Abstract:

Introduction:
Many statistical analysis on phenomena related to school, such as the incidence of drop-outs, the distribution of high-performance students, the distribution of choices, transitions to the labour market, are conducted without adequate geographical-spatial characterization.
Even when large and geographically qualified data sets, such as those released by INVALSI or the Ministry of Education, are available the spatial dimension of the analysis is limited to the inclusion of simple ripartitional (NUTS1 level) or regional (NUTS2 level) variables in regression models. Notwithstanding that, in Italy, in the field of education (as well as in that of the economy) a very high share of variability of observable phenomena can be subsumed under the North/South dichotomy, there are in any case many other dimensions of territorial heterogeneity which are under- explored and deserve to be considered, such as the differences between urban, peri-urban, peripheral areas or the differences that characterize territories with similar morphological characteristics - for example mountain areas - located in different parts of the Country.

Objective:
This contribution aims to demonstrate how the spatial dimension represents an information layer that can be used fruitfully for the description, understanding and modelling of phenomena related to school and education.
Starting from the relatively trivial fact that schools are made up of sets of physical entities (buildings) that can be placed with relative precision in space, it is possible to imagine a path of progressive enrichment of the information framework, through which these georeferenced entities are assigned to a space characterized by physical (e.g. orographic features, traffic routes, communication infrastructures), social (the presence of a population with certain ethnic and/or educational characteristics), economic (e.g. concentrations of productive activities belonging to a specific branch of industry ) attributes. In addition to contributing to a more correct treatment and analysis of existing themes, this opens up new research perspectives, which incorporate the geographical/spatial dimension from the outset.

Method and Data:
The potential of this approach will be explored firstly by composing a framework of spatial information directly linked to the school world; secondly integrating within this framework the georeferenced information in terms of education attainments, ethnic-national composition, socio-professional characteristics that qualify certain sub-municipal level portions of the territory. Another aspect that will be taken into consideration is the characterization of the space occupied by the schools in terms of real estate values, using for this purpose the georeferenced quotations provided by the Agenzia del Territorio (Italian Territorial Revenue Agency).

Results:
At the end of the analysis it will be possible to appreciate the strong links between the socio-economic features of a territory, its projections in terms of demographic trends and development prospects, the characteristics of its school offer, the results achieved by the students who attend its schools.
It will also be possible to evaluate how, in the sphere of education, the traditional North-South dichotomy intersects other dimensions of spatial articulation, producing a highly complex picture that we are just begging to observe with adequate tools and concepts.

Keywords:

Spatial Analysis, GIS, Socio-cultural background, Territorial Inequalities.