Learning environments and accessibility between barriers and facilitators: an empirical research on space as a third educator

Abstract

The accessibility topic is not exclusively related to the use of physical spaces but refers to a multidimensional place where teaching and learning processes are built. In fact, the learning environment cannot be limited to the classroom, statically occupied by pupils, but must also consider all secondary environments (corridors, atrium, etc.) and those outside the school: in this way, a much more flexible and dynamic scenario is configured, thanks also to the fruitful dialogue of education with other disciplines, such as architecture. In the first part of the article, a multidimensional reflection is made on spaces as environments that are accessible not only physically, but also from a psychological, educational and relational point of view. In the second part, the results of an empirical investigation into the presence of barriers and facilitators related to spaces in a sample of schools in the first cycle of education are presented. The main theme is to consider space not only in terms of accessibility, but as a third educator.