Meaning of Home-School Route as A Child-Friendly Environment for Less Privileged Children in old City Zone of Makassar

Abstract

Home school journey is part of the daily routine of children in many Indonesian towns and cities. The environment and its elements of the journey play an important role in promoting children’s active play. In the past two decades, many urban centers have been identified as unsuitable for children’s home school journey due to issues relating to high urban density and traffic congestion. As a result, many children are denied the opportunity to experience the outdoor environment while going to their school. Their everyday life is centered at two places which are their home and school for their safety and comfort. Therefore, this study examines the meaning of home-school route as a child-friendly environment from the perspectives of less privileged children in old city. The study observed 40 children, aged 9 to 11, from low income families that walked to their schools in the old city zone of Makassar, Indonesia. Data on children’s activities and their perceptual responses on the street environment during their journey were elicited using two methods which were free recall drawing map and interview. The data were analyzed through content using Nvivo 11. The study found that the less privileged children not only perceived their home and school as the two predominant places along their home-school journey but the street environment as well as their third space. To them, the street environment is part of their living experience which provided them with indirect learning experience toward their spatial skills.