A visual study of learning spaces in primary schools and classrooms in Switzerland and Malta : the relevance of schoolscape studies for teacher education

Abstract

This paper introduces learning spaces in two multilingual countries, Switzerland and Malta, with the aim to interpret space in terms of social practices related to teaching and learning. The visual study draws on schoolscape studies and the conceptualization of space in education. The comparative analysis of 913 photographs collected from two schools aims to bring to light the similarities and differences in the respective learning spaces. A comparative approach is taken in order to explore the strange in the familiar context and to prompt reflections about learning spaces. Further, based on the result of the visual study, this article discusses how schoolscape studies may prove to be a potentially useful pedagogical tool in teacher education.