Political Influences

Nicholas Negroponte, the former head of the MIT media lab, is currently engaged in a worldwide project to provide a sub-$100 computer enabling as many children as possible to have access to educational technology. As a consequence of this work, he gets to meet many national leaders and always asks them what is their country's greatest natural resource. Negroponte reports that he has yet to meet a leader that says 'children' in response to this question. Clearly what happens to a country's children in their adult lives, how engaged, productive and successful they become has repercussions of the success of the nation. Education is a powerful force for national success, and as such has a political dimension. The resources and facilities provided by a country's educational system have considerable impact. The development of a better education system that is more effective has national importance but is enacted at the local level. The types of spaces that are developed in our schools, colleges and universities will have an impact on the achievement of high level national aspirations but must also reflect that view of the future held locally. At Glasgow Caledonian, for example, the Saltire Centre focuses on work done by students outside the classroom and aims to enable their development as self-actuated lifelong learners.

Many further education colleges have developed excellent working relationships with their local communities and these are taken into account when considering a new build or refurbishment project. For example, training restaurants and beauty salons in Newcastle College's Sandyford Campus were frequented by local people and when considering moving these facilities to the new build, they were concerned that their 'regulars' would not move with them (happily this is not the case). Encouraging the local community to use college resources such as the library was important to John Wheatley College.