At the origins of open-air schools in Italy: Outdoor Education teaching practices and the renewal of teaching professionalism

Open air schools arose in the early 20th century in Europe and around the world for medical and pedagogical reasons, linked to the rediscovery of education in nature since the second half of the 19th century for the healthy development of children. The contribution explores the origins of these institutions, focusing on some European cases and on some Italian pioneering experiences. Attention will be focused on the educational and didactic practices implemented to promote pupils' well-being and pedagogical innovation also in the various school disciplines, which aimed to overcome the traditional frontal and transmissive school model. Through images, texts and videos, attention will be paid to the autobiographical reflections of some of the protagonists of the open-air schools, who will be able to recount, even today, the personal crisis in their initial work in the open-air schools, so distant from the traditional school, and the slow transformation of their professionalism and of the very sense of their actions as educators and teachers, capable of promoting a different, happy, and strongly inclusive school.