Flourishing the dimensions of children’s connectedness to nature and the school built environment: a mixed methods approach

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Discover Sustainability

Abstract

Purpose: The paper addresses the review of research trends on the architectural design perspective in school built environments to meet the nature connectedness among school children in india and ensure the attainment of the sustainable development goal (SDG-11) “sustainable cities and communities” target 11.7, “provide access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces.” Design/methodology/approach: After identifying 215 articles from the Scopus database using the search string and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 137 articles were considered for a systematic bibliometric review to analyze the identified articles’ scope, degree, and purpose using the VosViewer tool. Further, the quantitative analysis is adopted by framing the research question, analyzing the data obtained from 116 out of 150 respondents through statistical package for the social sciences, and optimizing the top 10 factors using fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution to identify the priority factors by interviewing 8 professional experts. Findings: The review of articles identified 21 factors with a keen emphasis on SDG target 11.7. The validation and categorization of factors through factor analysis resulted in 4 general parameters, viz. Environment and structural features, functional and learning spaces, community and social integration, and innovation and infrastructure to enhance the natural connectedness in the school-built environment and foster attaining target 11.7. The study results in “outdoor classrooms” and “outdoor art spaces” as the priority factors for increasing nature connectedness in children. Originality/value: The systematic review identifies the need for research attention in this area in a developing country, India. Previous studies also lack accountability for individual SDG target achievement and for developing a concise study. Therefore, this research will advance the design criteria and allow the practitioner to meet the children’s expectations towards the School Environment.

DOI

10.1007/s43621-025-01441-0

Publication Date

12-1-2025

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