Transforming Learning Spaces on a Budget: Action Research and Service-Learning for Co-Creating Sustainable Spaces

Abstract

Transforming learning spaces has become a priority for many schools, not only for implementing emerging methodologies but also for sanitary reasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools struggle to find solutions for the lack of space in order to respect the required safety distance, especially public schools with a very tight budget and many administrative barriers to overcome. From participatory action research, findings confirmed that expanding and refurbishing indoor and outdoor space in many public high schools is urgent. Then, an opportunity emerged to develop a new learning space in one of the high schools in touch with the research team at Miguel Hernandez University working on educational spaces since 2017. This article describes the action research (AR) carried out, its main results regarding needs and deficiencies in public high schools in our surroundings, and a subsequent Service-Learning experience promoted by the research group as a solution for upgrading and extending educational spaces and simultaneously developing students’ soft skills, empowering youth, participation, local partnerships and other sustainable development goals meeting 2030 Agenda.