Abstract:

Within formal and informal discussion with teachers, it has been argued that new educational issues have come to light within our schools’ walls. This isn’t about forms of discomfort or distress which may result necessarily in deviant behaviors, nor students with special educational needs. The expression “educational emergencies” includes all those difficulties a teacher meet, more today than in the past, which do not concern strictly teaching programs, but educational issues arising from the natural efforts of growing up [1]. Coming from an individual and latent stage, they may emerge and influence the whole class in terms both of wellbeing and schoolwork. Teachers refer evident trouble because they stress the lack of adequate tools to cope with these educational emergencies. Therefore, new theoretical, practical and institutional methods and instruments are now required urgently [2].

This project lead by University of Verona – Department of Human Sciences aims firstly at identifying elements to outline an interpretive framework of existing educational emergencies; secondly at drawing up guidelines for the elaboration and implementation of training devices aimed at addressing the educational emergencies outlined. In terms of outcome, an improvement of class well-being and academic performance is expected.

To these objectives, the approach termed as “research-education” has been selected and developed – as a political and methodological choice – in order to lead a research with teachers oriented at training and transforming the educational and didactic action, promoting action and reflection both in teachers and researches [3]. In order to identify educational emergencies and strategies to cope with these issues, the “student voice” perspective [4] [5] [6] has been adopted. In the second phase of the project, the “analysis of educational practices” perspective [7] [8] may help teachers and researchers to investigate in depth the training devices adopted during their classroom activities.

The full paper presents this experience in the implementation of this approach, with particular emphasis on methodological aspects.

References:
[1] Società Italiana di Pedagogia (2015), Ripensare la scuola nella società di oggi. Punti salienti per una vision innovativa, concreta e lungimirante. Seminario Nazionale SIPED, 26-27 marzo 2015, Genova.
[2] Nicolodi G. (2011), Il disagio educativo alla scuola primaria, Angeli, Milano.
[3] Centro di Ricerca Educativa sulla Professionalità dell’Insegnante (2016), Un’idea comune di Ricerca-Formazione all’interno del Centro CRESPI, retrieved by http://crespi.edu.unibo.it/ (2017.03.23)
[4] Grion V, Cook-Sather A. (2013), Student voice: prospettive internazionali e pratiche emergenti in Italia, Guerini e Associati, Nuova ed. Milano.
[5] Czerniawski G., Kidd W. (eds.) (2011). The Student Voice Handbook – Bridging the Academic/Practitioner Divide, London, UK: Emerald.
[6] Rudduck J., McIntyre D. (2007), Improving Learning through Consulting Pupils, London: Routledge.
[7] Altet M. (2003), La ricerca sulle pratiche di insegnamento in Francia, La Scuola, Brescia.
[8] Mortari L. (eds.) (2010), Dire la pratica. La cultura del fare scuola, Mondadori, Milano.

Keywords:

Educational emergencies, teacher education, school improvement, research education, educational innovation.