existed in the community could have been easily overlooked. The researcher saw the township through 'familiar eyes' and possibly took the many significant physical and social changes in the community for granted. Through a process of reflection and close reviewing of the photographs that were taken on each visit, it became clear that more time should have been spent on observation.

The abovementioned factors underline the "mobilities" noted by Urry (2001:15). It could be said that Orange Farm is both a current and former world to the researcher. It is a current world because of the researcher's continued connection with the township through family ties and friendships. It is also a former world in terms of the researcher's current everyday lived experiences that are situated outside of the observations made on the many continued visits. In essence, the researcher relied on the "embodied history" (Bourdieu, 1990:56) of the social space and, to an extent, the absolute space (Harvey, 2004). As a corrective measure, a friend accompanied the researcher on subsequent visits and noted, for instance, possible 'facts' that were missed by the researcher on earlier fieldwork trips (Bingma, 2012).

Photographs became useful as a methodological corrective measure through which observations could be checked and the collected data could be studied more rigorously (Bingma, 2012). Photographs were important not only in capturing the landscape, but also as a form of visual representation of the space and "spatial practices" (Urry, 2001: 11). Photographs also visually represented the young men engaged in activities such as gambling on a daily basis, as well as young men collecting scrap metal. Ultimately, it was evident that utilising multiple sources of data was invaluable as it allowed for crosschecking of information and made it possible to identify similarities, contradictions, misrepresentations and biases.

"Danger in the field"

Researching a familiar space does not only pose a danger to the nature and quality of the data collected, but it also impacts on the researcher. In the research process, a researcher's wellbeing can be under threat because of field relations (LeeTreweek & Linkogle, 2000). The danger may be exacerbated when the field site has "personal meanings" for the researcher (LeeTreweek & Linkogle, 2000:16). The social expectations of the stakeholders and participants blurred the role of the researcher.

As an insider, the researcher did not anticipate the personal emotional impact that researching her home environment would have on her and the progress of the research. It became increasingly difficult to deal with the emotional impact of the participants' stories as the researcher knew, recalled, and identified with much of what they recounted about daily life in Orange Farm. As the researcher had grown up in the area, she experienced a set of similar challenges to those narrated by participants. Ramphele (1993:139) notes that on entering the world of migrant labourers in her study of hostels in Cape Town, her exposure to the environment highlighted the limit that "one's psyche can take in such an intense setting". Although the research here focuses on young men, it was, in many ways, a reflection on the researcher's own past and broader experiences of the township. Becker (1967) notes similar issues when he points out that researchers may sympathise with those they are studying and they may believe that those under study may be treated unfairly as they are "more sinned against than sinning" (Becker, 1967:240). These points made by Becker (1967) indicate the need to reflect on relations with participants and how these relations can have an impact on the data reading process. There is a need to manage the unmanaged and unspoken expectations of the communities and participants carefully, particularly when researching socially vulnerable and/or stigmatised groups.

As an insider, when the researcher introduced herself and explained the project to different stakeholders in the community, these groups often praised the researcher (Bingma, 2012). However, this praise was often loaded with enquiries into what the researcher would do to improve the situation. Similarly, at the end of each interview, each participant asked what the researcher would do to help. It was clear that the stakeholders and participants placed the researcher in what Newman (2002) describes as a position of power in the social interaction. Associating the researcher with a position of power involved not only the researcher's perceived academic success in relation to the target population, but also the assumption that she understood everyday life in the township.

As a relatively novice researcher researching a poverty stricken area, the expectations of change and assistance resulted in a growing burden of searching for what could be done. The spoken and unspoken expectations of those being researched became critical to contain. The researcher required debriefing sessions with the supervisor and a friend. These sessions were useful in dealing with the emotional impact of the research process and also helped the researcher to reflect critically on the thought processes involved in the project. Debriefing was important as conversations with others increasingly indicated the researcher's frustrations, which made proceeding with the study increasingly difficult. Visits to the researcher's family home were limited and the data were read in the context of Orange Farm particularly.

Conclusion

Whilst qualitative research investigating male early high school leaving is necessary to understand why male learners leave high school prior to completing Grade 12, contextual dynamics must be noted in as far as such complications can impact the recruiting of potential participants, fieldwork relations, and data collection. Space and place are instructive in making sense of the researcher's and the participants' place in the social space. It is suggested that an awareness of 'give and take' and the constant negotiation of the power struggle between researchers and the research participants cannot be stressed enough. Furthermore, for researchers conducting research in familiar spaces, qualitative methodologies present challenges and opportunities through which "dangers in the field" (LeeTreweek & Linkogle, 2000:24) can be mitigated. The integration of multiple sources of data is perhaps the most critical measure to counter unintended impacts on the research process with regard to novice researchers undertaking research in familiar spaces.
 AcknowledgementsThe dissertation which is the subject of this paper was made possible by funding from the University of Pretoria and the National Research Foundation. I thank Prof. Andries Bezuidenhout, who referred me to key readings on space and place and gave advice on structural matters, and Prof. Janis Grobbelaar, who supervised the dissertation and provided feedback and guidance throughout.Note1 The terms 'male early school leaver' and 'early school leaving' are used in the same way as the terms 'school dropout' or 'dropping out of school', respectively. Although the term 'dropout' is widely used in the available literature, a decision was taken to use 'early high school leaver' as the term 'high school dropout' was considered a stigmatised term. This choice was informed by the theoretical choices that underpinned the study.
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Integration of educational methods and physical settings: design guidelines for High/Scope methodology in pre-schools

Shirin Izadpanah email@example.com
Department of Architecture
Eastern Mediterranean University
Cyprus

Kaðan Günçe firstname.lastname@example.com
Department of Interior Architecture
Eastern Mediterranean University
Cyprus

Integration of educational methods and physical settings: design guidelines for High/Scope methodology in pre-schools
735CFF880E4E4D8A5BB74AC042D4C916daily activitydesignHigh/Scope educationinterior spaceteaching method
Quality design and appropriate space organization in preschool settings can support preschool children's educational activities.Although the relationship between the well-being and development of children and physical settings has been emphasized by many early childhood researchers, there is still a need for theoretical design guidelines that are geared towards the improvement of this issue.This research focuses on High/Scope education and aims to shape a theoretical guideline that raises teachers' awareness about the potential of learning spaces and guides them to improve the quality of the physical spaces.To create a theoretical framework, reliable sources are investigated in the light of High/Scope education and the requirements of pre-school children educational spaces.Physical space characteristics, the preschool child's requirements and High/Scope methodology identified design inputs, design considerations and recommendations that shape the final guideline for spatial arrangement in a High/Scope setting are integrated.Discussions and suggestions in this research benefit both designers and High/ Scope teaching staff.Results help High/Scope teaching staff increase the quality of a space in an educational setting without having an architectural background.The theoretical framework of the research allows designers to consider key features and users' possible activities in High/ Scope settings and shape their designs accordingly.

Preschool is an important stage in early childhood development.Children at the preschool age (between three and five years old) start to learn new skills and deal with important developments such as "experiencing broader social circumstances," "an increase in language skills" and the "ability to control their behavior" (Brown, Isaacs, Krinke, Lechtenberg & Murtaugh, 2011:267).In addition to these listed developments, preschoolers' cognitional and psychological development expands throughout this period.The influence of preschool learning skills on a child's success in school has been shown to be significant (Ricci & Kyle, 2009).

The advantage of preschool education for a child's future success is mainly based on the quality of the education and the programs that are offered in preschools and kindergartens (Shaffer, 2009).Preschool education can be viewed as an investment in the future academic success of children (Albanese, 2010).

There is ongoing research with the purpose of improving the quality of early childhood education.The difficulty of analyzing and evaluating the child at early ages makes the research in this field challenging (Clark, 2010).To simplify the challenges and introduce new insights into this topic, there is a need for cooperation between the field of early childhood education and other disciplines (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development & Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, 2007).Interior design is one of the disciplines that improves the quality of learning in early years (Howe & Prochner, 2012).

Among preschool educational methods, High/Scope has been proven through long-term research as a competent means of establishing positive programs for children's future success in terms of health, family, economy, and career (Weikart, Deloria, Lawser & Wiegerink, 1970;Durlak & Ferrari, 1998).Since the High/Scope approach is being used throughout the world and its policy has significantly contributed to different programs globally (Grotewell & Burton, 2008), its methodology will be the focus of this study.

Based on the need for developing a cross-disciplinary study on the integration of an educational method in designing the school setting environment (Ata, Deniz & Akman, 2012), this study establishes a design guideline, based on High/Scope goals and the associated curriculum.

Since structural support in an environment can influence teachers' attitudes in a positive way (Nel, Müller, Hugo, Helldin, Bäckmann, Dwyer & Skarlind, 2011), the theoretical framework provided in this research increases the awareness of teaching staff in High/Scope settings and helps them improve the quality of the physical spaces.

The scope of this research is limited to the indoor space of the High/Scope settings and by assuming that facilities in High/Scope settings are accessible to all the children, with or without disabilities, this study does not include the disability standards in its framework.

Current research uses simple terminology in order to create a clear theoretical framework for teachers without any architectural background and designers with no educational background.Discussions and guidelines established in this research provide indirect training for early childhood staff to be involved in the organization of an interior space within a learning environment before and after the design process.Additionally, it helps them improve the quality of space based on the features they find relevant to their own teaching methods.

Methodology

The literature related to early childhood education has been thoroughly reviewed and books and journal articles related to preschool education and children's spaces have been investigated.The results of this literature review are seen in the view of High/ Scope education and preschool requirements.To achieve a broader view, this research engaged data from a wide range of research collated over a long duration.

The main focus of this article shapes the theory and consists of four stages of literature surveys.In the first stage, the main activities and features of High/Scope education are classified and summarized.In the second stage, teachers' and children's daily performance is classified and summarized in light of the High/Scope methodology.In the third stage, design considerations that support teachers and children in accomplishing the possible daily activities are classified and discussed based on the findings of the first two stages.

In the final stage, the arrangement of the main spaces of the High/Scope setting is interpreted and classified by integrating the findings of the previous three stages.Due to the dynamic characteristics of the High/Scope educational method and the changeability of everyday routines, the visual presentation of findings of each stage of research are symbolized as a spinning wheel to express the flexibility of the educational features.

High/Scope Education

High/Scope was founded as a nonprofit educational organization in the 1960s by David P. Weikart with the intention of providing an education based on children's development (Weikart, Rogers, Adcock & McClelland, 1971).'High' refers to the maximum level of achievement for children and 'scope' implies the variety of experiences that can be offered to children so they can achieve their personal heigh (Holt, 2010).

High/Scope was originally developed to profit disadvantaged children and to encourage them in self-learning and support their sense of competence and confidence (Gettinger, Elliott & Kratochwill, 1992).Today, a number of newly developed preschool education programs such as the World Bank and Inter American Bank in "the United States, Netherlands, Norway, Finland and Singapore", consider High/Scope a core structure of their philosophy (New & Cochran, 2007:261).

The High/Scope daily program is based on 58 key experiences of preschool children that are grouped into 10 categories.The categories are: "creative representation, language and literacy, initiative and social relations, movement, music, classification, seriation, time, space and numbers" (United State General Accounting Office, 2003:17).All the key experiences are supported by "adult-child interaction, daily routine, active learning, and a rich learning environment and assessment" (Davis & Hui-Tu, 2008:34).

The 10 categories of children's experiences offered by the program represent the daily activities, and the teachers' active assessment leads and evaluates these activities throughout the day.At the end of each day, there is an overall assessment by adults (parents/teachers) together with children in an open conversation about the children's daily experiences and accomplishments (Georgeson & Payler, 2013, Gestwicki, 2010).

Based on High/Scope 'daily routine,' children's daily experiences may vary based on their interest; therefore facilities and materials have to be visually and physically available to stimulate children's interest and exploration.Figure 1 represents the ideal discipline and activities in a High/Scope setting and its circular shape represents a wheel which symbolizes the change in everyday activities as a spinning wheel.

Teachers and children daily activities in High/Scope setting 'Plan-do-review' forms the core of children's everyday routine in High/Scope settings.Children are free to plan their desired activities to the extent of their abilities.Through this planning, they develop their thinking and reasoning (Schweinhart & Weikarf, 1997).After planning, they start exploring and interacting with their environment and discover what they had planned earlier.At the end of the day, they share their experiences and discoveries with teachers, parents, and other children in a review session.In this entire process, teachers act as supporters (Grotewell & Burton, 2008), observers, listeners, and participants (Holt, 2010).

Another intention of the High/Scope program is to increase the child's cooperation with other children and adults, and this requires the teacher's full participation in the interested activities (Peyton & Rapporteur, 2005) by breaking the social isolation and providing an atmosphere that increases 'children's social competence' (Holt, 2010).

Figure 1 High/Scope ideal discipline and activity wheel developed by author according to the High/Scope preschool wheel of learning (Holt, 2010) Parallel to the issue of cooperation, it is desired that children will be active learners and involved with the environment as an indicator of learning (Samuelsson, Sheridan & Williams, 2006).Children's active learning relies mainly on their interaction with their teachers (Grotewell & Burton, 2008).

In the High/Scope program, teachers have to 'visualize children', consider their intentions, and lead them through key principles toward key experiences (Samuelsson et al., 2006).However, the teacher's leading role should be indirect, since the program suggests constructive rather than direct teaching.Using the constructive method, teachers exchange information with children through the process of doing as a means of communicating with them (Schweinhart & Weikarf, 1997).

The High/Scope program suggests a maximum level of exploration for children to challenge their abilities (Holt, 2010).To meet this aim, teachers have to be active observers of children's behavior and activities and are expected to create problem solving situations accordingly in order to challenge children and engage them logically (Barry & Jenkins, 2007).

High/Scope teachers are also responsible for the active and overall assessment of children.The child observation record (COR) framework is a checklist that assists teachers in their evaluation of the children's adoption of key principles and understanding of key experiences (Gestwicki, 2010).However, completing the checklist only happens though the full visual and physical interaction of teachers with children.

Since emotional intelligence is an important aspect of the High/Scope program, children's positive interactions with adults, especially their parents, is considered a supportive feature in terms of the child's emotional development (Peyton & Rapporteur, 2005).Parents' involvement in educational settings creates a partnership between home and the educational environment, and this partnership plays a significant role in children's success and achievement (Mmotlane, Winnaar & Kivilu, 2009) in parallel with their emotional intelligence.Teacher-parent communication also benefits both sides by increasing the parents' knowledge of skills while also increasing teachers' familiarity with the children's culture, language, and goals (Barry & Jenkins, 2007).

Teacher satisfaction is indicated by their desire to stay in the teaching profession and their experience of fulfilment in what they do (George, Louw & Badenhorst, 2008).Since their 'need, value and expectations' define their perception and satisfaction (Palenzuela, 2004), satisfying their needs and expectations is an essential task in terms of supporting children's positive learning and development.Considering teachers and children's possible actions (Figure 2) illuminates their basic needs, which must be taken into account by designers.

Interior design consideration in High/Scope settings

The learning environment is one of the key principles of a High/Scope education, and children's interactions are based on the way that the physical setting facilitates their intentions.Elizabeth Mayo, head teacher at the Birchwood High/Scope nursery school in Hatfield, stated, "The environment is crucial because it is how the children access their learning" (cited in Dudek, 1996:20).An increase in children's challenges and discoveries is related to the existence of motivation in an environment.High/Scope settings have to provide children with "need, control, interest, enjoyment, a feeling of competence and probability of success" in order for them to be motivational (Holt, 2010:18).

As discussed in previous sections, children in High/Scope settings are planners, active learners, and self-evaluators.In order to select their choices for daily exploration, children have to be perfectly aware of existing options in the setting.

Materials are the most important options in the High/Scope environment, and thus displaying them is a critical task.Legible and child-scaled display units provide an easy access for children and support their sense of control, competence, and probability of success (Greenman, 1988).

According to Holt (2010:14), the materials in the High/Scope program are generally categorized as everyday "objects, natural materials, tools, messy items, large and heavy items, and smaller items".The scale, design, and location of the design elements Figure 2 User daily task and activity wheel in High/Scope settings developed according to a review of possible activities in High/Scope centres have to be defined according to each category.It is better to place messy items in a zone with easy to clean surfaces (Bentzen & Frost, 2002), and heavy items can be displayed horizontally or in transparent boxes to allow children to take and return them more easily.

After children plan their daily activities, their work time begins (Georgeson & Payler, 2013).In this part of the program, children are ready to start their active exploration and discovery.Children need to "use all their senses, move between activity areas and connect with different activities" in order to experience positive exploration (Community Plaything, 2009:10).Safe and comfortable movements are desired for preschool children.Teachers and designers can provide this by defining a clear circulation path, locating landmarks and partitions, providing visual access by using various colours and textures on the floor (Trancik & Evans, 1995), ignoring sharp edges and sliding materials such as floor surfaces, and removing elements with rough covering (Robertson, 2001).

Parallel to the provision of safe and easy movement, increasing the sensual experiences in the setting will support children's exploration.Education specialists such as Comenius (1921) and Radulph and Cohen (1964) (cited in Peltzman, 1991) believed that children's development is realized through their senses.Mixing and matching a variety of textures and surfaces and placing natural and living elements such as plants and water in indoor spaces, will motivate children's sensory explorations.Selected textures can either be smooth like painted walls and windows, rough like brick and stone surfaces or soft like pillows and curtain (Kubba, 2003).

Children's ability to identify and connect to their activities will increase their sense of control and self-competence and support their exploration.An overall unification between the zones and areas will allow children to feel their movement.To create this unification it is wise to consider some of the spaces as "the star" and the rest as the 'supporters' (Weinstein & David, 1987).

Since High/Scope demands active learning and challenges for a child, the interior space should offer the opportunity for a variety of discoveries and experiences (Holt, 2010).Displaying a variety of materials and using complex and super units can increase the complexity in the setting and encourage children with more challenges.Complex units should contain more than two objects, such as a pile of Lego building blocks.Super units are complex units with more than one additional play material, such as a pile of Lego building blocks and toy digging equipment (Wellhousen & Crowther, 2004).

To encourage children to cooperate with their peers, existing options in the physical setting should be balanced with the number of children who will use that space.A lack of enough toys and materials may result in fights over property.Prescott andKritchevskey (1969 cited in Weinstein &David, 1987) suggest providing at least two elements, consisting of objects and furniture, per child to avoid aggressive behaviour and help the children cooperate and increase their sense of control.

At the end of the day, in the review session, children share their experiences with peers, teachers, and their parents.Assigning a comfortable corner or area for this social activity can increase a child's social competence.Using soft materials and furniture that allow children to sink in (Miller & Schiltt, 1985), creating a curvilinear sitting arrangement to increase social contact, using warm colours to create a sense of coziness (Creative Publishing International, 2002), using appropriate lighting (Kubba, 2003), avoiding too many colours and textures to prevent overstimulation (Meerwein, Rodeck & Mahnke, 2007), and placing landscape elements (Weinstein & David, 1987) where children and teachers meet to review the daily experiences, will create a pleasant environment for their conversation.

In regard to the teacher's responsibility for rearranging the interior space and challenging children by creating problem solving situations (Barry & Jenkins, 2007), the interior space has to have an appropriate level of flexibility, especially if there is a lack of enough space.However, too much flexibility will overcome the design and dissemble the definition of the zones and the order of activity areas, which goes against the High/Scope philosophy (Tassoni, 2006).An appropriate level of flexibility in a space allows transformation without destroying the overall identity of the space (Greenman, 1988).Using low weight elements and furniture and using movable shelves (Feinberg & Keller, 2010) will provide teachers with the option for rearrangement.

High/Scope teachers have to visualize and evaluate children through active observation; therefore, they need an appropriate level of visual access to the children's activities.Using transparent barriers by considering children's safety and enclosing the zones with low level partitions and dividers will allow teachers to have better control over different activities and accomplish a better assessment.Easy circulation is another feature that is essential in a physical setting to support teachers' observation (Samuelsson et al., 2006).Good circulation does not mean providing a corridor.A good circulation is a path with an appropriate proportion that creates a positive spatial quality (Dudek, 2008) that allows children and teachers to be aware of events and happenings by passing from one zone to another.

To create a positive interaction between teachers and children, teachers are expected to participate in the children's play and activities, so the size of the activity spaces should allow for adult participation without creating a crowded space or reducing the comfort of teachers and children.Sometimes using adult-sized furniture, such as locating a sofa in a corner of an activity area, can provide teacher comfort and also allow children to curl up with their teacher and feel part of the adult world (Miller & Schiltt, 1985).

In summary, teachers and children must have control over the environment in order to spend quality time together.Integrating the daily routine of teachers and children (Figure 3) in High/Scope settings will transform the physical space from a shelter to a facilitator of children's activities and assistant for teachers' assessment.

Space arrangement guideline in High/Scope settings

The size of settings differs and so do the interior organizations of the settings.Since the current research aims to benefit a broad category of High/Scope settings, there is a focus on the arrangement of at least five spaces (entrance, learning area, playing area, kitchen, and lavatories) in terms of High/Scope activities.Table 1 presents a brief explanation of the core activities in each space.Every space in an educational setting should be identified according to the activity and learning experiences that will happen in that space.Identifying zones and spaces will help children to link and distinguish the activities.In the case of High/Scope education, this is very beneficial since seriation and classifications are part of the key experiences of the program (Holt, 2010).To encourage preschoolers to engage in activities suggested by the educational methodology adopted in preschool settings, the interior space has to be organized based on the adopted methodology.

Entrance

The entrance in a High/Scope setting can be more than a space for the children's arrival and departure.As discussed in previous sections, parents are temporary participants, and their interaction with children and teachers in High/Scope settings is required.Since parents meet teachers in the entrance hall when they deliver or collect children, a well-designed entrance can be a positive attempt to support their interaction (Dudek, 1996).

Secure and welcoming spaces are important aspects for an increase in a sense of belonging to educational settings (Tabane & Human-Vogel, 2010).Emphasizing a sense of belonging, especially in the entrance, will ease the separation of parents and children.An attractive and comfortable entrance, which welcomes children and invites parents to meet other parents and teachers, can act as a strong meeting point and social space (Hertzberger, 2001).When possible, a small playing zone containing comfortable sitting elements can increase the comfort and attractiveness of an entrance hall (Community Plaything, 2009).In addition to providing a comfortable sitting arrangement, locating cubbies where children can leave their personal belongings before entering the setting can have a positive effect on increasing their sense of place and thus their interest (Cherry & Harkness, 1991).

Learning Area/Classroom

The classroom generally facilitates the activities that require concentration.According to Mark Dudek (2008), the features of a learning environment, including the colours, lighting, and furniture arrangement, should differentiate from the rest of the spaces.Schickendaz (1976cited in Weinstein & David, 1987) defines three rules for preschoolers' classrooms, which are beneficial in terms of High/Scope classrooms as well.He claims that if children are expected to work with materials and return them after they are done, it is essential to have a well-defined storage area somewhere close to the learning area.Second, he recommends physical indicators such as carpet or a tape on the floor to define the best options of seating arrangement.This will help teachers in changing the arrangements related to the group and solitary activities.It is also helpful to prevent children from overstimulation by ignoring long and narrow spaces and breaking the large areas into smaller areas by using partitions, level differences, and furniture (Weinstein & David, 1987).

Learning areas in a High/Scopesetting seem to be the best option for supporting children's art, math, literacy, and social skills; therefore, a classroom should include at least four main zones: art zone, reading zone, a zone to supply open-ended and manipulative materials that promotes children's learning and encourage them to explore (Epstein, 2006), and a sitting area.

It is better to create a semi-open area for an art zone and divide it from the rest of the learning areas (Dudek, 1996).Using walls and bulletins to exhibit children's art work can identify the art zone and support their self-esteem (Weinstein & David, 1987)."The blank wall covered by a tackable surface or display shelves and cabinets" can provide artistic surfaces and act as a changeable plane based on children's daily art activities (Feinberg & Keller, 2010:48).

Providing a reading corner with a well-defined library is a positive attempt to support children's literacy.The reading corner needs to be located in a quieter zone with a soft and comfortable sitting arrangement.It should allow for the display of a variety of books (Weinstein & David, 1987).Considering children's different positions while reading in arranging the reading zone, will increase the quality of this activity.Some children may prefer to lie on their stomachs while reading and some may prefer to sit.Some of the children like to cut and paste text and pictures and require a table.Some may prefer an audio book and will need special technology to do this without creating a distraction for others (Community Plaything, 2009).The selection of appropriate lighting is another essential concern in the reading zone.Integrating natural light and placing this zone near a window will increase the positive performance of children (Lawson, 2001).

Materials are the most important part of High/Scope education, so designers and teachers have to be very sensitive in terms of supplying them.Greenman (1988) suggests six tips for designing good storage, which can be useful in terms of a High/Scope material supply area as well.According to him, a good storage area: 1) Should be close to the space of use.2) Should be able to store the required amount of materials and be able to display them easily.3) Should be balanced with the size of the space and amount of materials.4) Should not prevent designers from designing the storage aesthetically.5) Should be designed clearly to allow users of any age to use that space.6) Should be safe.Consistent with the above features, designing the material storage with maximum visual and physical access will increase children's control and allow them to select their materials of interest easily.

Children and teachers exchange their daily experiences through conversations in the review session (Georgeson & Payler, 2013).Therefore, increasing children's social competence will encourage them to talk.The circular seating arrangement is the best option for review sessions, since it connects children to each other and increases their social competence (Wellhousen & Keiff, 2001) while providing equal visual access to one another (Hennink, 2007).

Playing Area

Play is a vital activity in terms of preschool children.Play helps children to be creative (Dansky & Silverman, 1975), supports their physical development (Lindon, 2003) and as Froebel (1899 in Peltzman, 1991:85) stated, "creates joy, freedom, and inner peace".An interesting play area is a space that increases the children's level of exploration.Increasing the complexity and variety in a space is a positive means to encourage children to take part in further exploration (Trancik & Evans, 1995).Creating different heights by using ramps, stairs and lofts, creating brighter and dimmer zones by playing with the amount of light (Community Plaything, 2009), and offering a variety of options for solitary and group playing alternatives will provide positive variety in the playing area.

A playing area should be safe above all else, so that teachers can comfortably allow children to engage in free play.Using unbreakable windows and mirrors, softening the space by using soft materials and furniture, locating stable elements and furniture, covering the electrical outlets, and using surfaces which can easily be cleaned (Bentzen & Frost, 2002) will increase the safety in the playing area.

Dramatic play is one of the activities in a High/Scope setting that supports children's imagination and creativity (Goelman & Jacobs, 1994).The quality of dramatic play relies on the quality of display materials that exist for this activity.Making a dramatic play area look visually different than the rest of the room, locating this area away from the quiet zone, offering dress-up clothes, props, toys and accessories that support children's role play, using child-sized equipment and providing kitchen equipments will increase the quality of this play (Hereford & Schall, 1991).

As previously mentioned, exploration needs movement, and in a High/Scope setting, movement follows the music.The integration of music with play will support a child's movement and joyful exploration.Using a quality sound system to play quality music and creating an empty area for musical activities such as dance and gymnastics will positively support a child's physical movement (Community Plaything, 2009).

The ease of teacher movement and participation should also be considered in arranging the equipment and zones in the playing area.Teacher presence should not prevent a child's movement or distract them from their activities due to a lack of space.

Kitchen

In most of the settings, the kitchen is considered an isolated area that only serves food to children; however, creating easier access for children to this space and integrating this area with activity spaces will increase children's exploration.A safe and welldefined kitchen that allows preschoolers to participate in food preparation will increase their sense of independence and their 'at home' feelings of the setting (Dudek, 1996).

A collaborative kitchen with a comfortable and friendly environment increases the social interaction between teachers and children and supports the children's social competence (Creative Publishing International, 2002).The kitchen can also be a good meeting point for teachers and parents when there is a need for a conversation without interrupting the children's activity (Dudek, 1996).

Toilet Facilities

A visually attractive and physically accessible toilet will encourage children to use that space easily and regularly.To transform the clinical experience of children in a toilet to an experience that supports their self-competence, sinks and toilets must be constructed to a child's scale to enable them to use that space without adult assistance (Greenman, 1988).When there are no small scale sinks available, locating safe stools will also allow children to wash their own hands (Weinstein & David, 1987).

Private Areas

In addition to the classified spaces, private areas are necessary spaces that every setting should offer to provide children with a sense of privacy.Dudek (2008) suggests the provision of breakout spaces to accommodate children's need for privacy, but if there is a lack of space, a cosy corner or a piece of furniture that provides a semi-hidden area behind it can also create private spaces for children (Greenman, 1988).Figure 4 summarizes the design tips and considerations that will help teachers improve the environment according to possible activities in key spaces of High/Scope settings.

Conclusion

Researchers affirm the positive effects of a high quality preschool education on children's further learning and development (Samuelsson et al., 2006).High/Scope has proven its positive influence on children's futures in long term research studies.As Barnett (1996:245) stated, "High/Scope is a social program whereeverybody wins".

Emphasizing the interior arrangement and spatial organization of a learning environment is one of the essential features of a High/Scope education due to the insistence of the program's philosophy on children's active learning and free daily planning.Teachers and children enjoy very active and flexible experiences in High/Scope settings, and the quality and level of their interaction and accomplishments are based on the interior space and its provided options.Therefore, the integration of education and design is an essential concern and the reason for conducting this research.

High/Scope is a child-interested program that leaves the daily activities and experiences to the children's interest.Teachers are supporters and physical and visual participants in the children's activities.Although children select their areas of interest and discovery, teachers play an important role in arranging the environment to lead their learning through High/Scope key principles and experiences (Figures 1 and 2).Basic considerations and features in arranging the interior space of High/Scope settings (Figures 3 and 4), can help teachers to be designers and provide a quality and pleasant education.

This research links useful suggestions and findings based on reliable research and references to High/Scope education, preschool children, and an interior space to form a theory that benefits both teachers and designers and defines a path for further empirical research studies.The main aim of the current research is to create a theoretical framework that helps teachers and staff in High/Scope preschools and improves the quality of physical space with least facilities based on requirements of the program.Since High/Scope is child-centred and the core of many new programs worldwide, this research focuses only on regular spaces in educational settings, so that consideration and recommendations established in this study can be used by a variety of teachers and caregivers throughout the world.

The second aim of the research is to familiarize designers with the importance of considering the children and researchers needs and activities in terms of specific curricula.This research classifies and briefly reviews principles and activities in the High/Scope program and it encourages designers to enrich their designs in regard to the needs and requirements of users while acknowledging the educational philosophy.To emphasize the importance of integrating the educational method and designing the spaces that serve that method, more empirical research studies on the effect of this integration on the daily performance of teachers and children in educational settings will need to be conducted.

Figure 3
3
Figure 3 High/Scope design consideration wheel developed according to the daily activities of children and teachers in the High/Scope settings

Figure 4
4
Figure 4 Classification and arrangement of zones and spaces in a High/Scope setting based on the activities offered in the program

Table 1
1
Classification of core spaces in high/scope setting
SpaceActivitiesLearning ExperienceEntranceChildren's arrival andDepends on activities offered in this spacedepartureLearningActivities which requireArt, literature, math, science…areaconcentrationPlayingMovement and music,Social interaction and increase in children's physicalareaplayawarenessKitchenEatingSocial interaction and increase in self-dependencyToiletHygiene and bodilyIncrease in sense of independencefacilitiesneeds

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