Imaginings and representations of high school learning spaces: Year 6 student experiences

This chapter explores the visual representations of high school learning spaces as imagined by some Year 6 students in their final year of primary school in Queensland, Australia. Their images and interview responses reveal five key spatial attributes concerning high school learning spaces. Connections to nature, open spaces that were sustaining and promoted thinking, spaces that enabled them to be active and make choices were clear preferences evident in student responses. These responses highlight how physical, emotional and social wellbeing factors were integral to their ideal spaces for learning. The chapter will also consider the implications for students, educators and designers regarding issues of control, consultation, critique and compromise in thinking about the design and use of learning spaces.