Quality and sustainability of early learning environments : case studies of award-winning green preschools in Bali, Berkeley, and Hong Kong

Abstract

This thesis offers a juxtaposition of two disciplines (architecture and education) in looking at quality and sustainability in award-winning Green Preschools in three locations: Bali (Indonesia), Berkeley (United States of America), and Hong Kong (People’s Republic of China). It provides perspectives from multiple stakeholders including architects, principals, teachers, and parents. A divergent notions of ‘quality’ in early learning environments from the perspectives of architects and educators is the first theme in this thesis, which is explored in Study One. The growing emphasis on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and sporadic movements of ‘Green School’ in the form of research and practice led to the second theme about sustainability; explored in Studies Two, Three, and Four.

These four studies were conducted to: (i) compare architects’ and early childhood educators’ (represented by principals and teachers) perspectives on quality in preschool environments; (ii) discern the notion of a ‘Green School’ from the existing academic literature; (iii) gain an understanding of how principals, teachers, and parents of children from the three preschools perceive ‘Green School’ at the conceptual level and by evaluating at their preference for having their children being taught under a ‘Green Curriculum’ or inside a ‘Green Building’; and, (iv) determine the characteristics of a ‘Green School’ by observing award-winning Green Preschools in three different cultures using scales developed by both architects and early childhood educators. Data were collected over a 10-month period and the unit of analysis was a classroom for 4- to 5-year-olds. Preschool environmental quality and sustainable practices were assessed using the following rating scales that reflected the perspectives of either early childhood educators or architects: Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised; Children’s Physical Environment Rating Scale; OMEP Environmental Rating Scale for Sustainable Development in Early Childhood; and Simplified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. A total of 25 stakeholders, including architects, principals, teachers, and parents, were also interviewed to assess their views of preschool quality and sustainability, with regard to the preschool in their location. Results indicated that the preschool in Berkeley excelled in terms of quality, whereas the preschool in Bali excelled in terms of sustainable practices. Environmental quality was associated with the stringency of regulations for preschool design in the different contexts and a close collaboration among the architects and educators during the design process. The notions of ‘Green School’ promulgated in the existing literature and held by stakeholders were discerned. Finding suggest the notion of ‘Green School’ is contested and evolving in the literature and that stakeholders preferred the implementation of ‘Green Curriculum’ in the classroom in comparison to having children being taught inside a ‘Green Building’. Three distinct characteristics of ‘Green School’ were found: ‘Green School’ Holistic in Preschool A – Bali; ‘Green School’ Building in Preschool B – Berkeley; ‘Green School’ Curriculum in Preschool C – Hong Kong. A timeline that capture the 35 years of green school movement was created and a more precise definition of a ‘Green School’ is proposed. The implications of the findings and future directions for study are discussed.