Ontario Universities offer a variety of undergraduate programs that could be classified as creative arts programs. Whether these programs focus on one specific major, such as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, or concurrent programming, such as a concurrent music and education program, students have a variety of choices for their post-secondary…

A qualitative research study was conducted to identify, describe, and understand the perceptions of administrators of public school districts in northeast Tennessee regarding school safety. Using a semi-structured interview process, the researcher identified emerging themes regarding the factors most associated with safe school districts, the…

User participation is a key element in decision processes concerning the accommodation of dynamic organisations such as schools. This article addresses the discrepancy between the perspectives of the architects and engineers, as the makers of school buildings, and school management, teachers and students, as the users of the buildings, and…

Providing training of safe operations and behaviors in Agricultural Mechanics classrooms and laboratories is an important aspect of the agricultural education teaching and learning environment. The purpose of this survey research study was to examine current occupational safety and health practices within agricultural mechanics programs. The…

School districts across North America are facing a crushing dilemma: invest millions of dollars to maintain outdated, educationally ineffective buildings or seek funding for expensive renovations, additions, and new construction to meet the evolving needs of today's learners. Compounding the issue is deferred facility maintenance. Educational…

Non-traditional open-plan schools and classrooms are currently enjoying a resurgence in Australia, with proponents arguing for the necessity of educational spaces that more readily accommodate the needs of twenty-first century learners. However, these learning environments can pose considerable pedagogic challenges for teachers who must balance…

Modern open school architecture abstractly expresses ideas about choice, flexibility and autonomy. While open spaces express and authorise different teaching practice, these versions of school and classrooms present challenges to teaching routines and practice. This paper examines how teachers adapt as they move into new school buildings designed…

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is a major source of economic activity within the County with these benefits extending across the State of Maryland. These economic benefits result from MCPS's annual expenditures for new facilities, its outlays for repairs and maintenance, and its spending in support of program and facility operations.…

This paper calls for new approaches to the evaluation of physical learning environments and suggests future directions for research in the field. Prior research across the primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors has revealed a variety of metrics by which the performance of educational facilities can be measured. However, if physical…

This design case (Boling, 2010) includes the challenges, considerations, and decisions associated with the design and development of a learning space/place (Dourish, 2006; Harrison & Dourish, 1996) focused on innovative, creative, and imaginative ways to transform teaching and learning with technology. The T.E.C.H. Playground in the College of…

Objective: The present study extends research on campus smoking bans by examining where smokers are violating the policy at a large university in the southeastern region of the United States. Participants: The data collection was conducted by one graduate student from the university in August of 2014. Methods: A global positioning system device…

There is growing interest in promoting autism-friendly environments, especially in a school setting. Findings to date have generally advocated an accepted reductionist or generalist approach when providing an autism-friendly built environment. However, previous studies, while very well intentioned, have rarely involved those with autism spectrum…

Shortly after the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School that killed 20 children and six school staff members on December 14, 2012, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy established the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission to review laws, policies, and practices in place at the time to make recommendations to reduce the probability of another attack.…

The Washington State Legislature established the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) Pilot Program in the 2015-2017 capital budget (Chapter 3, Laws of 2015, 3rd Sp. Session, Section 5026) and provided $12,500,000 for this pilot grant program. Grants awarded under this program constitute the districts' local funding for purposes of…

As our world becomes more and more steeped in technology, educating our students in that and related areas becomes crucial. Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education focuses on helping students become the next generation of professionals who will create the new ideas, new products and new industries of the future. Teaching STEM…