Research On Children’s Spatial Practice In School Life

School space is not only the physical basis on which teachers and students carry out educational practice,but also the “dwelling place” of children’ school life.In 40-year reform and opening,the space construction of primary and middle school in China has been gradually heading towards characterization,curriculum,information and modernization.Increasing attention is put onto the educational and cultural function of school space,as well as onto children’s voice.“Standing on children’s position” has become a banner of contemporary school construction in China.In this context,the main questions this research aims to explore are: what are the spatial practice patterns of children in school life? Does current school space sufficiently reflect children’s position? If so,in what aspects? If not,how come? What kind of school space can really contribute to the development of children? If the school space wants to be a better place for children,what kind of ideal characters should it follow?Applying methodology of daily life research,this research takes H school that has a fame on school construction in S city as research site,and selects children in Class A of fourth grade as research participants.During three months research,participatory mapping,field research and archive method are systematically applied to collect data.Based on the analysis of research data,this paper focuses on 12 focal landmarks,which attracts much attention of children in H school,including school gate,pond,propaganda bulletin,flag razing platform,hockey field,classroom,and so on.The physical features of those landmarks and teachers’ and students’ daily life activities are described and presented orderly.Furthermore,this paper presents and analyzes patterns of H schoolchildren’s spatial practice.It finds out that there exists problems in H school,such as:(1)The elitism of school space alienates students’ spatial participation.(2)The lack of free time deprives children’s opportunities to participate in school space.(3)The training space hinders voice of children on spatial construction.(4)The space’s single-function and close structure suppress children’s free creation work.(5)The unification of the space standard ignores children’s different requirements for development.(6)The over-competing of spatial relationships alienate children’s peer relationship.Obviously,space of H school does not reflect children’s position.This paper then analyze the causes of the tension between the ideality and reality of children’s position in school space,based on which,this paper puts forward idea characters of school space and improvement approaches standing on children’s position.The main conclusions of this research are as below:First,this research finds that the spatial practice of children are as follows:1.In terms of spatial understanding,children can understand the function of all school space as well as the significance given by teachers.2.In terms of spatial participating,the main factors that influences children on fairly,freely and creatively participate in and interact with school space are amusement,hierarchy and teachers’ power.3.In terms of spatial evaluating,the influential factors are physical features of school space,social relationships among children,teachers and peers’ spatial evaluating,practicability of spatial participation.4.In terms of spatial constructing,children’s spatial constructing mainly shows in construction new space functions and social spaces,rather than physical spaces.It is not only children participate in newly constructed space,and there contains rich social interaction that plays important roles in children’s development.Second,the causes of the tension between the ideal and reality of children’s position in school space are as follows:1.In the current situation of uneven distribution and marketization of educational resources,H school faces up the dilemma caused by meeting external demand and innovating independently,while regarding space as a tool to attract resources.2.Influenced by instrumental space view mentioned above,the value ordering of space-time management in H school is biased,and reconstruct school space into knowledge training space,moral discipline space,unfree control space and hierarchical space.3.Adults’ anxiety on education conveys to children and presents to be children’s’ anxiety on academic performance,which is dominated by scores.Numerical ethics further construct indifferent,alienated communication space.Third,considering the present situation and causes of children’s space practice,this study holds that the space,which really contributes to children’s development,should promise children with democratic,fair and equal participate opportunities,provide children with sufficient free time and space,respect children’s differences and personalized development,highlight healthy and warm relationship.Therefore,only if the school space construction abides by self-aware children caring,spatial freedom on norms,spatial equity on differences,and spatial justice on recognition can it better serves for children.