Britain has a rich heritage of school buildings dating from the later Middle Ages to the present day. While some of these schools have attracted the attention of architectural historians, they have not previously been considered from the educational viewpoint. Even schools of little or no architectural interest are important sociologically, since the changing architecture of schools reflects changing ideas about how children should be educated and organized for teaching purposes. Documentary material relating to education is often fragmentary, and buildings may thus constitute the only real source of knowledge about the development of particular schools and can also throw light on general educational history. Originally published in 1971, this book is, therefore, not only a major contribution to architectural history but also a study in the development of educational ideas and practices from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century.

Britain has a rich heritage of school buildings dating from the later Middle Ages to the present day. While some of these schools have attracted the attention of architectural historians, they have not previously been considered from the educational viewpoint. Even schools of little or no architectural interest are important sociologically, since the changing architecture of schools reflects changing ideas about how children should be educated and organized for teaching purposes. Documentary material relating to education is often fragmentary, and buildings may thus constitute the only real source of knowledge about the development of particular schools and can also throw light on general educational history. Originally published in 1971 and 1977, these books are, therefore, not only a major contribution to architectural history but also a study in the development of educational ideas and practices from the fourteenth to the twentieth century.

This book examines schoolrooms and their material contents to reveal insights into the evolution of education and the translation of educational theories and cultural ideals into practice. School attendance is nearly universal in our society, yet very little is known about the history of the classrooms we occupy and the objects we encounter and use in our educational lives. Why are our school classrooms designed as they are? When was the blackboard invented? When did computers start appearing in schools? Through analysis of classrooms and objects within them, The Schoolroom: A Social History of Teaching and Learning details the history of American education, describing how architects, in collaboration with educators, have shaped learning spaces in response to curricular and pedagogical changes, population shifts, cultural expectations, and concern for children's health and well-being. It illustrates connections between form and function, showing how a well-designed school building can encourage learning, and reveals little-known histories of ubiquitous educational objects such as blackboards, desks, and computers.