Redefining Learning Environments in Conflict Areas: A Palestinian Case Study by Jenine Kotob Bachelor of Architecture Virginia Tech University, 2010 Submitted to the Department of Architecture in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Architecture Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology JUNE 2013 © 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All Rights Reserved. Signature of Author: ______________________________________________________________________________ Department of Architecture May 23, 2013 Certified by: ____________________________________________________________________________________ James Wescoat Professor of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture Thesis Supervisor Accepted by: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Takehiko Nagakura Associate Professor of Architecture Chair of the Department Committee on Graduate Students COMMITTEE James Wescoat Professor of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture Thesis Supervisor Azra Aksamija Assistant Professor of Art, Culture and Technology Reader 3 REDEFINING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN A CONFLICT AREA: A PALESTINIAN CASE STUDY By Jenine Kotob Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 23, 2013 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Architecture Studies This thesis is an exploration of learning environments in the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) as administered by private, refugee and public school systems. In considering the insularity of learning environments in the OPT, this thesis finds that despite increased school construction since 1994, public and refugee student drop-out rates have increased, enrollment rates have decreased, academic achievement is low, and students suffer from stress. It is hypothesized that if schools are conceptualized as part of a broader learning environment, then the socio-spatial issues impacting student success may be improved. To test this hypothesis, learning environments in the OPT are examined with a two-fold methodology: historical and architectural. The two-fold analysis utilizes a conceptual framework, where child, building, neighborhood context, and education system, are understood as the four components of a learning environment. The historical analysis is framed from the Late-Ottoman era until today and follows changing theories of education in parallel with the changing relationship between schools and the socio-spatial reality of the conflict. Results from the historical analysis indicate that educational institutions often cannot operate during times of crisis, leading local family and teacher networks to develop informal education systems in unconventional spaces. It is determined that learning environments must be able to adapt to the conflict and must embrace local communities as architectural, spatial, and social resources. This finding serves as a critical foundation for the architectural analysis. The architectural analysis uses data collected from field work at 24 schools in the West Bank in August of 2012 through informal interviews with locals, photography, and journaling. The data reveal that the socio-spatial contexts of each school are unique due in part to divisions of the land. In order to limit the number of variables, special focus was given to three schools in Ramallah, which is a unique enclave that encompasses within it the socio-spatial realities of other enclaves in the West Bank. Taking from the lessons of each school system, it is concluded that new learning environments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories must positively respond to the bleak structures of the occupation by becoming programmatically diverse, architecturally innovative, and spatially integrated in order to create new and less insular cultural centers of which the students and communities can be proud. This thesis concludes with recommendations for educationalists, architects and development professionals that stem from revelations in the historical analysis and results from the architectural analysis. Learning environments must span outwards allowing for an expansion of school resources, a broadening of learning experiences for youth, and the unification of Palestinians in order to improve the socio-spatial disorder of the occupation. Thesis Supervisor: James Wescoat Title: Professor of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am proud to acknowledge the people who assisted me in the writing of this thesis during my final year of study in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The pages that follow could not have been completed without the support and guidance of my advisor, James Wescoat and reader, Azra Aksamija. Professor Wescoat’s wisdom and ability to understand where I was going with my work, even when I didn’t, brought my thesis to this final product. While, Professor Aksamija’s late night and weekend phone calls helped give me the strength to stay motivated and clear headed. Funding was made possible for field work through the Aga Khan Travel Grant at MIT. Throughout my three weeks in the West Bank, I met countless people on a daily basis who shared with me their struggles, stories, and dreams giving me insights that are not often made available to researchers. I found the Palestinian people to be unconditionally helpful, even in the face of hardship and difficulty during our daily excursions throughout a militarily divided land. In particular, I appreciate the time and selfless commitment that my driver and translator gave throughout the trip. Last but not least, I must thank my close friends and family. My friends were extremely supportive in my research. They read through the 20 versions of my abstract, attended all of my intermediate presentations leading up to my final defense, and stayed up late nights with me in the MIT computer lab. My parents Shaban and Sana, and my brother Malik, engaged in long brain storming sessions that mainly consisted of my own ramblings and stream of consciousness. But over time, they too helped me to make sense of research on one of the most complex sites to study in contemporary times. All of the above mentioned people were part of one of the most transformative periods of my life, and even as this thesis writing comes to a close, they will remain involved in my future development and growth. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................................... 8 List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Introduction, Learning Environments in the OPT .................................................................. 11 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................................... 12 Learning Enivronment Spatial Framework.......................................................................................... 13 Thesis Chapter Outline ...................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2: Literature Review, Learning Environment Research .............................................................. 19 Education Research ........................................................................................................................... 20 Architecture Research ....................................................................................................................... 24 Development Research ...................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3: Methodology, How to Assess Learning Environments ........................................................... 30 Chapter 4: Historical Analysis, School Patterns from Late-Ottoman Era until Today ............................... 36 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 36 Late-Ottoman Era .............................................................................................................................. 38 Between Ottoman and Israeli Control (1914 – 1946).......................................................................... 47 A Series of Administrations (1947 – 1967).......................................................................................... 51 Israeli Administration (1967 – 1987) .................................................................................................. 62 The First Intifada (1987 – 1994) ......................................................................................................... 66 Oslo Accords (1994 – 2000) ............................................................................................................... 69 The Second Intifada (2000 – 2005) ..................................................................................................... 79 The Occupation Continues (2005 – Today) ......................................................................................... 84 6 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 104 Chapter