Abstract:

In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for understanding how people relate to learning environments as socio-material and semiotic spaces. Building on semiotic theory, we focus on how learners and educators create and interpret value acts, i.e. situated choices that express priorities, responsibilities and ways of being together in everyday (educational) situations. The framework emerged from analysing an intense personal experience in a so-called non-place (long-haul flight), which led to the notion of semiotic space awareness: how concrete actions, spatial arrangements and material artefacts become signs that guide participation and shape the atmosphere of learning. We examine how these value acts are produced, perceived and negotiated in physical space, open learning areas and digital environments, highlighting how spatial design, movement and interaction patterns support or constrain inclusion, agency and well-being. While our primary interest is in learning processes, we argue that the mentioned semiotic dynamics always carry a moral dimension, subtly signalling what and who is valued, whose presence is recognised, and which forms of engagement are legitimised. Our analysis offers researchers and practitioners an analytical lens for examining learning environments beyond mere functionality, and shows how semiotic and moral meanings are embedded in space and enacted in everyday pedagogical and socio-semiotic practice.

Keywords:

Learning environments, physical space, semiotics, space awareness, value act.