Architecture of primary schools in Serbia in the 21st century: A critical appraisal

Abstract

Since 2000, when education reform in Serbia began education goals, teachers’ training, curriculum and teaching/learning methods have been modernised and improved. However, a closer examination of the schools built from 2000 onwards reveals that architectural design of primary schools rests on standardised school design schemes from socialist Yugoslavian period, and it is not developed in synchrony with the latest education reform changes. This article presents the developments in the field of primary school design in Serbia from 2000 until today and explains their historical precedents. It also reviews contemporary international research that criticises standardised school designs due to the ever-progressing understanding of how pupils learn and develop. This article ends by proposing the necessary steps for developing a 21st-century school design strategy for Serbia, as well as what should such strategy entail.

Keywords

Architectural design education reform Serbia 21st-century primary schools

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adžic

(1924). Poljska učionica [Outdoor classroom]. Beograd, Serbia: Štampa grafickog zavoda ‘Makarije’.

Aleksić

Lj.

Kosorić

(2011). Solar energy for kids: Design of primary school ‘Dragojlo Dudić’ upgrade in Belgrade. Izgradnja, 65, 671–680.

Bajbutović

(1983). Arhitektura školske zgrade [Architecture of school buildings]. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Svjetlost.

Baylon

(1958). Školske zgrade [School buildings]. Beograd, Serbia: Građevinska knjiga.

Brauns

(2007). Auf dem Weg zu einer Paedagogischen Architecture – Dokumentation des Schulbaukongress 2007 in Düsseldorf [On the way to a pedagogic architecture – Documents from the school building congress 2007 in Düsseldorf]. Retrieved from www.adz-netzwerk.de/files/docs/brauns_paedagogische_architektur.pdf.

Brković

(2013a). Savremene obrazovne ustanove – Koraci ka ekološkoj održivosti [Contemporary educational institutions – Steps towards environmental sustainability]. Izgradnja, 67, 564–573.

Brković

(2013b). Sustainable schools as the ‘third teacher’: Creating a design framework for sustainable schools in Serbia, learning from practices in England, Germany and Spain (PhD thesis). University of Sheffield. Retrieved from http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/4513/.

Brković

Milošević

(2012a). Architects’ perspective on sustainability in Serbia: Establishing key topics. SPATIUM International Review, 28, 60–66.

Brković

Milošević

(2012b). Sustainable schools as 3D textbooks: Safeguards of environmental sustainability. FACTA UNIVERSITATIS: Series Architecture and Civil Engineering, 10, 179–191.

10.

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. (2013). Ganztagsschulen – das ‘Investitionsprogramm Zukunft Bildung und Betreuung’ [All day schools – The investment programme ‘The Future of Education and Care’]. Retrieved from www.bmbf.de/en/1125.php.

11.

Casey

(1996). How to get from space to place in a fairly short stretch of time. In Basso

Feld

(Eds.), Senses of place (pp. 13–52). Sante Fe, NM: School of American Research Press.

12.

Cleveland

Fisher

(2014). The evaluation of physical learning environments: A critical review of the literature. Learning Environments Research, 17, 1–28.

13.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. (2006). Design review: How CABE evaluates quality in architecture and urban design? London, England: Author. Retrieved from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118095356/http:/www.cabe.org.uk/files/design-review.pdf.

14.

Cousin

(2006, December). Planet 17 – An introduction to threshold concept. Retrieved from www.neillthew.typepad.com/files/threshold-concepts-1.pdf.

15.

Department for Children, Schools and Families. (2010). Evaluation of building schools for the future (BSF): 3rd annual report. London, England: Author.

16.

Department for Education and Skills. (2003). Building schools for the future: Consultation on a new approach to capital investment. Annesley, UK: Author.

17.

Design Quality Indicators. (2014). DQI for education: Guidance. Retrieved from http://www.dqi.org.uk/perch/resources/dqi-schools-guidance-copy.pdf.

18.

Erwin

J. C.

(2004). The classroom of choice: Giving students what they need and getting what you want. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

19.

European Investment Bank. (2014). The European Investment Bank in the Danube Region. Luxemburg City, Luxemburg: Author. Retrieved from http://www.eib.org/attachments/country/the_eib_in_the_danube_region_en.pdf.

20.

Fischer

Holtappels

H. G.

Klieme

Rauschenbach

Stecher

Züchner

(Hrsg.) . (2011). Ganztagsschule: Entwicklung, Qualität, Wirkungen. Längsschnittbefunde der Studie zur Entwicklung von Ganztagsschulen [The all-day school: Development and impact – Results of the study on the development of all-day schools 2005–2010]. Weinheim, Germany: Juventa.

21.

Gaia Architects. (2005). Design and construction of sustainable schools, Vol. 01: Lessons from school buildings in Norway and Germany. Glasgow, Scotland: The Lighthouse.

22.

Gruenewald

(2003). Foundations of place: A multidisciplinary framework for place-conscious education. American Educational Research Journal, 40, 619–654.

23.

Hertzberger

(2008). Space and learning. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Uitgeverij 010 Publishers.

24.

Hille

R. T.

(2011). Modern school: A century of design for education. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

25.

Ivić

Pešikan

Antić

(2002). Active learning 2. Novi Sad, Serbia: Institute of Psychology.

26.

Jones

P. B.

(2000). Guenter Benisch. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser.

27.

Kahl

(2009a). The third teacher: The discovery of space and time in schools. In Hamburg

IBA

(Ed.), Metropolis: Education (pp. 206–217). Berlin, Germany: Jovis Verlag.

28.

Kahl

(2009b, June 28). Trainingskamp oder Zukunftwerkstatt – Was woollen wir von der Schulbildung? [Training camp or workshop for the future – What do we want from education?]. Arhiv der Zukunft. Retrieved from http://www.adz-netzwerk.de/Trainingscamp-oder-Zukunftswerkstatt.php.

29.

Kleut

(2005). Elementary school in Palilula. Nasleđe, 6, 119–126.

30.

Lippman

P. C.

(2010). Evidence based design of Elementary and Secondary schools. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

31.

Malone

(2007). Child space: An anthropological exploration of young people’s use of space. New Delhi, India: Concept Publishing.

32.

Markus

T. A.

(1993). Buildings and power: Freedom and control in the origin of modern building types. London, England: Routledge.

33.

Markus

T. A.

(1996). Early 19th century school space and ideology. Pedagogica Historia, 32(1), 9–50.

34.

Mommen-Henneberger

(2010, January 27). Schulen sind pädagogisch wenig wertvoll [Schools are pedagogically little valuable]. Tagesspiegel. Retrieved from www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/schule/schulen-sind-paedagogisch-wenigwertvoll/1671256.html.

35.

Nova osnovna škola u Zemunu [New school in Zemun]. (2009, September 8). B92. Retrieved from www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2009&mm=09&dd=08&nav_id=380341.

36.

Official Gazette RS no. 55/2013. (2013). Zakon o osnovnom obrazovanju i vaspitanju [Law on primary education and upbringing]. Belgrade, Serbia: Official Gazette.

37.

Official Gazette RS no. 72/2009, 52/2011 i 55/2013. (2013). Zakon o osnovama sistema obrazovanja i vaspitanja [Law on foundation of the educational system]. Belgrade, Serbia: Official Gazette.

38.

Official Gazette RS no. 107/2012. (2012). Strategija razvoja obrazovanja u Srbiji do 2020. godine [Strategy of education development in Serbia to 2020]. Belgrade, Serbia: Official Gazette.

39.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2009, May). International pilot study on the Evaluation of Quality in Educational Spaces (EQES), user manual final version. OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/edu/innovation-education/evaluatingqualityineducationalfacilities.htm.

40.

Power

(2003). Schools for the future: Inner city secondary education exemplar. Architectural Research Quarterly, 7, 262–279.

41.

Price Waterhouse Coopers. (2007). Evaluation of building schools for the future: 1st annual report. London, England: Department for Education and Skills.

42.

Project Implementation Unit – Research and Development Ltd. Belgrade. (2015). School modernisation programme. Retrieved from http://www.piu.rs/projects.php?id=34.

43.

Tanić

Kondić

Kostić

(2010). Functional implications of the elementary schools architectonic plan form. Facta Universitatis, Series: Architecture and Civil Engineering, 8, 345–352.

44.

Tanić

Kondić

Stanković

(2011). Spatial disposition of social facilities in the primary school organisation. Facta Universitatis, Series: Architecture and Civil Engineering, 9, 325–333.

45.

United Nations Children’s Fund. (2001). Primary education in the federal republic of Yugoslavia: Analysis and recommendations. Belgrade, Serbia: Author.

46.

Walden

(Ed.). (2009). Schools for the future: Design proposals from architectural psychology. Goettingen, Germany: Hogrefe.

47.

Wernick

Miller

J. F.

Metzger

Hansmann

& HMFM Architects. (2007). Prototype schools designs: Can prototypes be used successfully? Scottsdale, AZ: Council for Educational Facility Planners International.

48.

Wolfe

Rivlin

L. G.

(1987). The institutions in children’s lives. In Weinstein

C. S.

David

T. G.

(Eds.), Spaces for children: The built environment and the child development (pp. 89–114). New York, NY: Plenum.