Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Formazione adulti'

This work tries to identify efficient instruments for the evaluation of processes of education. In particular, the final aim is the construction of a set of indicators to assess the programs offered to foreign adults by Italian Schools within the territory of Bergamo. The set of indicators allows to identify four dimensions which are crucial to understand the topic of interest: learning, welcoming, socialization, integration. For each one of the four dimensions above, this analysis identifies a set of primary and secondary indicators. Moreover, these indicators lead to the formulation of a series of specific questions concerning different aspects of the courses (organization, methodology, contents, teachers) useful to evaluate the processes. Moreover, this analysis allows to investigate in details on the problems and difficulties of the programs of Second Language Acquisition for foreign adults: the importance of immigration, new educational needs, the necessary coexistence of different cultures and languages, the identification of new strategies of education and organizational problems. As required, a twofold analysis is developed in this work: -Empirical: collection of data from the sample, use of semi-structured interviews, analysis and observation of secondary sources. -Theoretical: investigation of the theoretical framework behind the learning of L2 and of the efficiency of using indicators in order to assess education. The ultimate result of this work is the identification of an instrument which can be used in several other educational contexts, with particular regards to the activities concerning questionnaires, interviews and check-lists.

Giovanna Spagnuolo, Scenari per l’educazione degli adulti in una prospettiva europea: il ruolo dell’Università per un progetto di formazione integrale, Tesi di Dottorato in Pedagogia e Scienze dell’Educazione (XXVIII Ciclo), Università degli Studi di Foggia - Dipartimento Studi Umanistici, Lettere, Beni Culturali, Scienze della Formazione, A. A. 2014-2015 La complessità, l’incertezza e le trasformazioni della società contemporanea influenzano la vita di ognuno di noi per l’intero corso della vita. L’adulto in particolare è obbligato ad affrontare le transizioni e se possibile ad anticiparle, elaborarle e riprogettarle. Diviene importante quindi che l’adulto sia in grado di comprendere interconnessioni e interdipendenze nella lettura di problematiche ormai di natura transnazionale, capace di acquisire le categorie della trasformazione, del rischio, della partecipazione e della “responsabilità” (Hans Jonas) per la costruzione di un “pensiero nomade e migrante” (Franca Pinto Minerva) e di un “pensiero plurale” (Isabella Loiodice). L’Università, quale luogo di apprendimento ed elaborazione critica delle conoscenze, è deputata a contribuire al raggiungimento di tali finalità e rappresenta un contesto ideale per continuare ad apprendere orientando le proprie attività ad un progetto di formazione integrale della persona. Attraverso la Tesi di Dottorato Scenari per l’educazione degli adulti in una prospettiva europea: il ruolo dell’Università per un progetto di formazione integrale si è indagato su come l’Università, nel sistema formale dell’apprendimento permanente, ha risposto alle esigenze e alla domanda espressa dall’utenza adulta; quali politiche e dispositivi organizzativi e curriculari sono stati attivati e possono attivarsi per incrementare la partecipazione e la parità di accesso alle attività di educazione e di formazione. Le attività di esplorazione, ricognizione statistica e qualitativa, descrizione e interpretazione dei risultati e di lettura delle pratiche hanno consentito di mettere a fuoco fattori chiave, punti positivi e criticità esistenti, di trarre alcune proposte e identificare ulteriori linee progettuali di ricerca.
Giovanna Spagnuolo, Scenarios for adult education in a European perspective: the role of the University for a project of integral formation, Doctoral thesis in Pedagogy and Educational Sciences ( XXVIII Cycle ), University of Foggia - Department of Humanities, Literature, Culture Heritage, Education Sciences, A. Y. 2014-2015 The complexity , uncertainty and transformations of contemporary society affect the lives of each of us for the entire lifetime (throughout the life-span). The adult in particular is obliged to deal with transitions and if possible to anticipate them, process them and redesign them. So it is important that the adult is able to understand the interconnections and interdependencies, in the reading of become transnational problems by the time, able to acquire the categories of transformation , risk, participation and “responsibility” (Hans Jonas) for the construction of a "nomadic and migrant thinking" (Franca Pinto Minerva) and of a " plural thinking " (Isabella Loiodice). The University, as a place of learning and critical processing of knowledge, is appointed to help achieve these aims and is an ideal setting to continue learning directing its activities to a project of integral formation of the person. Through the thesis Scenarios for adult education in a European perspective : the role of the University for a project of integral formation I have investigated as the University, in the formal system of lifelong learning, has responded to the needs and the demand expressed by adults; what policies and organizational and curricular devices were activated and can take steps to increase the participation and equal access to the activities of education and training. The activities of exploration, statistical overview and qualitative description and interpretation of the results and reading of practices have served to bring key factors into focus, positive points and existing problems, to draw some proposals and identify additional project lines of research.

Abstract Emotions: individual patrimony and training resource This research is part of the reflection affecting emotions, to understand whether and to what degree we can transform them into a resource for adult education. The introductory analysis has tried to define emotions from different points of view: analyzing D. Goleman’s studies on the development of emotional intelligence and recent scientific discoveries in neurosciences; studying emotions in psychology; exploring their role in education and didactics; passing on to the training sector, for which we have posed the question whether emotions in some way can be transformed into a resource for adult learning, referring to andragogical studies on learning in adulthood and to the dimensions of adultity, as defined by M. Knowles; to D. Kolb’s studies upon the value of experience of the person who is learning; to D.A. Schön’s studies on the figure of the reflexive professional and upon the importance of learning to learn; to J. Mezirow’s conceptions upon adult learning interpreted as transformation, that combines the concepts of adultity and maturity bringing them closer together; and to the development of a new training theory that, as G.P. Quaglino pointed out, intercepts in the complexity the preponderant character of training in the current situation. With the results of this work we can consider the hypothesis at the base of the research as corroborated: if emotions are used in training, the same becomes more effective, more engrossing, closer to the person, deeper and more significant. Emotions play a part in training. They stimulate intentionality and participation, the desire to learn and motivate the wish for new knowledge. Emotions become a training resource if they are nominated, recognized and declared: becoming fertile soil for the process of change, learning, growth and transformation that accompanies adult learning. They come into play when the trainer involves, exploits and demonstrates his/her impetus and commitment, the will of conveying and bringing him/herself into play. Methods, techniques, methodologies, activities, objectives, tools and the way of proposing and handling them, also over time, stimulate them. And also people’s needs (of confrontation, sharing, transmitting ideas, listening, consideration and pleasantness), the way of being, the commitment, the desire for something new and different, values and beliefs. Emotions as a tool are able to focus attention, fix contents and experiences, facilitate interiorization and memorization. They act upon the profound intelligence generating true, natural, sound learning and increase the will and receptiveness to learn. They facilitate team spirit and the creation of a friendlier and more collaborative climate, generating involvement and the desire of active and transparent participation. The trainer’s role and preparation therefore become the centre point around which reflection upon the possibilities of creating an “emotional” didactics revolves. An important element of his/her training is the in-depth study of topics relating to active methodologies based upon experience, method and techniques used to create stimulating teaching. With the aim of enhancing emotions to support teaching, the trainer should be aware of most of the analogical ingredients that can contribute an added value to his/her teaching: experiential learning, outdoor training, theatre, cinema, music, images, using the web in teaching, sport… The emphasis remains strong: their use means having a good command. The chosen activities or tools must be suitable, enhancing, contextualized and used with a final aim and clear objectives. Conclusions Emotions in adult education play an important role and contribute in rendering the teaching more intense, more aware and meaningful for the people. They enter the game automatically and spontaneously, and this requires training experts to acquire awareness in order to start-up a suitable preparation path that allows one to recognize and positively manage emotions; and to study and select methods, activities and tools so that emotions can be used in the learning context.
Riassunto - Le emozioni: patrimonio della persona e risorsa per la formazione Il lavoro si inserisce all'interno della riflessione in atto sulle emozioni, per comprendere se e in quale misura possano trasformarsi in risorsa per la formazione dell’adulto. Nell’analisi introduttiva abbiamo tentato di inquadrare le emozioni da diversi punti di vista: analizzando gli studi D. Goleman sullo sviluppo dell’intelligenza emotiva e le recenti scoperte scientifiche che provengono dall’ambito delle neuroscienze; studiando le emozioni nella psicologia; esplorando il loro ruolo nell’educazione e nella didattica, per poi dedicarci al settore della formazione, per il quale ci siamo chiesti se le emozioni potessero in qualche modo trasformarsi in una risorsa per l’adulto che apprende, rifacendoci agli studi e agli approfondimenti relativi all’andragogia, come teoria dell’apprendimento in età adulta e alla dimensione dell’adultità, definite da M. Knowles; agli studi di D.A. Kolb sul valore dell’esperienza soggettiva della persona che apprende; agli studi di D.A. Schön sulla figura del professionista riflessivo e sull’importanza dell’apprendere ad apprendere; alle concezioni di J. Mezirow sull’apprendimento della persona adulta inteso come trasformazione, che avvicina, combinandoli, i concetti di adultità e di maturità; e allo sviluppo di una nuova teoria della formazione che, come evidenziato da G.P. Quaglino, intercetta nella complessità e nella risposta ad essa il carattere preponderante della formazione nella situazione attuale. I risultati del lavoro permettono di considerare corroborate le ipotesi alla base della ricerca: se nella formazione si fa uso di emozioni, allora la formazione diventa più efficace, più coinvolgente, più vicina alla persona, più profonda e più significativa. Le emozioni entrano in gioco nella formazione. Stimolano l’intenzionalità, la partecipazione, la voglia di imparare e sono la molla che determina la volontà di nuovi saperi. Diventano risorsa per la formazione se nominate, riconosciute e declinate: si trasformano allora in terreno di innesto del processo di cambiamento, di apprendimento, di crescita e di trasformazione che accompagna la formazione dell’adulto. Entrano in gioco quando il formatore coinvolge, valorizza, dimostra la sua carica, la sua dedizione, la sua voglia di trasmettere e di mettersi in gioco. Le stimolano i metodi, le tecniche, le metodologie, le attività, gli oggetti, gli strumenti utilizzati e il modo di proporli e gestirli, anche nei tempi. E ancora, le stimolano i bisogni (di confronto, condivisione, trasmissione di idee, ascolto, considerazione, piacevolezza), il modo di essere, l’impegno, la voglia di nuovo e diverso da sé, i valori e le credenze delle persone. Le emozioni come strumento sono in grado di focalizzare l’attenzione, di fissare contenuti ed esperienze, di facilitare interiorizzazione e memorizzazione. Agiscono nel profondo dell'intelligenza generando vero apprendimento, naturale, duraturo, e aumentano la voglia e la disponibilità ad apprendere. Facilitano il fare squadra e la creazione di un clima più confidenziale e collaborativo, generano coinvolgimento e desiderio di partecipazione attiva e trasparente. Il ruolo e la preparazione del formatore diventano quindi il punto cardine attorno al quale ruota la riflessione sulle possibilità di realizzazione di una didattica “emozionale”. Una parte importante della sua formazione riguarda l’approfondimento delle tematiche relative alle metodologie attive basate sull’esperienza, ai metodi e alle tecniche da utilizzare per realizzare una formazione che sia ricca di stimoli e di sollecitazioni. Con l’obiettivo della valorizzazione delle emozioni a supporto della formazione, il formatore deve perlomeno conoscere gran parte degli ingredienti analogici che possono conferire valore aggiunto ai suoi interventi formativi: la formazione esperienziale, la formazione outdoor, il teatro, il cinema, la musica, le immagini, l’uso del web nella formazione, lo sport… La sottolineature resta forte: il loro uso impone di saperli padroneggiare. Le attività o gli strumenti scelti devono essere adatti, valorizzativi, contestualizzati e usati con finalità ed obiettivi chiari. Conclusioni Le emozioni nella formazione giocano un ruolo importante e concorrono a rendere l’apprendimento più profondo, più consapevole e più significativo per le persone. Entrano in gioco volenti o nolenti, in maniera automatica e spontanea, e questo impone ai professionisti della formazione di acquisirne consapevolezza, per poter avviare un percorso adeguato di preparazione che permetta di conoscere e gestire le emozioni e con esse le attività e gli strumenti che permettono di fare uso delle emozioni nella formazione.

This doctoral work deals with life-long learning, especially its explanation for people at work in an optic that goes beyond the concept of "Human Resources", favouring the concept of the individual in the common school of thought of personalism. The First Part has the objective of examining the historical evolution of a few key concepts such as the person, the meaning and organization of work, the conception of worker, capital and education through scientific literature. The idea was to examine the essential components of the working world and life-long learning with the aim of pin-pointing interconnections, therefore places and spaces where they meet, or should. Starting from the reconstruction of the meaning and use of these terms, guide lines are indicated which lead us right up to today’s research and the still unanswered questions. The Second Part takes all of these elements into consideration and interacts them with what is happening today in Italy, giving voice to the same workers that have taken part in education initiatives and to privileged witnesses that guided us through a first hand interpretation. The quantitative and qualitative empirical data gathered and subsequent analysis have given us the possibility of answering the main research issues, achieving the objectives of the first phase. In particular we have thoroughly investigated if and how training – meant and thought of as an opportunity of growth rather than a cost; a forward-looking investment rather than a waste – when planned and addressed at people as a whole, has an effect which the workers themselves perceive. The resulting picture highlights possible difficulties and resistance towards training initiatives, but above all, the positive effects of education both for the person and for the same organization. Training emerges as being more involving and meaningful when workers can express their professional and personal needs and desires, thus education itself can become the main development tool of the same organization. In this way it is able to excite intentionality, responsibility and belonging and the desire of empowering and could become a true and proper impulse that determines the will of acquiring new knowledge to offer the organization. Those who feel recognized in their singularity and potentiality by their own organization, ask to be part of training right from the beginning in a process that consciously transforms them through learning and growth which is not sporadic, but on the contrary by means of a gradual and mapped out path. People come into play when the organization, managers and trainers are able to involve and appreciate the workers, encouraging them with suitable methods, techniques and tools paying attention to the importance of team work, therefore taking into account all those transversal competences which are often not considered and not always heeded. On the contrary, if people are not involved and their experience is not considered, there is no possibility of acting upon the capacity of internalizing behaviours and attitudes, unavoidable aspects for the generation of new life-long learners and for a vaster availability of learning. In this way the organizational climate which is created would not guarantee comfort and consent. Therefore a close-knit dialogue between those in charge of the people at work and educators is necessary insofar as training should be considered as a real tool, able to generate change and support the changes themselves, if planned in a continuum and, if at the same time the always more rapid evolution of the world of work is taken into consideration. Moreover, the emerging results raise new questions, new research requests that surely start from a paradox: how come, even though there is a keen knowledge of the positive effects that training achieves, not only for the professionalism of the participants, but also for the organizational processes as a whole, companies are seldom willing to invest in the same training in moments of crisis, i.e. exactly in decisive moments?
Il presente lavoro di dottorato affronta tematiche relative la formazione continua, in particolare nella sua esplicazione per le persone che lavorano, in un’ottica di superamento della concezione delle "Risorse Umane", a favore del concetto di persona così com’è inteso nella corrente di pensiero del personalismo. La Parte Prima ha come obiettivo quello di prendere in esame, attraverso la letteratura scientifica, l’evoluzione storica di alcuni concetti chiave quali la persona, il significato e l’organizzazione del lavoro, la concezione del lavoratore, il capitale, la formazione. L’intento è stato quello di esaminare le componenti essenziali del mondo del lavoro e della formazione continua, al fine di individuarne le interconnessioni e quindi i luoghi e gli spazi nei quali si incontrano o si dovrebbero incontrare. A partire dalla ricostruzione del significato e dell’uso di questi termini ne vengono identificate linee guida che ci conducono fino alle ricerche odierne e ad interrogativi ancora aperti. La Seconda Parte considera tutti questi elementi e li fa dialogare con quanto sta avvenendo oggi in Italia, dando voce ai lavoratori stessi che hanno partecipato ad interventi di formazione e a testimoni privilegiati che ci hanno condotto nella lettura del reale. I dati empirici raccolti, quantitativi e qualitativi, e la loro analisi hanno permesso di dare risposte alle principali domande di ricerca, raggiungendo gli obiettivi posti fin dalla sua prima fase. In particolare abbiamo potuto esplorare in modo dettagliato se e come la formazione – intesa e pensata come un’opportunità di crescita piuttosto che come un costo; un investimento lungimirante piuttosto che un motivo di dispersione – quando viene pianificata e si rivolge a persone nella loro interezza, abbia una ricaduta percepita anche dai lavoratori stessi. Il quadro emerso indica le possibili difficoltà e le resistenze verso l’intervento formativo, ma anche e soprattutto gli effetti positivi della formazione sia per la persona sia per l’organizzazione stessa. La formazione risulta essere più coinvolgente e significativa quando i lavoratori vengono ascoltati nei loro bisogni formativi e nei loro desideri e la formazione stessa può in questo modo divenire lo strumento principe di sviluppo dell’organizzazione stessa. La formazione così è in grado di stimolare l’intenzionalità, la responsabilizzazione, l’appartenenza, la voglia di migliorare e può diventare una reale molla che determina la volontà di acquisire nuovi saperi da mettere a disposizione dell’organizzazione. Le persone che si sentono riconosciute dalla propria organizzazione nella loro singolarità e nelle loro potenzialità chiedono di prendere parte alla formazione fin dall’inizio in un processo che, consapevolmente, le trasformi attraverso momenti di apprendimento, crescita e cambiamento non sporadico, ma al contrario attraverso un cammino graduale e processuale. Le persone entrano in gioco quando l’organizzazione, i responsabili delle persone che lavorano e i formatori sono in grado di coinvolgerle e valorizzarle stimolandole con metodi, tecniche e strumenti sensibili all’importanza del saper lavorare in gruppo, quindi attente a tutte quelle competenze trasversali spesso decantate e non sempre ascoltate. Al contrario, se non si coinvolgono le persone e non si fa leva sulla loro esperienza non si ha la possibilità di agire sulla capacità di interiorizzare comportamenti e atteggiamenti, aspetti imprescindibili per la generazione di nuovi apprendimenti duraturi e per una più ampia disponibilità ad apprendere. In questo modo il clima organizzativo che viene a crearsi non garantirebbe un benessere e un benestare. Quindi è necessario un dialogo stretto tra responsabili delle persone che lavorano e formatori nell’ottica di considerare la formazione quale vero strumento capace di generare cambiamenti e supportare i cambiamenti stessi se progettata in un continuum e se viene contemporaneamente considerata l’evoluzione sempre più veloce del mondo del lavoro. I risultati emersi inoltre ci pongono nuovi interrogativi, nuove domande di ricerca che partono sicuramente da un paradosso: come mai, nonostante ci sia una buona consapevolezza sugli effetti positivi che la formazione ottiene non solo per la professionalità delle persone che vi partecipano, ma anche per i processi organizzativi nel loro insieme, raramente le imprese sono disposte ad investire nella stessa formazione nei momenti di crisi, cioè proprio nei momenti topici?

Rationale. La metafora è definita come «un’espressione che descrive una persona o un oggetto, riferendosi a qualcosa che si presuppone abbia caratteristiche simili» (Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, s.v. “Metaphor,” 2017). A partire dagli anni ’90, nei contesti di Medicina Generale (MG) le metafore sono state studiate come strategie comunicative capaci di ricadere sulla qualità della cura (Mabeck & Olesen, 1997). Nelle Cure Palliative e Primarie, sono usate per motivi formativi, professionali, clinici, organizzativi (Rodriguez & Bélanger, 2014). Le ricerche hanno esaminato in particolare le metafore dei pazienti, e molto meno quelle dei curanti. Inoltre, non ci sono studi sulla riflessione e meta-riflessione di questi ultimi circa l’uso consapevole delle stesse. L’attuale dibattito scientifico è scisso in un dualismo, che le vede come strumenti utili oppure rischiosi. Metodologia. Il quesito “qual è la rappresentazione che hanno i professionisti di un gruppo di MG sull’uso delle metafore?” è nato da un gap presente in letteratura. Come metodologia è stata scelta l’Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith et al., 2009) che, a differenza del metodo fenomenologico puro (Giorgi, 1985), non esclude una preliminare ricerca bibliografica. Lo studio qualitativo a scopo idiografico (Mantovani, 1998) coglie le rappresentazioni di medici, infermieri e segretarie di un gruppo di MG, una forma di associazionismo in cui condividere luoghi e obiettivi terapeutici. Campione. Ipotizzando che un gruppo di MG fosse più aperto a trattare queste tematiche rispetto ad un setting pensato per lavorare singolarmente, abbiamo reclutato un gruppo di 15 partecipanti con criterio propositivo (10 medici, 3 segretarie, 2 infermieri) (10 donne, 5 uomini). Strumenti. Sono state condotte 15 interviste semi-strutturate sia sull’uso di metafore da parte di pazienti e curanti, sia sulle metafore nella loro formazione. Dopo un mese sono state effettuate 15 interviste libere (Sità, 2012) per approfondire alcuni aspetti delle precedenti. Analisi. L’IPA prevede la lettura approfondita delle interviste, e la selezione e organizzazione dei contenuti raggruppati in categorie. Si elabora un piccolo set di generalizzazioni che saturino i dati, rispettando le differenze di ogni partecipante. Infine, si crea un costrutto teorico sulla base della letteratura. I risultati sono stati riportati seguendo la strategia dello studio di caso (Mortari & Zannini, 2017). Risultati. Dall’esperienza dei partecipanti si evince che la rappresentazione delle metafore cambia, se vengono espresse da medici o da pazienti; il riconoscimento delle metafore varia a seconda dei partecipanti; sono stati indicati dei vantaggi nell’uso clinico di queste espressioni, a cui seguono limiti nell’uso professionale. Talvolta, le metafore sono state usate inconsapevolmente per spiegare alcuni argomenti, come l’educazione del paziente, gli effetti del linguaggio clinico su di essi e l’identità professionale. Conclusione. L’ipotesi circa il campione scelto ha riportato i risultati sperati. Superando il dualismo presente in letteratura, da questo studio si evince che la metafora sia essenzialmente un fenomeno epistemologico, relazionale e ontologico. Pertanto, nella formazione dei futuri curanti,
Rationale. The metaphor is defined as «an expression which describes a person or an object, by referring to something that is supposed to have similar characteristics» (Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, s.v. “Metaphor,” 2017). Since the 90s, metaphors were studied in General Practice (GP), as strategies that impact on the quality of healthcare (Mabeck & Olesen, 1997). In Palliative and Primary Care, metaphors are used to educate students and patients, and to ameliorate clinical and organizational issues (Rodriguez & Bélanger, 2014). Research explored more metaphors expressed by patients, than those of clinicians. There is no research on the reflection and meta-reflection of clinicians about their deliberate use of metaphors in clinical encounters. The state of the art provides a dualism on metaphors, as useful or dangerous tools. Methodology. The research question “what is the representation of metaphor provided by professionals who work in a GP group, on the use of metaphors?” arose from a gap in the literature. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)(Smith et al., 2009) was selected as methodology, because it suggests a preliminary bibliographic search, differently from the pure phenomenological approach (Giorgi,1985). The design is qualitative, with an idiographic focus (Mantovani, 1998). The research aims to understand the representations of physicians, nurses, and administrative assistants in a GP group, which is a situation where it is possible to share contexts and therapeutic goals. Sample. We hypothesized that a group was more opened to talk about these issues than a context in which a physician works alone. We recruited a group of 15 participants (10 physicians, 3 administrative assistants, 2 nurses) (10 females, 5 males) with a purposeful sampling. Tools. We conducted 15 semistructured interviews on the use of metaphors by participants and patients, and on the use of metaphors in their professional education. After a month, we conducted 15 indepth interviews (Sità, 2012), to saturate data. Analysis. The IPA requires a careful read of the interviews, the selection and the organization of the contents into categories. A set of generalizations is created to saturate data, by respecting the differences among participants. A theoretical construct is formulated according to the literature. The results report follows the case study strategy (Mortari & Zannini, 2017). Results. The representation of metaphors changes, if these expressions are used by clinicians or by patients, in clinical and educative contexts, and differs for each participant. Strengths and limitations are provided on the clinical use of metaphors. Sometimes, metaphors are used unconsciously by participants, to express some concepts, to talk about patient education, the effects of clinical language, or their professional identity. Conclusion. The hypothesis on the sample is verified. To overcome the dualism in the literature, this study suggests that a metaphor is an epistemological, a relational, and an ontological phenomenon. Therefore, specific curricula could be designed to enhance awareness on this issue, to help students/professionals to reflect on metaphoric language as a communicative strategy in clinical encounters, that also impact on patient education.

New prospectives for adult learning: generating values in a complex society. This research represents a study and in-depth contribution for adult learning, focussing upon the learning values addressed to adults immersed in working processes and to the tricky role of the trainer that practices his/her own profession with adults involved in life-long learning. This contribution is part of the literature tradition that recently dealt with the subject of generative learning and the value of learning in order to investigate and listen to the trainers' opinion, but also of privileged witnesses, front line exponents in managerial training concerned with the innovation of the same training. The path we have traced, started right from a learning analysis in its multiple exemplifications, analysing the dimensions of adultity in its finest facets, highlighting the difficulties and strong points in a social context such as the current one. The path was articulated in three main parts, and then subsequently subdivided according to subject. First part The first part of the research was dedicated to the study and development of two central themes; the first being more general, concentrating upon the paradigms of: complexity, learning and training; the second more specific, dealing with the subject of generative learning and values. We began by indicating the contexts and interpretations of the subjects dealt with, firstly carrying out a bibliographic research, and afterwards delving into their current exemplifications in the complex context that has recently been developing in adult learning organization. Second part In the second part, some strategic aspects of learning were tackled delving more into the value related to personal identity, and to the value that learning could generate in adults that are on the verge of facing increasingly complex scenarios, characterized on one hand by a specifically technical and technological request, and on the other by a strong sense of sharing and subjectivity; by subjectivity meaning the heart, feelings and personal experience of those operating in a working and social context. The two aspects just outlined can be traced back to two learning models; the first identifies and justifies itself in the contenutistic model, whereas the second in a process model, where the trainer is no longer the person who decides which knowledge or skill to convey, but becomes a facilitator who prepares a learning situation. The target group of the present research is made up of: 1)trainers employed in life long learning addressed at adults in different learning contexts, that carry out their activity in public and private bodies, 2)learning process experts, 3)university professors and adult training researchers, 4)heads of training centres and higher education institutions. Third part In the third part the research hypothesis that was born from the will of indicating values has been developed and discussed, or rather the values that long life learning could generate in adults integrated in different professional contexts or entering the working world. In particular the contexts and modalities by which adults learn have been investigated, when learning becomes important for the person, favouring the acquisition of a deeper awareness of realizing one's own professional actions, adding value, not only at a professional level, but also from a personal point of view. The search for a scope in life and personal choices. To face the heart of the research problem, research tools have been elaborated that have given the possibility of getting to know the involved trainers, researchers and involved experts' points of view better, concentrating the research into four main areas: 1. In accordance with organization/customer/ purchaser 2. Trainees' desires, 3. Values perceived by the trainers and values generated by training, 4. Learning prospectives. For each of these areas we have analyzed and compared the resulting data using different statistic tools, motivated and supported by the wish of contributing, even though not exhaustive, in the training field and especially in adult training. The above-mentioned fields have been explored from different points of view; starting from the first: in accordance with organization/customer/ purchaser, we wanted to understand how important and what role a good alliance represented for the trainer and for the success of the actual training. We gathered data by means of the ATLAS.ti analysis tool and we subdivided them further, as we also did for the other themes dealt with in the two main different areas: regarding the person and relationships and the organization and professional context. The second theme dealt with the trainees desires, in this case we wanted to find out what these desires were, tacit and expressed by those attending training courses, and which perceptions the trainers had of these desires and also which ones and how many of these fall under the sphere of the values reported by the person and organization. The third theme we dealt with was that of the values that we subdivided into: values perceived by the trainers and values generated by training. Therefore those values the trainers perceive in adults attending training courses. How the desires of the trainees to learn in a complex and integrated way were interpreted, drawing on social and transversal competences that act, not only in the professional sphere but also in that of the person. Which values stood out from the needs analysis that the trainers carry out in order to plan their teaching paths. The last theme was that of analyzing the current training developments in our society. On the basis of the interviews and questionnaires, we asked which would be the prospectives of adult learning if it were inside a continuously changing and complex scenario like the present one. All the themes dealt with were analyzed inserting bibliographic references, topics of comparison with the latest training developments in our country and with the new tendencies of the same. We were also interested in discovering new forms of realizing outdoor paths that are attracting the attention of a great number of trainers and experts because of their innovation and originality. We wanted to investigate how much awareness there was towards these new subjects among trainers and privileged exponents in the educational world we had interviewed, and how much the dimension of individual well-being in the organizations could reflect upon peoples' private lives. We were interested in finding out the new values born in adults from the learning practice and how the individual's cognitive baggage can influence and determine the success of so much personalized training. What are the motivations and incentives that would mainly influence the training choices of adults in defined career paths, or searching for new opportunities and professional realities and how much individual satisfaction could have a spin-off in the sphere of professional relationships and in his/her working context. These and many others were the questions and considerations that spurred us to search for the trainers' answers in their role of prime actors because they are directly involved in this change and innovation. This feedback gave us the answers to the questions that we had asked ourselves at the beginning of our research path, enriching them with new and original inspirations that initially we were not able to outline clearly, but above all, they revealed that in order to make the most of oneself one must play the part of a trainer and activator of learning processes and organizational behaviour.

Gli ambivalenti esiti delle trasformazioni economiche, sociali, culturali della contemporaneità hanno dato vita a un’area in cui si incrociano i lembi di differenti forme di fragilità, economica, sociale, relazionale, e di sofferenza urbana (Saraceno, 2010): una zona grigia di disagio diffuso (Iori e Rampazi, 2008; Tramma, 2015) che non supera quelle soglie di malessere conclamato che la collocherebbero nell’area della grave emarginazione, oggetto di attenzione dei servizi e delle politiche educative. I processi che hanno contribuito al diffondersi di vulnerabilità sociale (Ranci, 2002) hanno modificato anche alcuni tratti della condizione di povertà contemporanea: di questi elementi di novità mira a rendere conto il concetto di nuove povertà, una fascia dai confini incerti, di povertà grigie (Dovis e Saraceno, 2011), esito dell’ampliamento del rischio di impoverimento a fasce di popolazione prima considerate protette: un rischio connesso a eventi sempre meno eccezionali e sempre più legati ai “normali” corsi di vita. La ricerca pedagogica intorno alle implicazioni educative dei processi di impoverimento si è focalizzata, attraverso metodi biografici (Merril & West, 2012), sulle storie di vita e di formazione di quindici uomini e donne coinvolti da recenti processi di impoverimento. La cornice teorica della pedagogia sociale (Tramma, 2010) ha indirizzato l’esplorazione di queste traiettorie biografiche intorno alle dimensioni educative, formali e informali, che contribuiscono a definire lo scivolamento in situazioni di fragilità e/o a prevenirlo e attutirlo; l’analisi pedagogica si è concentrata sulle dimensioni di vulnerabilità intorno a cui si articolano le criticità dei percorsi di vita e sulle modalità, i significati, le rappresentazioni tramite cui i soggetti attraversano e rielaborano la propria storia e la propria condizione, facendo emergere il ruolo di un clima educativo diffuso che, contribuendo a letture sempre più individualizzate e iper-responsabilizzanti della propria vita e della condizione di impoverimento, ostacola la comprensione critica dei propri percorsi di vita e delle dinamiche del presente, fattore indispensabile perché si aprano per i soggetti possibilità di cambiamento e di azione verso il miglioramento delle condizioni di vita, individuali e collettive. La tensione trasformativa (Baldacci, 2001) della ricerca pedagogica qui presentata concerne la possibilità di contribuire alla riflessione pedagogica sulle nuove povertà, in vista di individuare orientamenti teorici e metodologici per un’intenzionalità educativa capace di promuovere percorsi di uscita dalla povertà e di intervenire in termini preventivi nelle situazioni a rischio di scivolamento.
Economic, social and cultural transformations of these times have produced ambivalent results while giving rise to a newfound and widespread form of distress where economic, social and relational fragility and urban suffering intertwine (Saraceno, 2010): this grey area of distress (Iori and Rampazi, 2008; Tramma, 2015) does not exceed standard thresholds of overt malaise that would place it within the traditional boundaries regarding severe marginality and exclusion – areas often touched upon by educational services and policies. The elements that contributed to the spread of social vulnerability (Ranci, 2002) – including the precariousness of living and working conditions, the weakening of the systems in place offering social protection and the erosion of the social fabric – have played a role in altering some traits of contemporary poverty: the concept of new poverty aims to account for new elements of a population dealing with uncertain borders, grey poverty (Dovis and Saraceno, 2011), meaning that those who were not previously considered at risk of poverty are now implicated: a risk related to events increasingly frequent and increasingly linked to those paths of life seen as “normal”. The pedagogical research on the educational implications of impoverishment processes focuses, through biographical methods (Merril & West, 2012), on the life stories and educational biographies of fifteen men and women who have recently become impoverished. The theoretical framework concerning social pedagogy (Tramma, 2010) has directed the exploration of these biographical trajectories in and around both formal and informal educational dimensions: these contribute to falling into fragile situations, but also preventing and/or reducing their eventual impact. The pedagogical analysis focuses on the vulnerability areas around which life’s critical aspects are concentrated, and on the representations and meanings through which impoverished people live and rework their own story and condition, highlighting the key role of a contemporary educational climate. Such an educational climate promotes increasingly individualised and notably hyper-responsible representations of one’s own life and impoverishment, while at the same time hindering the critical understanding of one’s life path, losing focus on the dynamics of the present – something indispensable to promote with the subjects changes for the improvement of individual and collective living conditions. The transformative tension (Baldacci, 2001) as part of this pedagogical research aims to contribute to the pedagogical reflection on new poverty in order to identify theoretical and methodological orientations for educational actions able to promote fresh paths for subjects, both in terms of preventive interventions with people at risk of poverty, and in terms of paths out of poverty.

The research examines which cultural and linguistic instruments can be offered to provide adult migrants with formative access to citizenship competences. Starting from the questions: How can individuals of all community groups present in a nation-state acquire high standards of linguistic, sociolinguistic and discourse competences in order to be fully integrated, that is to participate and be included in social activities in the public domain such as work and institutional environments? How are these competencies developed in an educational context? How do adult migrants behave linguistically in this context, according to their needs and motivations? The research hypothesis aimed at outlining a formative project of citizenship education targeted at adult foreign citizens, where a central role is assigned both to law education and linguistic education. Acoordingly, as the study considered if the introduction of a law programme in a second language course could be conceived as an opportunity to further the access to active citizenship and social participation, a corpus of audiodata was collected in law classes of an Italian adult professional course attended by a 50% of foreign students. The observation was conducted on teacher and learner talk and learner participation in classroom interaction when curriculum legal topics were introduced and discussed. In the classroom law discourse two dimensions were analyzed: the legal knowledge construction and the participants’ interpersonal and identity construction. From the analysis, the understanding is that drawn that law classes seem to represent an educational setting where foreign citizens have an opportunity to learn and practise citizenship. The social and pragmatic approach to legal contents plays a relevant role, in a subject which, in non-academic contexts, loses its technical specificity and refers to law as a product of social representation. In the observed educational environment, where students are adults who bring into the classroom multiple personal and social identities, legal topics have the advantage of increasing adult migrants’ motivation to ‘go back to school’ as they are likely to give hints, if not provide solutions, to problems relating to participation in socio-institutional activities. At the same time, these contents offer an ideal context where individuals can acquire high discourse competences and citizenship skills, such as agency and critical reflection. Besides, the analysis reveals that providing adult learners with materials that focus on rights, politics and the law, i.e. with materials which stimulate discussion on concerns affecting their daily lives, is welcomed by learners themselves, who might appreciate the integration of these same topics in a second language course.

The research examines which cultural and linguistic instruments can be offered to provide adult migrants with formative access to citizenship competences. Starting from the questions: How can individuals of all community groups present in a nation-state acquire high standards of linguistic, sociolinguistic and discourse competences in order to be fully integrated, that is to participate and be included in social activities in the public domain such as work and institutional environments? How are these competencies developed in an educational context? How do adult migrants behave linguistically in this context, according to their needs and motivations? The research hypothesis aimed at outlining a formative project of citizenship education targeted at adult foreign citizens, where a central role is assigned both to law education and linguistic education. Acoordingly, as the study considered if the introduction of a law programme in a second language course could be conceived as an opportunity to further the access to active citizenship and social participation, a corpus of audiodata was collected in law classes of an Italian adult professional course attended by a 50% of foreign students. The observation was conducted on teacher and learner talk and learner participation in classroom interaction when curriculum legal topics were introduced and discussed. In the classroom law discourse two dimensions were analyzed: the legal knowledge construction and the participants’ interpersonal and identity construction. From the analysis, the understanding is that drawn that law classes seem to represent an educational setting where foreign citizens have an opportunity to learn and practise citizenship. The social and pragmatic approach to legal contents plays a relevant role, in a subject which, in non-academic contexts, loses its technical specificity and refers to law as a product of social representation. In the observed educational environment, where students are adults who bring into the classroom multiple personal and social identities, legal topics have the advantage of increasing adult migrants’ motivation to ‘go back to school’ as they are likely to give hints, if not provide solutions, to problems relating to participation in socio-institutional activities. At the same time, these contents offer an ideal context where individuals can acquire high discourse competences and citizenship skills, such as agency and critical reflection. Besides, the analysis reveals that providing adult learners with materials that focus on rights, politics and the law, i.e. with materials which stimulate discussion on concerns affecting their daily lives, is welcomed by learners themselves, who might appreciate the integration of these same topics in a second language course.

Several educational models characterizing communities as environments that foster learning processes, have been formulated in recent years. In the literature we can find different constructs: the community of learning, the community of practice and the professional community. Most studies based on these constructs focus on the process of peer-education, on ways to participate, on the reification, and on the discursive processes allowing the participants to negotiate meanings or actions within the community. However, a better understanding of a community's salient features can be achieved by investigating it with a systemic approach. For this reason, we have adopted the Activity Theory perspective of Engeström, expanding the scope of the analysis from the community itself to a broader "activity system". From this perspective, communication technologies play an important role; their evolution allows to move some or all activities of these communities into online spaces. In such learning environments, members can share documents or descriptions of professional practices, discuss real-world issues related to their activities, seek various forms of consensus and alignment; and debate to better assess and determine how to act on the field. Therefore, we have conducted an ethnographic study of a blended professional community, which employs face-to-face and virtual tools and environments, in addition to communication technologies currently well established but completely new to the subjects under examination. The main goal of this investigation is to elucidate the role of educational technologies with the eventual goal of understanding the community’s professional and organizational culture. The project, viewed as an opportunity to provide change for participants (Engeström, 2008), strove also to gain insight concerning their activity system, the effects that learning in real work contexts can have, and into interactions among members. Consequently, the main goal of this investigation is to understand the community’s professional and organizational culture, in order to analyze the role of educational technologies towards the development of the community itself as well as in their real work context. The community was established and developed from a blended learning project involving 74 professionals working on animal health and food safety in the Veneto regional health system. Members includes physicians, veterinarians, safety technicians, biologists, chemists and nutritionists. Their educational objective is to improve the regional public health system ability to manage emergencies related to food risks. At the same time, the intervention was aimed to foster closer cooperation among practitioners and services involved in animal health and food hygiene, to ensure a better protection of public health. The project, viewed as an opportunity to provide change for participants (Engeström, 2008), strove also to gain insight concerning their activity system. To summarize, the aim of this investigation is to investigate the community from two point of views. Firstly, from inside, to reconstruct the community features. Secondly, from outside, through the extended perspective given by a complex network of actors and the system contradictions emerged in the description of the individuals' activity system. In addition to community analysis, we have elucidated how educational technologies can modify professionals's established practices and allow them to design new communicational structures to solve the major contradictions of the system. Finally, we proposed an innovative model of educational intervention historically and culturally based on the results of ethnographic study
Negli ultimi anni sono stati teorizzati molti modelli educativi legati ad una concezione di comunità intesa come ambiente capace di favorire processi di apprendimento. In letteratura si trovano diversi costrutti definiti come: comunità d’apprendimento o di discenti, comunità di pratica e comunità professionale. La maggior parte degli studi basati su di essi concentra l’attenzione sui processi di peer-education, sulle dinamiche di partecipazione, sul concetto di reificazione e sulle le pratiche discorsive che consentono di negoziare significati o azioni all’interno della comunità stessa. Una comprensione migliore delle caratteristiche di una comunità è però raggiungibile se la comunità viene indagata attraverso un approccio sistemico. Per tale motivo abbiamo adottato la prospettiva della Activity Theory di Engeström, ampliando l’unità d’analisi dalla comunità, al più ampio “sistema d’attività”. In questo senso ricoprono un ruolo particolare le tecnologie: l’evoluzione delle tecnologie della comunicazione ha permesso infatti di spostare in parte o totalmente l’attività di tali comunità in spazi online, a, nei quali i membri possono condividere documenti o singole descrizioni di pratiche professionali, confrontarsi sui problemi reali legati alle loro attività, cercare forme di consenso e di allineamento, confrontarsi collettivamente per meglio valutare e decidere sul campo. Da tale angolazione abbiamo perciò condotto uno studio etnografico di una comunità professionale blended, la quale si avvale di ambienti e strumenti sia face to face che virtuali, tecnologie della comunicazione ormai consolidate, ma del tutto nuove per i soggetti esaminati. L’obiettivo principale dell’ indagine è stato quindi quello di comprendere la cultura professionale e organizzativa della comunità, con il fine di analizzare il ruolo delle tecnologie della formazione nei processi di sviluppo della comunità stessa e nel loro reale contesto di lavoro. La comunità è nata e si è sviluppata a partire da un intervento formativo blended, coinvolgendo un gruppo di 74 professionisti della Regione del Veneto, che si occupano di sanità animale e igiene alimentare. Si tratta di medici, medici veterinari, tecnici della prevenzione, biologi, chimici e nutrizionisti per i quali l’intervento formativo ha avuto l’iniziale obiettivo di migliorare l'efficacia il sistema regionale di gestione delle emergenze legate al rischio alimentare. Allo stesso tempo l’intervento mirava a favorire una maggiore collaborazione tra i professionisti e tra i servizi che si occupano di sanità animale e igiene degli alimenti, per garantire una migliore tutela della salute del cittadino. L’intervento formativo ha rappresentato un’opportunità di cambiamento (Engeström, 2008), che ha fornito l’occasione per acquisire elementi utili per rappresentare il “sistema d’attività” della comunità in esame. In sintesi le finalità dello studio si sono perseguite investigando la comunità da due punti di vista: quello interno, che ha consentito di delinearne gli elementi strutturali e quello esterno, attraverso una prospettiva più estesa, data dalla rappresentazione della complessa rete di attori e di contraddizioni emerse nella descrizione del “sistema d’attività” in cui la comunità stessa agisce. A complemento dell’analisi della comunità abbiamo delineato le modalità con cui le tecnologie della formazione possano modificare le pratiche dei professionisti e consentano di progettare nuovi sistemi di comunicazione per risolvere le principali contraddizioni di sistema emerse. Infine, abbiamo proposto un innovativo modello di intervento formativo storicamente e culturalmente fondato sugli esiti dello studio etnografico

This study concerns the strategy of lifelong and life wide learning as a form of "taking care of oneself". I assume, as Beck and Bauman say, that nowadays we live in a "risk society" and in a "liquid" society. In this context, the world has become more complex and the future more unpredictable in comparison with only few decades ago. The former collective agents (workers, women, social movements in general) seem to have vanished and the prospect of a public solution to the problems posed by the new/post modernity is very slim. It is the individual who has to undertake responsibility for his/her own future. There are at least two ways of considering lifelong learning: the first focuses on personal ability to purchase the skills, the competences, the capabilities required by the market, and become a "lifelong learner" in order to continuously respond to market-place challenges and remain employable. Somehow the person has always got to learn and can never consider himself/herself a complete professional, citizen, individual but is obliged to follow adaptive strategies just to stay afloat. The second way tries to see the "positive" side of an epoch of uncertainty: if social roles and status have become less solid, it should be possible, in adult life, to have the opportunity to seek for an autonomous form of satisfactory life, where lifelong learning links with experience and original, personal ways of elaborating experience. In this perspective, lifelong learning is a construct that has to give account of the situated, historical, economical, political role that education experiences play at the individual level but also in the individual's social context. I investigate the link between "necessity and possibility" in the process of "Bildung" of subjectivities. There are social, structural and cultural bonds that strongly condition access to education and to the opportunity to find one's place into society and there must be some possibility to overcome those bonds. What are the resources that individuals can count on to express their aptitudes and yearnings? What is the role of gender differences in such a need? I can say that lifelong learning may be only one of many different strategies to respond to deep and latent needs concerning identity, membership, self-planning, gender. As no dominion disposals are given without some resistance disposals, I look at experiences of existential re-definition that take place through a fracture, a crisis, a withdrawal, and lead to a new equilibrium, where the people experiencing them look for a "second chance" in their lives. I de-construct the idea of "second chance" pointing up notions of falling, risk, gain and loss, crisis and opportunity, freedom of choice. Also, the courage to look for something considered "second best" - or the courage to quit aiming for a first place in a competitive and individualistic society is to be valued. In the concept of "second chance" there is a redeeming dimension: the idea that learning throughout one's life does not mean to accumulate knowledge, skills, competencies in a linear and adaptive process, but - on the contrary - can be an evolutionary process similar to that found in nature, expressed by the concept of "exaptation". By the term "exaptation" I refer to the ability of individuals to learn, develop and self construct using in a creative form what they already possess. Maybe this is a particular kind of wisdom. It is also necessary to re-think the role of education in individual life stories, the different weight and the different meaning that people give to it depending on the moments in which they come into contact with educational systems. The role of those responsible for educational processes must also change: there is a need for a more circular way of defining educational requirements and knowledge. And so, the research, moving from a critical theory of society and from a Foucoultian perspective (with regards to the categories of power, resistance and freedom), makes use of the method devised in Italy by Riccardo Massa and by the Clinic of Education, because it allows investigation of the latent and hidden dimensions of everyday actions and beliefs while simultaneously constructing new forms of knowledge and self-knowledge. The research participants are individuals who have decided to give themselves a "second chance": they are adult students in Bicocca and many of them have abandoned previous studies, some have changed their lifestyles and have experienced a personal crisis. In this research, narrative and auto/biographical pedagogy play a substantial role: this approach, as a matter of fact, in the last fifteen years has gained full recognition in many context (Denzin & Lincoln; West; Josso; Ferrarotti; Pineau; Demetrio; Formenti; Gonzàlez Monteagudo, etc) and has proved to be a powerful research method in its own right for understanding subjectivity and making subjective experiences more visible and intelligible. Above all, this approach, with the aim of critiquing hierarchical models, has important implications for the change of roles. It is a way of acquiring knowledge and a social action, that promotes self-directed learning and the appropriation of one's own education. For these reasons I selected a small group of adults (aged 34 and up) who have decided to give themselves a "second chance", taking possession of their own lives, and by so doing taking care of themselves. I investigated together with these people their life history and the roots of the "turning point". To carry out this research I used face-to-face instruments, such as open and in-depth interviews, into a clinic perspective. The Clinic of Education as a method that brings to light the hidden dimensions of actions and decisions, in other words the symbolic, cognitive, emotional and procedural latencies related to education, is the theoretical frame in which the research is inscribed.

Questa ricerca esplora le possibilità che si aprono offrendo ad adulti (professionisti in formazione) una particolare e originale esperienza artistico-musicale al fine di sviluppare consapevolezza, ascolto e apprendimento trasformativo. Ho progettato e realizzato due laboratori di ascolto musicale enattivo analizzandone gli effetti e i processi con l’intento di individuare alcune dimensioni strutturali dell’ascolto che possono divenire un’esperienza e una pratica educative. Gli elementi costruttivi dei laboratori, che fanno capo a una epistemologia pedagogica incorporata ed enattiva, sono: i corpi in azione del formatore e dei formandi e i gesti formativi, condizioni di possibilità di un setting formativo/trasformativo visto come un campo interattivo di esperienza e di costruzione di conoscenza. L’ipotesi teorica, discussa nella prima parte della tesi, di un’analogia strutturale tra il gesto musicale e il gesto formativo evidenzia le qualità materiali di quest’ultimo in termini di temporalità, spazialità, intensità e forma. Il senso espressivo del gesto è intransitivo: ciò suggerisce che un’esperienza formativa (qui, radicalmente intesa come formazione della persona) potrebbe non basarsi sulla comunicazione di contenuti (affettivi o intellettuali) ma sugli effetti performativi delle azioni e dei gesti compiuti dal formatore e dai formandi, organicamente orchestrati come in una composizione musicale. Nel mio progetto, l’esperienza dell’ascolto diviene il fulcro di questa analogia tra i gesti musicali e pedagogici, e il cuore dei laboratori che si strutturano concretamente come processi di ascolto di un brano di musica attraverso cicli in cui l’azione corporea e la co-riflessività si alternano ricorsivamente. Attraverso tali processi, l’esposizione enattiva dei partecipanti alle strutture musicali facilita il riconoscimento delle loro stesse azioni, schemi e posture corporei, e così anche, dei loro posizionamenti simbolici come educatori. Inoltre, il processo di formazione innescato da questo tipo di ascolto comporta la possibilità di modificare/rifinire quegli schemi e posture, grazie alla mediazione del gruppo. La seconda parte della tesi è focalizzata sul progetto, realizzazione e analisi di due laboratori, a cui hanno partecipato rispettivi gruppi di professioniste in formazione dall’Università di Milano Bicocca, condotti nell’anno accademico 2018/19. Come ricercatore, ho preso parte attiva nei laboratori; il mio processo riflessivo e di auto-formazione è tra gli obiettivi del mio studio e uno dei suoi rilevanti risultati. La metodologia impiegata è enattiva, interpretativa e critica, volta a costruire una teoria sufficientemente buona di questa esperienza. La scrittura auto-biografica e auto-etnografica, l’uso delle video-riprese e le note di campo, il coinvolgimento dialogico delle partecipanti in tutte le fasi del progetto, sono gli ingredienti di un processo enattivo di costruzione della conoscenza. Similmente, la scelta di un’analisi ricorsiva, narrativa e riflessiva dei contesti e dei processi laboratoriali (dopo una fase iniziale più induttiva) è stata intesa a far luce sugli effetti incrociati di azioni e significazioni multipli e embricati, messi in atto dalle partecipanti e dal conduttore. L’analisi mostra: come i processi di ascolto, conoscitivi e formativi si siano svolti ponendo al centro i corpi, con le loro percezioni e sensazioni, azioni e posture; come sia andato co-costruendosi un metodo dell’ascolto, tale che le sensazioni di movimento di ciascuna potessero circolare ed essere ridefinite attraverso la mediazione trans-individuale svolta dall’azione del gruppo; come, attraverso l’ascolto attuativo, le partecipanti abbiano generato delle metafore educative incorporate contattando aspetti essenziali di una competenza ad educare.
This research explores the possibilities opened by offering a specific and original kind of artistic-musical experience to adults (namely, professionals in education) in order to develop awareness, listening, and transformative learning. I designed an “enactive musical workshop”, proposed it to two groups of participants, and analysed its effects and process in order to identify some structural dimensions of musical listening that might become an educational experience and a training practice. The building blocks of the workshops, based on the gnoseological and epistemological framework of embodied and enactive pedagogy/knowledge, are the acting bodies of the trainer and trainees, and the formative gestures which leads to the conditions of a transformative/educational setting, as an inter-active field of experience and knowledge-building. The theoretical hypothesis – discussed in the first part of the thesis – of a deep analogy between musical and formative gestures highlights the material qualities of the latter in terms of temporality, spatiality, intensity, and form. The expressive sense of gesture is intransitive: this suggests that a formative experience (here, radically understood as the formation of the person) might not be based on the communication of content (affective or intellectual), but on the performative effects of the trainer and trainees’ gestures and actions, organically orchestrated, as in musical composition. In my project, the experience of listening becomes the centre of this analogy between musical and educational gestures/knowledge and the heart of the designed workshop, which is specifically structured as the implementation of enactive listening to a piece of music (I chose the Prelude “La cathédrale engloutie” by Debussy and the Impromptu No 1 by Schubert) through cycles where bodily action and co-reflexivity phases alternate recursively. Through this process, the enactive exposition of the participants to the sound-relational structures of the piece facilitates the acknowledgment of their own actions, patterns, and bodily postures, therefore of their symbolic positions as educators. Besides, the training process triggered by enactive musical listening entails the possibility of modifying/refining those patterns and postures, thanks to the fundamental mediation of the group. The second part of the thesis focuses on the design, realization, and analysis of two workshops with two groups of professionals in education from the University of Milan Bicocca, carried out in the 2018/19 academic year. As a researcher, I took an active part in the workshops; my own self-training and reflexive process is among the objectives of my study and one of its relevant outcomes. The chosen methodology is enactive, interpretative, critical, and aimed at building a good enough theory of this experience. Auto-biographical and auto-ethnographic writing, the use of video-registrations and field notes, the dialogical involvement of my participants in all the phases of the project are the ingredients of an enactive process of knowledge construction. Similarly, the choice in favour of an ongoing, narrative and reflexive analysis of the contexts and processes carried out in each workshop (after a more inductive initial phase) was meant to highlight the cross-effects of multiple and entangled actions and meanings, performed by the participants and the conductor. The analysis has highlighted: 1) a knowing process that places at the center the body with its perceptions and feelings, the actions and postures; 2) the enactive co-construction of a listening method, such that the movement feelings of each could loop, contaminate and be refined through the mediation of a group action; 3) the generative process carried out by the participants, through the enactive listening, of some embodied educational metaphors thanks to which they could contact some structural elements of a competence to educate.

La ricerca indaga i contributi che il training psicofisico del funambolo, quale pratica volta alla sperimentazione dell’equilibrio in condizioni precarie (Petit,2014), potrebbe apportare al percorso di formazione dell’educatore, che necessita di un equilibrio posturale per esercitare la sua professionalità (Gamelli, 2015). Da una revisione della letteratura sembra infatti emergere una duplice istanza: da una parte la necessità di riabilitare il corpo nei contesti dell’educare, a fronte di un predominio ancora significativo della sfera intellettiva sui sensi e la corporeità, per equilibrare il corpo e la mente dell’educatore (Cunti, 2015); dall’altra, se in aumento sono gli studi tesi a valorizzare le componenti educative insite nelle arti circensi (Beauthier, Dubois & Lemenu, 2016), una riflessione sui contributi pedagogici che la disciplina del funambolismo potrebbe apportare nel percorso di formazione degli educatori, sembra mancare. È da queste premesse che l’indagine, di natura qualitativa, muove la sua domanda. Una ricerca interessata a guardare al processo formativo dell’educatore come un training psicofisico (Massa, 2001) per il disciplinamento della propria postura. Domanda che si è scelta di esplorare, attraverso il contesto del funambolismo, in quanto disciplina performativa che mediante una padronanza dell’intero corpo-mente sembra condurre a una differente qualità di presenza (Antonacci,2012c). Il disegno di ricerca, sensibile alla relazione tra educazione, dimensione corporea e arti performative e a una filosofia fenomenologica della ricerca che attribuisce alla postura del ricercatore (Mortari, 2007) un ruolo fondamentale nel processo di comprensione del fenomeno indagato, riconosce nel metodo fenomenologico-ermeneutico (van Manen,1990) una possibile via per attraversare, significare e interpretare l’oggetto indagato e i dati raccolti. Tale metodologia ha infatti consentito da una parte di osservare l’esperienza - il training psicofisico - dall’altra di recepire le parole, i vissuti e le rappresentazioni simboliche dei partecipanti e della ricercatrice, a sua volta coinvolta. La strategia dello studio di caso multiplo (Yin, 2005) è risultata vantaggiosa in quanto ha consentito di far luce su due singolari contesti. Il primo svolto presso la National Circus School (Montréal), istituto di eccellenza mondiale per la formazione di performer circensi, mediante la documentazione di un training su filo teso esperito da due allievi. Il secondo con il funambolo Loreni, unico performer italiano a camminare a grandi altezze su cavo d’acciaio, mediante la documentazione di un training su filo teso da lui condotto in occasione di tre percorsi formativi rivolti a futuri educatori (Milano-Bicocca) e sperimentato al contempo dalla ricercatrice (Dojo Hokuzuiko, Torino). Congiuntamente all’osservazione etnografica e alle interviste, ci si è avvalsi del linguaggio iconico e poetico come strumento di rilevazione dati, per esplorare le rappresentazioni simboliche dei partecipanti legate alle immagini dell’equilibrio e del filo teso (Cahnmann-Taylor & Siegesmund, 2008), considerando tutto il materiale come testo da interpretare. È coerentemente con la metodologia scelta che si è riconosciuto nel metodo fenomenologico-ermeneutico una possibile prospettiva con cui analizzare i temi emergenti, denominati Parole Maestre (Petit,2014), le essenze della tradizione fenomenologica, individuate quali direzioni semantiche centrali relativamente alla postura dell’educatore e rintracciate, congiuntamente, nella letteratura scientifica. Dalla significazione e interpretazione del materiale raccolto, infine, ci si è proposti di estrarre riflessioni teoriche e strumenti operativi con l’intento di contribuire alla ricerca sulla formazione degli educatori mediante l'esercizio di una postura educativa con-centrata, radicata al suolo e in espansione verso l’alto e l’altro al contempo.
The study inquires the possible contributions of the tightrope walker’s psychophysical training to the formation path of the educator. The tightrope walker’s psychophysical training is a practice that allows the experimentation of balance in precarious conditions (Petit, 2014) and the educator needs postural balance in order to exercise his practice (Gamelli, 2015). The literature shows two main issues: on one hand we find the need to rehabilitate the body in educational contexts as a mean to balance the body and the mind of the educator (Cunti, 2015) in a field where the intellectual sphere still has a predominance over sensorial and Embodied experiences. On the other hand, despite the increasing number of studies that recognise the inherent educational component of the circus arts (Beauthier, Dubois & Lemenu, 2016) we find that there is a missing analysis on the pedagogic contributions that tightrope walking discipline can bring to the educational training of educators. Because of these preconditions, this qualitative research is interested in observing the process to the educators' path as a psychophysical training (Massa, 2001) that can discipline one’s body and mental posture. This research decided to explore this process through tightrope walking because it is a performing art that can bring the artist to a new quality of presence through the mastery of the body-mind setting (Antonacci, 2012c). The study considers the connection between Embodied education, performing arts and the phenomenological philosophy of the research. This gives to the posture of the researcher (Mortari, 2007) a fundamental role in the process of understanding the inquiry. Moreover, this study sees in the phenomenological and hermeneutic method (van Manen, 1990) a possible way to give meaning and interpret the inquired subject and the data gathered. Such methodology has allowed the researcher to both observe the experience, a psychophysical training, and to acknowledge the words, the experiences and symbolic representations of the participants, among whom the researcher herself was included. The use of the multiple case study strategy (Yin, 2005) has proven to be useful as it allowed to analyze two peculiar contexts. The first at the National Circus School in Montréal, a world excellence institute for training circus performers, by documenting a tightrope walking training for two students. The second one with the tightrope walker Loreni, the only Italian performer to walk at high heights on steel rope, by documenting three different workshops for future educators where he conducted a tightrope training at Milano-Bicocca University. The researcher also practiced and trained with Loreni in Dojo Hokuzioko, Torino. Additionally to ethnographic observation and interviews, this inquiry uses iconic and poetic language as a mean to gather data in order to explore the participants' symbolic representations linked to the images of balance and of the tightrope (Cahnmann-Taylor & Siegesmund, 2008), and it considered all of the gathered material as text to interpret. Coherently with the chosen methodology, the researcher found the phenomenological-hermeneutic method to be a perspective to use to analyse the emerging themes, called Parole Maestre (Petit, 2014), that are the essences of the phenomenological tradition and that can be identified as central semantic directions regarding the educator’s posture and that can be also found in the scientific literature. Lastly, during the interpretation and understanding of the gathered data, the researcher decided to extract theoretical considerations and operative tools with the intent of bringing her contribution to the research of the educators' training path through the exercise of an educative concentrated posture, rooted to the ground and expanding concurrently high and towards the other.

This study focuses on existential questions that children pose during their preschool years in early education settings. It aims to identify areas of interest within ECECs, so as to analyze their significance; to document the interaction modes adopted by the subjects involved regarding those themes which adults consider to be difficult topics for dialogue with children; to test a few survey tools for studying the conversations between children and between children and adults. The empirical part consists in an exploratory study involving children, parents and educators within two ECEC services in the province of Milan. The research method has been chosen to encourage dialogue between descriptions and interpretation. Descriptive data (the daily practices utilized in the school context) and the interpretations and experiences of the subjects have been considered. The voices of the different protagonists have been gathered through interviews and group conversations, triggered by verbal and visual stimuli, and especially using illustrated books and stories as one of the main sources familiar and available to children which they turn to in an effort to find meaning in their experiences. Observations regarding typical conversations between the teachers and the children have also been collected and discussed. Dialogue has been the tool to address the complexity of the subject. The constant intertwining of voices and stimuli have allowed it to become an important part of the study, both in terms of epistemological reflection (tied to the type of awareness emerging from the survey) and methodological reflection (linked to the search for appropriate strategies for encouraging the participation by the different subjects). The discussion of results emphasizes the lack of specific studies on these themes within ECEC during the period when children spend most of their time in contexts characterized by a plurality of values, deeply involved in and linked to their process of awareness. This study evidences the importance of including these themes in ECEC pedagogy, research and professional development.

Il metodo formativo, che viene presentato in questa ricerca, fonda il pensiero su un oggetto, di conoscenza ed esperienza, che è l’arte contemporanea, e costruisce il processo su una metafora, che è il comportamento generato dalla rappresentazione dell’idea tramite l’arte. Nel primo capitolo si sono affrontati i significati dell’arte in relazione alle sue potenzialità semantiche, storico-antropologiche, educative e formative, cercando i collegamenti tra strutture del pensiero visivo e sviluppo delle intelligenze, collegamenti che si rafforzano quando l’obiettivo del conoscere non sia l’arte, ma sia l’arte lo strumento utilizzato per raggiungere obiettivi diversi, come l’innovazione e la creatività. Il capitolo secondo porta un caso esemplare a testimonianza di queste potenzialità e di questi collegamenti. Il terzo capitolo descrive e dimostra altri due casi sperimentati con il target individuato dalla ricerca. Nel quarto capitolo si dimostra come possa l’arte contemporanea diventare mezzo generativo di forme di apprendimento adulto, a partire dal target manageriale di riferimento. Il percorso formativo tramite l’arte contemporanea vuole crescere le potenzialità creative in tutte le intelligenze, nella ricerca di innovazione.
The training method, which is presented in this study, based on an object, thought, knowledge and experience, which is the contemporary art and the process builds on a metaphor that is the behavior generated by the representation of the idea through the art. The first chapter discusses the meanings of art are in relation to its potential semantic, historical anthropology, education and training and look for links between the structure of visual thinking and development of intelligence, connections that reinforce the goal of knowing when not is art, but art is the tool used to achieve different objectives, such as innovation and creativity. The second chapter takes a case study as evidence of the potential, of these links. The third chapter describes and demonstrates the other two cases tested with the target identified by the research. In the fourth chapter shows how contemporary art can become a means of generative forms of adult learning, from the target management reference. The training course through contemporary art wants to grow the creative potential in all minds, in the search for innovation.