Growing research demonstrates the positive impacts of green space on mental and physical health. Schoolyards provide students with a daily dose of time outdoors. They are places where youth can seek respite and relaxation from daily stresses during the school day. However, it is unclear whether secondary schoolyard designs adequately support the evolving needs of adolescents at a time when they are experiencing rapid emotional and physical change. Given the rising rates of stress and anxiety among young people, this thesis investigated how secondary schoolyards can be better used as a tool to improve student wellbeing. This was achieved by defining and measuring restorative qualities of secondary schoolyard landscapes and investigating which design features produce positive health impacts. A mixed methods approach was used to structure research investigations, with findings examined using convergent parallel design. Research projects were structured around the evaluation of secondary schoolyard designs through a behavioural, professional and institutional lens. Three separate studies were undertaken involving the feedback of secondary schoolyard users (students) and expert groups (design practitioners and secondary school principals). Each project investigated those attributes and impacts perceived by study participants as necessary to create restorative outdoor environments within secondary school grounds. Student participants were based in Canberra, Australia, while participants for the expert groups were located across Australia. Multiple methods of data collection were undertaken. Qualitative data was gathered to define attributes and impacts of restorative schoolyards based on student and expert feedback. This data was collected from students through thematic analysis of student design submissions, mapping exercises and focus group discussions. Qualitative data from the expert group was collected through semi-structured phone interviews. Quantitative data was also collected from user and expert groups to help conceptualise relationships and validate common themes. A school-wide paper survey was circulated to secondary students at a Canberra public school documenting the impact of an existing schoolyard on student perceptions of wellbeing. Using the Delphi method, experts participated in two rounds of an online survey to identify the capacity of existing tools and frameworks to support the creation and use of restorative schoolyard spaces. Findings Both students and experts affirmed the role of secondary schoolyards as places to support student health and wellbeing. Its current design strengths are in providing relief from social and academic stresses through sitting areas and sporting infrastructure. However, existing designs are seen as suboptimal environments for meeting broader wellbeing needs, particularly for female and older students, as identified in quantitative findings. Contributing factors include a lack of programming diversity, design processes that neglect to include student feedback and design standards that don’t prioritise wellbeing affordances in schoolyard assessment criteria. Both students and experts identified beauty, agency and engagement as important attributes for shaping meaningful places within schoolyard spaces, although at different scales of impact. Experts focused on the symbolic role of the schoolyard in highlighting broader social, cultural and environmental contexts. Student recommendations were more specific in detail, using design features as catalysts in affecting how students engaged with the site and each other. Findings highlight the opportunity to better use design as a tool to frame a range of schoolyard activities and uses that support and promote student restoration through meaningful site connections and interactions. Conclusion This research demonstrates the need for secondary schoolyards to be better recognised and valued for the social, emotional and physical relief they provide to students at a time when their mental health is often in decline. These findings are significant because they build evidence on new ways of understanding – and assessing – the perceived impacts of the built environment through the lens of restorative health. To break the current cycle of poor design outcomes requires better resourcing, student involvement, thoughtful design and evidence-based impact measures. As growing research demonstrates, access to open space is not a luxury, but an essential service for good health and wellbeing. With greater investment and support, secondary schoolyards can be transformed from average spaces to meaningful places for both students and the broader community.
Is the schoolyard sick? Investigating the design impacts of secondary schoolyards on perceptions of student wellbeing
LEIGH, G. (Author). 2024
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis