Thriving in vertical schools: aspirations for inclusion and capability from a salutogenic design perspective

Abstract

School designs have far-reaching future impacts. Facilities often remain unchanged for decades influencing whether generations of young people feel included and can access educational entitlements, especially those identifying as someone from a marginalised or minority group. Student perspectives are therefore essential to understand inclusive school environments. Student perspectives about their experiences of thriving in three new Australian vertical high schools designed to be inclusive from the outset were analysed alongside aspirations from the adults involved in designing them. Inclusion was uniquely conceptualised through capability and salutogenic theories that informed the analysis of annotated maps from over 200 Year 8 students. Inclusive environments were more evident when they were meaningful, made sense, and were easy to manage. Students highlighted the importance of choice, comfort, and spaces for resetting. Aspects where students had to work harder to manage the learning or themselves in the environment point to challenges in achieving SDG4a, where facilities need to be inclusive for all. The new conceptual approach extends current theory on designing for inclusion with intentionality in a holistic way to guide greater realisation of inclusive aspirations in school environments.