Abstract:

The educational value of the environment has already been widely acknowledged within the pedagogical field, as evidenced by the plethora of scientific literature on the subject. It can therefore be argued that the environment defines the educational action and, as a consequence, the learning process influencing the formation of child’s personal identity. This process allows the child to experience the sensory world and to construct the initial structures of the mind, laying the foundation for cognitive development. As demonstrated by a plethora of scientific studies, the touch plays a pivotal role in children's cognitive development. In fact, during this period, the exploration and manipulation of objects become a primary means of acquiring knowledge, as they contribute significantly to the formation of mental images and the development of a rich semantic network. This is particularly pertinent for visually impaired children of this age, as touch is the most effective sense modality for them to interact with their surroundings. For children with visual impairments, the vicarious use of touch represents a means of acquiring information about the world around them, thereby stimulating the faculty of imagination and the development of abstract thought. Therefore, stimulation of the perceptive dynamism that is typical of children at this age, particularly in the context of infant development, is of particular importance. This is due to the fact that visually impaired children, more so than any other group, require education in tactile manipulation, as this represents an integral pathway for them to interact with and comprehend their surroundings.

One of the most representative figures among pedagogues who have made a significant contribution to emphasising the importance of the educational dimension of the environment is Loris Malaguzzi. His pedagogy is based on the premise that the child is a person who, from the moment of birth, is inherently connected to the world around him. It is, therefore, essential that the child is afforded the opportunity to explore this world independently, so that he may encounter intelligent stimuli that will enable him to engage in activities, learn new concepts, develop skills, acquire competencies, form a personality and develop intelligence. Malaguzzi's pedagogical value attributed to the environment was such that he designated it the 'third educator', proposing that the quality of all children's learning is dependent on the quality of the spaces. As asserted by the renowned pedagogist, the child engages in a creative act through the continuous exploration of the surrounding environment and the creation of knowledge about the world. Consequently, he views learning as a creative act performed by the child in their persistent pursuit of the meaning of life. The Malaguzzi method identifies the atelier as a crucial element in fostering creative thinking.

Stumming from these premises, this study aims to analyse the potential of the educational space theorised by Malaguzzi in stimulating the adoption by the child with visual disabilities of vicarious strategies capable of improving his creativity, defined as the individual's adaptive mode to the environment, with the objective of enhancing his condition.

Keywords:

Key words: visual disability, creativity, educational design, childhood inclusive educational space.