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Building high quality schools for learners and communities
Edited by Dr Cynthia L. Uline
Portable classrooms are commonly used in the United States as a means to provide temporary relief of overcrowding conditions in growing schools and districts ([29] Philipp and Wang, 2008; [28] National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). Similar types of portable classroom buildings are also used in England, Australia, Canada, and Israel to resolve problems arising from student population growth over school building capacity ([6] Caravan, 2008; [11] Choremiotis, 1993; [30] Portable building, 2008). Regardless of the logical reasoning behind the use of portable classrooms, school administrators have been accused of poor planning ([18] Gibson and Eatough, 1968; [34] Stoddard, 1997). The pre-fabricated, narrow configurations of most portable classrooms have been described as a major constraint to the visual environment of learning ([19] Heise and Bottoms, 1990). Because of inferior construction quality, many school administrators have been questioned about safety concerns related to portable classrooms, particularly under severe weather conditions ([12] Coles, 1999; [19] Heise and Bottoms, 1990; [20] Kennedy, 2000; [27] Naylor, 1997). The unattractive appearance of portable classrooms remains a focal point of community criticism. It is described by many community members as an eyesore that devalued their properties ([26] Moore, 1999; [35] Taylor et al. , 1999). Because many portable classrooms are deliberately hidden behind permanent school buildings, their isolation from permanent buildings poses a security problem for school officials ([19] Heise and Bottoms, 1990). Due to poor quality construction, most portable classrooms deteriorate quickly ([15] Fickes, 1998). Frequently, needed repairs create a burden on school maintenance departments ([4] Callahan et al. , 1997; [14] Daneman, 1998; [15] Fickes, 1998). Additionally, portable classrooms create possible health risks ([31] American School and University, 1999), particularly related to poor ventilation associated with breathing difficulties and physical discomfort ([5] Callahan et al. , 1999). Therefore, it is not difficult to acknowledge a possible negative relationship between portable classrooms and student attitude, behavior, and achievement. In the same way, one might predict a negative relationship between portable classrooms and teacher morale and overall job satisfaction.
Though many school systems attempt to avoid using portable classrooms, growing school systems often rely upon them to temporarily relieve overcrowding within schools with rapidly increasing student enrollment....