Tony Ward Education - Critical Education Theory, Pedadogogy and Practice - What is so important about Space Programming?

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What is so important about Space Programming?

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Q. What is so important about Space Programming?

A. Lots of things. Not many people are aware of how space impacts on behaviour and performance

Without good space programming:

It isn't possible to plan ahead strategically.
There are serious financial costs involved in poor planning
loss of staff time
unexpected and problematic outcomes in pedagogy
Academic Programmes can't be run effectively.
It's difficult to assess programme effectiveness if the spatial organisation is poor.
On the positive side, good spatial organisation can lead to significant cost savings and programme improvements

The Importance of Space Programming

The development of academic programmes involving staff, Government Accreditation and Funding Agencies and the wider commuunity of knowledge fields (in the form of Advisory Panels and Groups) is a relatively well-trodden path. There is a significant amount of experience in the academic community in this area. Compared to this, however, the field of academic programme space-planning has few experienced practitioners. Often, academic institutions proceed with their programme developments without simultaneously considering the amount and qualiity of space that these programmes will require for their implementation. Once the programme is complete, or nearing the point of its Accreditation, a frantic search then ensues to find an appropriate space in which to house the programme. This can often lead to significant delays in offering the programme endangering programme feasibility and sustainability. In most cases the decision on where to house a new or heavily modified programme is made in haste, without serious consideratiion of the relationships that exist between spatial organisation and pedagogical practice. Furthermore, the allocation and ordering of space to a new programme rarely takes place within the context of a critical perspective. That is to say that we seldom question how the space we are organnising determines the conscious and unconscious learning outcomes of the learners. Yet the organisation of pedagogical space plays a crucial part in the learning experience in ways that few educaors are aware of.