Based on field surveys conducted in Africa between 1984 and 2006, the author seeks to understand the construction modes of the school space. African school systems have been founded during the colonial period, and populations, particularly in rural areas, remain widely alien to school culture. Besides, because of the demographic and political importance of children and youth who often take the lead of insurrectional movements, school space is also perceived as a threat to public order. During the 1990s, primary school enrollment increases rapidly, and year after year, school conquers new villages, among often illiterate populations with a variety of cultural references. The school lay-out is subjected to strong tensions, external to the educational field as well as internal : because the different spatial practices express themselves and confront each other, it is continuously ill-treated. School space however continues to develop its autonomy, under the impulse of the teachers and their students.