Perspectives on School Infrastructure: A British Example

Since the 2013 "State Strategy on education development in the Republic of Azerbaijan", modern educational infrastructure for lifelong learning has been one of the main strategic directions in the country.Five years since "The Strategy" came into force, we are still unsure what we should invest in and what we should not invest in.Bringing evidence from a country with high levels of research into educational infrastructure -the UK-we can draw conclusions about which school spaces are the most worthy of investment in accordance with the relevant teaching methods outlined in the aforementioned Strategy.Since school spaces inform and support relevant teaching methods, assessing their relevance to their users, -teachers and school children -is critical in deciding where investments should be made in order to provide the best possible learning and teaching spaces to meet the long-term needs of the country.This research employs evidence from a British public primary school in the North East of England as a case study, where a constructivist view of education and an experiential/ hands-on approach to learning dominate schooling.Mixed research methods, including observation of the school, diamond ranking activities with the children and their teachers, and an interview with the head teacher were employed in order to understand the children"s and teachers" views towards different learning spaces in their school and classrooms.The study concludes with clear summary of each space"s use and necessity, and suggestions for further investment.The study reveals interesting facts on children"s and teachers" attitudes towards school infrastructure, as well as how their views coincide with each other"s.