Education in Diverse Contexts - ECE

Cluster

Education Sciences

Description

The research group focuses on educational issues emerging in contemporary educational contexts characterized by sociocultural complexity, plurilingualism, postdigital environments, and the presence of minority groups, across formal, non-formal and informal contexts.

The group's research is grounded in an intercultural, postdigital and lifelong and life-wide perspective on education, spanning from early childhood and youth, to adulthood, and older age. The group's research activities are carried out in formal educational environments (primary and secundary education) and in other educational and social contexts, including ECEC services, ALE centers (e.g., CPIA), sports, family services, educational and social services, housing contexts, diverse communities, informal learning spaces, and hybrid digitally mediated learning environments.

The research group focuses on investigating current and emerging educational approaches and teaching and learning practices - with particular attention to their sociomaterial aspects and both offline and online interactions - that can foster educational innovation within complex and mixed-ability learning environments in which diverse languages, cultures, social groups and minorities, and modes of learning and teaching coexist and interact. Within this framework, the group is also interested in exploring the potential contribution of Indigenous and decolonial perspectives to research on intercultural education in Italian contexts.

Moreover, regarding the initial education and in-service professional development of teachers, educators and other educational and social professionals working in highly complex contexts, the group devotes particular attention to promoting participatory, situated, reflective, and action research approaches, also through innovative practices and environments.

Research subjects

to explore innovative educational approaches and practices in diverse, intercultural, plurilingual, postdigital, and highly complex contexts, including those involving minority groups
to explore the intercultural and inclusive potential of interdisciplinary research in education, with particular reference to social and intercultural education and to learning technologies and their sociomaterial dimensions