Alarm Will Sound: Student Perceptions of Risk-Free Space at School

Abstract

This ethnographic case study examines how a school building designed to promote both student engagement and safety supports school practices that prioritize minimizing risk (Biesta, 2014). Student voices focus on the connotations of a tall fence and alarmed doors that deny the teenagers’ access to exterior circulation and social spaces. The author found educators embracing crime prevention through environmental design strategies to enforce a closed campus policy. The resulting educational environment, which prioritizes students’ containment in order to secure sufficient attendance rates, leaves the teenagers feeling betrayed and untrusted.

Keywords: school culture, school buildings, outdoor learning spaces, school safety, school practices, school attendance, crime prevention through environmental design