Investigating the Spatial Qualifications of School Area and Garden

Abstract

In the planning of school areas, the standards determined according to the planning principles of site selection should be considered. In addition, user needs should be taken into consideration. Compulsory education is the most important part of formal education. In our country, the education system has been divided into three stages by the law which enforces compulsory education by 12 years. The first stage is a four-year primary school, the second is a four-year secondary school, and the third is a four-year high school. In this study primary schools were selected as the first step of compulsory education. When children start their education life, they spend more with their teachers and friends than at home with their parents. Therefore, school is important in children's development and learning processes. School is also an important supporter of children's quality of life. It appears that there are different, but basically similar, approaches to the principles and standards for planning and designing matters, such as the size, location, accessibility, environmental associations, and school garden qualifications of primary schools, although they vary according to the countries. In this context; In the Ministry of National Education's Guide to Minimum Standards for Educational Design, which was prepared in 2015, it is defined as Open Space Regulations and Landscape Standards; open spaces that should be in school gardens and standards and principles for equipments are defined. These standards and guidelines are intended for situations that need to be at a minimum and they are general content. Also Educational Buildings principles defined in the Minimum Design Standards guidelines and standards are available in Turkey both by the legislation and the Ministry of Education. In this study; the principles and standards that have been defined for the planning and organization of primary school gardens in international and national frameworks have been analyzed. As a result, a "checklist" has been developed that will reveal the physical space qualities of primary schools and gardens as well as their qualifications as a learning space at the same time. For the five selected schools in the city of Trabzon, the answers to the specific questions in the Control List were searched and the specific situations, competences and deficiencies were defined.

Keywords: Primary school, school area, school garden, checklist, spatial competence