Transforming learning spaces for child development: 57 lessons from studies in primary schools in Bangladesh

Khan, Matluba ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5546-1870 2024. Transforming learning spaces for child development: 57 lessons from studies in primary schools in Bangladesh. Costa, Ana Rute and Cooper, Rachel, eds. Design for Education, Design for Social Responsibility, London: Routledge, pp. 57-74. (10.4324/9781003429821-6)

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Abstract

This chapter presents a framework for designing learning spaces for primary schools that are pertinent to a child’s holistic development while recognising the role of culture and context in the design of educational spaces. In the majority of countries of the emerging world the design of public primary schools has been guided by the school design standards set by experts in the ‘West’ in the 1950s and 1960s and dictated by international bodies like UNESCO and the World Bank. Later on, the emphasis on ‘what is being taught’ instead of ‘how’ and ‘where’ it’s being taught has meant the physical environment where learning happens has remained under-researched and scarcely studied in the Global South. Drawing on qualitative data based on observations of primary schools in Bangladesh, interviews with teachers and experts, and open-ended discussion with children, this chapter introduces and elaborates on eight different kinds of learning spaces that can enable children’s cognitive, physical and socio-emotional development. The work presented in the chapter can contribute to a better understanding of the impact of the built environment on learning and child development by providing a framework for the design of and research on learning spaces.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	978-1032552682
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2025 15:59
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/180171

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