A Spatial Functional Analysis in the Context of Behavioral Maps in Primary School Grounds: Case of Trabzon

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Karadeniz B., Özyavuz A., Aydın Türk Y., Topaloğlu G., Yılmaz Bayram Z.

TARIH KULTUR VE SANAT ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI-JOURNAL OF HISTORY CULTURE AND ART RESEARCH, cilt.7, ss.649-667, 2018 (Hakemli Dergi) identifier

Özet

Primary school gardens are areas where children spend extracurricular time. The gardens are influential on children's physical, social and academic development. School gardens should be designed according to the needs of the students from different age groups. During the design process of school gardens, the standards defined in the context of hierarchical space fiction are ignored. This leads to spatial inadequacies in school gardens and also affects students’ behavior. Thus, it is necessary to examine the behavior of the students as well as the spatial setting of the schools.

The purpose of this study is to perform spatial-functional analysis and school gardens and to create behavioral maps based on student’s use of the school garden. The study was carried out in five primary schools, selected from various regions (city center, arear close to the city center, residential area, newly developed residential area and rural character areas) in Trabzon. First, the spatial situation was analyzed according to the areas and spatial units table. Secondly, a behavioral map was created for each selected school by the location-based behavior mapping method. Then, a spatial and functional study of the tendencies of children to use the school garden, and the activities they perform are analyzed.

As a result; this work is an attempt to reveal the necessity of a comprehensive planning and design for the school gardens through student behaviors. It is found that spatial standards are not met in the city center and nearby schools, which limits the behavior of students. In primary school there are no defined areas or guiding spaces for passive and play activities for students. Especially in schools that are below spatial and functional standards, behaviors such as peer bullying, adversely affect the development of the students, have been observed. In primary school gardens, it is necessary to create spaces that allow students to organize, exhibit informal and creative behaviors.

Keywords: Primary school grounds, Behaviour maps, Spatial and functional analysis.