Investigating student drawings to determine students school architecture perception from a desing perspective

It is evident that education has a considerable role in meeting the requirement of skilled workforce in order to adapt to the age of technology, communication and information in the 21st century. In addition to quality education, the architectural design of school buildings and classrooms is also of great importance for developing skilled labour and qualified individuals. This study aimed to explore students' design perceptions of school architecture through their own drawings, design and architectural design skills within the context of design. The study was conducted with a total of 45 students, including 5th grade students from Çakabey Religious Secondary School through a 13-week program in the fall semester of 2019-2020. The study adopted a qualitative descriptive design. The areas the students liked or disliked were determined, by analysing the structure and details of their school in terms of colour, size, line, depth and texture-shading. Later, the students were asked to design, draw and paint the school they have dreamed of and the structure and details of the school were analysed in terms of colour, size, line, depth, texture-shading and shape. Colour analysis of these areas in the imaginary drawing was also done with the help of the students' coloured drawings. The sections composed of seven categories and nine different school photos in each category were presented to students' preferences. The students were asked to list the photos from 1 to 5. Based on this ranking data, 20-minute semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 volunteer students. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The qualitative data obtained from the semi-structured interviews were analysed using MAXQDA. Unstructured observation notes were kept by the researcher throughout the study. The data from the student drawings, observations and interviews were analysed by taking the opinions of five researchers, one teacher and one expert (an architect). The findings indicated that the students imagined a school with green areas and water features, spacious, medium-sized, and not very high-rise, with a large garden, playground and recreational areas, all of which they reflected onto their drawings. Furthermore, it is understood that factors such as colour, lighting (illumination), heat (temperature), aesthetics, comfort, cleanliness, ventilation, ergonomics in schools and classrooms are also important elements in the design of educational spaces and places. This study is important because it highlights that the design of learning space and places is also effective in addition to other educational factors in child education, and that all stakeholders involved in the design process, especially the students, teachers and administrators who spend most of their time at school, should participate in the architectural design process of school buildings. In conclusion, in order to step ahead towards our goals for education to be achieved, the integration of design-architecture should be achieved; contemporary, sustainable, interactive, versatile and useful educational institutions should be designed; and all participants should be involved in this design process.