Abstract:

This paper analyses innovation processes in learning environments through a reflection and experimentation process currently underway in six primary schools in Lombardy. The study was developed as part of the Co-ILE research project, promoted by the University of Cyprus and funded by the Erasmus+ 2024 programme under the KA220-SCH action, and implemented through national teams across the project’s five partner countries.

The work is grounded in the theoretical framework of Innovative Learning Environments (ILE), developed internationally by the OECD, which conceptualises learning environments as complex ecosystems in which spatial configurations, pedagogical practices, relational dynamics, and school organisation interact to support active, collaborative, and inclusive learning processes. From this perspective, innovation extends beyond the transformation of physical spaces to encompass integrated processes of pedagogical, organisational, and professional development.

In line with this approach, six schools in each participating country were involved in an organisational and professional development process focused on training teachers to act as internal facilitators of change processes, followed by the development of school-level action plans aimed at piloting improvement initiatives. These actions seek to integrate, from a holistic perspective, the physical-spatial, pedagogical-didactic, and psycho-relational dimensions of educational environments, with the goal of promoting quality, equity, and inclusion. The process, launched in October 2025, is ongoing and will conclude at the end of the current school year.

The process is supported by local research teams. In the Italian case, the research is characterised by an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Politecnico di Milano, a project partner, and the University of Milano-Bicocca, an associated partner. This collaboration has enabled the integration of analytical perspectives on pedagogical and relational dimensions with those related to the spatial and architectural configuration of school environments.

Although the six Italian cases are located within a limited area in Lombardy, they display considerable heterogeneity in terms of local context, architectural characteristics of school buildings, school size, and the number of classes involved in the experimentation. This variability makes the sample a meaningful empirical context for the comparative observation of innovation processes.

Initial conditions were explored through a preliminary data collection phase involving questionnaires administered to teachers and fifth-year students, as well as focus groups with school principals, with the aim of identifying perceptions, practices, and critical issues related to existing learning environments.

The paper provides a cross-sectional analysis of the processes developed in the six schools, comparing initial conditions, the objectives defined in their respective action plans, and the actions implemented during this school year. The analysis focuses in particular on enabling factors and critical issues emerging from the innovation processes, and discusses their implications for the development and sustainability of practices aimed at transforming learning environments in schools.

Keywords:

Innovative Learning Environment, school space, co-design, participatory process, action plan.