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The Development of a Policy on Architecture for Scotland: Report on the Public Consultation

13.0 EDUCATION

13.1 Strong support was expressed by almost all respondents and at all public meetings for the suggestion that architecture should be promoted through the schools curriculum. There was a consensus that this was appropriate at both primary and secondary levels. It was also suggested that architecture and the built environment could also be included in further and higher education curricula. Respondents saw benefits in the suggestion in both the short and longer terms. In the short term, it was suggested that an engagement with issues to do with the built environment would stimulate an early interest in architecture and develop an understanding of the processes of design and of how buildings are made. It was also suggested that the built environment provided a useful vehicle for the consideration of broader social issues, such as sustainability and the needs of the disabled, and opportunities for developing the concept of "good citizenship". The built environment was seen by respondents as a potentially valuable subject area because of its ability to bridge between the arts and sciences. In the longer term, it was suggested that an exposure to matters to do with architecture and the built environment in the schools curriculum would lead to a better informed and more critically aware public.

13.2 Respondents made a number of suggestions as to how architecture and the built environment might be introduced into the curriculum and what needed to be done to facilitate this. It was recognised that, in an already crowded curriculum, it would be difficult to introduce an entirely new subject area, the more so at secondary level. It was acknowledged that architecture would need to be integrated across a range of existing curriculum subjects. It was noted that some subjects, such as Art and Design and Environmental Studies, already included a built environment component. Some respondents, themselves teachers, noted that appropriate in-service training and resource material would be needed. SCRAN⁸ was mentioned as a useful source of material and GIS⁹ and the Internet as important support technologies.

13.3 Respondents suggested that architecture and built environment issues might be introduced into the curriculum by way of project-based teaching, such as visits to modern or historic buildings, visits to building sites, participation in community projects and by involving practising architects or schools of architecture in project work. It was suggested that the latter might also be involved in the training of teachers. Some respondents suggested that one of the best ways to convey the benefits of good architecture was by providing better designed schools.

13.4 Several respondents pointed out that a number of initiatives had already been undertaken in the field of education and cited the work of Glasgow 1999 and The Lighthouse, the Aberdeen Environmental Education Trust, the Scottish Architectural Education Trust, the Built Environment Education Working Group and the Scottish Ecological Design Association. However respondents noted that, although these initiatives were worthwhile, they were not co-ordinated on any national basis.

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