Analysis of the Physical Structure of School Gardens as Learning Environments

Abstract

This research, which aims to examine school gardens as a physical learning environment, has been conducted in a qualitative research design. The research includes the gardens of 27 preschool education institutions in Gaziantep province. The "Schoolyard learning areas checklist", "colored matrices" and photographs, developed by the researchers, were used as data collection tools in the study. In the analysis of the data, content analysis was performed as well as percentage and frequency calculations. In the content analysis, the themes of physical areas, creative spaces, social areas, sensory areas and silent areas were created. As a result of the research, it was seen that physical and social areas exist throughout the school gardens, but they need qualitative support. It has been observed that the silent areas are very limited and positioned within the vocal areas. In addition, it was observed that creative and sense areas did not find a place in school gardens.