From its conception, Richardsville Elementary was designed to be an affordable net zero facility. The design team explored numerous energy saving strategies to dramatically reduce energy consumption. By reducing energy use to 19.31 kBtus annually, the net zero goal could be realized through the implementation of a solar array capable of producing…

There are many reasons to incorporate daylighting into the building or renovation of K-16 learning facilities. Benefits include increased productivity for students and staff, improved health, a better connection to the outdoors, energy savings and better quality of light. Add the role daylighting can play in LEED certification and it's clear that…

Some parts of a school building do not age gracefully. At many elementary and middle schools--particularly those built in the 1960s or 1970s--old gyms are as useful (and attractive) as a worn-out pair of sneakers. To save money 20 years ago, school districts often used one space as a combination gym/lunch room/auditorium. Old gymnasiums offer…

What narratives may a micro-study within a school reveal about past lives, roles and design? What traces may be contained within a single room? This paper focuses on an oral history of a "welfare room" in a postwar Infants school as told by a welfare assistant. The school is an early example of school designed by Mary (Crowley) Medd…

Universal design is the design of environments and products to be used by people of all ages and abilities. The goal is to use design to reduce physical effort, regardless of some of the frailties that may be acquired due to an accident, health, or age. EasyLiving Homes[R] is a non-profit organization that advocates making all homes visitable and…

Ever since the 2001 passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), states have faced a federal mandate to improve their ability to collect and analyze education data for the purpose of tracking and reporting the progress of their education reform efforts. With the assistance of federal funds, virtually all of the states are developing…

The purpose of this study is to develop a costing model for maintenance and operations expenditures among 16 single-campus California community college districts and assess the impact of a variety of variables including size of student enrollment, physical plant age, acreage, gross square footage, and general obligation facility bonds on district…

The Irish-African Partnership for Research Capacity Building (IAP) is a research consortium involving all of the nine universities on the island of Ireland together with four African universities, with the overall aim of building research capacity for poverty reduction. The project was supported by a three-year grant from Irish Aid. This article…

Accounts of how research capacity in education can be developed often make reference to electronic networks and online resources. This paper presents a theoretically driven analysis of the role of one such resource, an online archive of educational research studies that includes not only digitised collections of original documents but also videos…

Digital land knows no boundaries of space, time or geography. The effect on learning in the past three years, in particular, has been profound, though not necessarily on learning in schools. More have arguably expanded their horizons through 20 minutes of TED Talks than 20 minutes of most chalk and talks or classroom activities.

In recent years, growing numbers of policymakers, city officials, and educators have been eyeing the expanse of time outside the education prime time and asking a simple question: What can communities do to help children grow and learn after the school bell rings? The concern is that too many children and teens, especially the poor, are left to…

As a result of the massive growth of higher education in Turkey, the most pressing priority for this sector today is to meet the new space requirements for an increasing number of students. Now a subject of public attention more than ever before, the second largest item of expenditure for universities is the construction of physical spaces. This…

At the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), people see the profound, positive impact that green buildings have on people's lives and the innovation they have poured into the marketplace--from office and retail buildings to government facilities and individual homes. However, none of these markets speaks more powerfully to the benefits and…

In Pennsylvania, Family Day Care Homes (FDCH) are private residences used to care for up to six children in a 24 h period. These homes are often times the most affordable alternative to day care centers parents have in low-income communities. The aims of this study were to evaluate FDCH providers' knowledge of hazards and their understanding of…

Public education is one of the central tasks of a democratic society, and the buildings that house this important task not only shape the way one teaches, but provide icons and symbols for the values people hold common as a society. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this context has placed school buildings squarely in a position of debate and innovation…