Chapter 5: Learning, Participation and Identification Through School Grounds Development

The focus of the case study described in this chapter was children’s experience of participation and learning through school grounds development in Scotland. The research was conducted shortly after the shootings in Dunblane primary school (see Cullen, 1996), which provoked a rise in school security measures and probably added to the general rise in fears among parents for their children’s safety (Valentine, 1997). Alongside this, commentators have expressed fear for the loss of children’s “public space” by curfews and surveillance (Valentine & McKendrick, 1997). This drive to protect children from danger contrasts with popular concerns for the environment, active citizenship and the social inclusion agenda. These current policy contexts add different layers of significance to the case study about children’s participation.