Conference Program

Building on the Australian framework on the development of schools as community hubs and civic centers (Cleveland et al., 2023) — which describes different developmental stages in the relationship between schools, families, and communities — this analysis uses data from the SET questionnaire to identify, within the Italian context, schools whose spaces, orientations, practices, and organizational conditions are consistent with this model. In particular, the data analysis makes it possible to identify a group of schools in Tuscany that show an advanced level of openness to the community and a structured integration between the school and out-of-school use of spaces, especially as far as inclusion and well-being are concerned (Chipa et al., 2022; Orlandini & Panzavolta, 2025). The SET study (Spazi Educativi Toscani / Tuscan Educational Spaces) was developed through the collaboration between the Regional School Office for Tuscany and INDIRE (Infante, Moscato & Panzavolta, 2024). The questionnaire explored the impact of interventions funded through the PNRR and other funding lines activated since the post-pandemic period on the transformation of learning environments in Tuscan schools. The aim of the study is to provide a shared basis for reflection in order to better understand the goals pursued, the results achieved, and the contribution of these changes to the construction of schools that are more inclusive, welcoming, and innovative.
The research adopts a mixed-methods design (Creswell & Clark, 2018), structured in an initial phase of theoretical systematization followed by quantitative data collection through an online questionnaire. The resulting dataset is then mapped and analyzed in order to identify particularly relevant cases to be further investigated through case studies in selected pilot contexts.
Starting from the collected database, schools were subjected to a classification process aimed at identifying homogeneous profiles with respect to the goals declared by institutions in relation to the interventions carried out. The analysis involved a cluster analysis approach (unsupervised grouping), designed to segment the sample into internally coherent and mutually distinct groups. The results highlighted four main clusters, which can be traced back to different policy and action orientations: inclusion, pedagogical innovation, civic center, and well-being (as in the “whole-school approach to well-being”). This contribution presents a number of Tuscan schools assigned to the civic center cluster, characterized by an advanced level of openness to the community and collaboration with local stakeholders, as well as by a stable integration between the school and extracurricular use of spaces. The selection of the case studies was guided by the aim of identifying experiences consistent with the developmental trajectories outlined by the Australian framework, in order to highlight organizational configurations and decision-making processes aligned with this interpretive perspective. Based on this subset, the paper describes: (i) the structural characteristics of spaces and facilities; (ii) the collaborative dynamics among school and community actors; and (iii) the governance and coordination mechanisms that make it possible for the school to function as a civic center.