Learning objectives
At the end of the course students will have to show knowledge, understanding and critical reflection of the topics addressed, as well as the ability to apply the acquired knowledge to the interpretation of the main educational contexts aimed at early childhood and families.
In particular, at the end of the course the student is expected to be able to:
1) know, understand and interpret some twentieth-century pedagogical theories concerning the education of children from 0 to 3 years;
2) know, understand and interpret the birth and evolution of services for early childhood and their contextualization in the integrated system of education and education from birth to six years of recent education;
3) to know and to analyze the languages and some methods of observation, documentation and evaluation of the learning of children in the educational context;
4) know how to design, implement and interpret an observation in the educational context for children by formulating answers to concrete or abstract problems in the light of the main theories of childhood pedagogy of a systemic, ecological and socio-constructivist cut.
5) knowing how to define the objectives and tools of the educational relationship in early childhood services, reflecting on it.
6) know, understand and interpret the role of families in services for early childhood and know how to define objectives and tools for relating to them.
Prerequisites
No prerequisite is necessary.
Course unit content
The course will deal with the relationship between pedagogical theories and educational practices related to early childhood, that is, children aged 0-3 years and their families. Some conceptual knots will be explored which, in the Italian and European pedagogical and cultural tradition, have constituted important dimensions for the birth and development of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services and today characterize the quality of the educational action aimed at children. In particular, the connection and the dialectic between care and education; autonomy and participation; individual and peer group; welcome and exploration will be deepened.
The conditions and possibilities to promote listening, protagonism and learning of children in different educational contexts will be presented, including: the pedagogical intentionality of the educational action, an environment designed to welcome and at the same time promote explorations, the presence of curious and competent professionals and practitioners, an educational alliance with families built in a logic of co-responsibility.
These questions will be addressed with reference to the main theories of childhood education of the twentieth century and in particular to the ecological, systemic and socio-constructivist approach.
Full programme
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Bibliography
The program is the following:
• all the materials on Elly/Pedagogia della prima infanzia e della famiglia;
• Bondioli A., Savio D., (2018), Educare l'infanzia. Temi chiave per i servizi 0-6, Carocci, Roma;
• Luciano E. (2017), Immagini d'infanzia. Prospettive di ricerca nei contesti educativi, F. Angeli, Milano;
• M. Guerra, E. Luciano, La relazione con le famiglie nei servizi e nelle scuole per l’infanzia, Edizioni Junior, Azzano San Paolo (Bg), 2009.
Il programma è il medesimo per studenti frequentanti e non frequentanti.
Teaching methods
The course includes, in addition to lectures and theoretical reflections, even the direct involvement of students through case-studies, work-group and discussions in plenary. The students will be also involved in the analysis of different materials about pedagogical documentation.
Some experts' voices will enrich the course.
Assessment methods and criteria
The final assessment of the students' learning will take place through a written test that includes open questions in which will be evaluated: a) the student's knowledge on the main theories and issues dealt with; b) the capacity for critical and autonomous reflection on the proposed themes c) the ability to analyze the themes transversally to different contexts and in relation to different situations and perspectives, applying the acquired knowledge to the analysis of interventions and educational contexts.
Other information
On the Elly platform, to which it is necessary to register online, all the didactic materials related to the course and object of examination will be available.
