Space, place and institutional effectiveness in higher education

Abstract

ABSTRACT The possible connections between the physical form of a higher education institution and its effectiveness as a site for teaching, learning, scholarship and research have only become explicit, to some extent, from the mid-twentieth century. This may be thought surprising, not least in view of the large proportion of most institutional budgets devoted to creating and maintaining physical fabric. This lack of consideration is now being rectified from both theoretical and operational perspectives. Space and place – the latter conceptualised here as what people make of space – in higher education have come under examination in recent years from philosophical, sociological, pedagogic, architectural, and other perspectives. The conceptual breadth of these perspectives makes it difficult to analyse or to theorise convincingly in a general sense about physical space in higher education – to a greater extent, arguably, than for other overarching determinants of higher education outcomes. I present here some conclusions drawing on current understandings of the meanings of space and place in higher education; how they are seen as interacting (or not) with academic work; and what directions further work in this area might usefully take.