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
Authors
Elke Altenburger, Ph.D.
Other studies of these faculty
Safety and Exposure in Transparent School Interiors: Patterned User Perceptions of Glass