Learning objectives
At the end of the course, students should have:
• knowledge and understanding of the concept of childhood and of the main evolutions of this concept in corrispondence with the evolution of family models;
• knowledge and understanding of children’s policies and services from a comparative and diachronic perspective;
• developed critical analysis skills with respect to strategies and policies in relation to the field of children’s services;
• developed communication skills in terms of knowing and using the appropriate terminology for defining and analyzing strategies and policies to support families and children, and measures and services put in place to implement these policies
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge in sociology
Course unit content
The course intends to provide a framing of the concept of childhood and the evolution of the view of childhood in light of transformations in family models. Subsequently, trends in children’s policies will be presented from a comparative perspective at the European level and in Italy in order to analyse the different rationale behind the development and transformation of these policies. The intent is to provide students with keys to understanding the global framework in which these transformations have taken place, as well as the implications for work in services. In this regard, specific attention will be placed on the implications for work in services of different intervention rationales.
Full programme
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Bibliography
The teaching material, both for attending and non-attending students includes:
1. Sabatinelli, S., Politiche per crescere. La prima infanzia tra cura e investimento sociale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016;
2. Readings identified by the lecturer and uploaded on Elly platform.
Slides used during the lectures and uploaded on the Elly platform are also an integral part of the teaching materials.
Students are warned against disseminating course materials (slides, articles) and notes associated with the lecturer’s name outside Unipr.
Teaching methods
The teaching activity will take place in presence and will be conducted:
• partly with lectures, in any case by promoting the exchanges with the students also through the discussion of concrete case studies;
• partly through discussions on topics and researches, exercises and group works.
During the lectures, slides will be projected and materials for discussion will be distributed. All materials will be made available on the Elly platform, also used for communications and notices.
Assessment methods and criteria
The exam will be written and will focus on the on the handbooks. In particular, for non-attending students it will composed by 3 open-ended questions with no space limits (time available: 90 minutes). The questions are open and general, and will be aim to assess not only the notions acquired by students, but also the ability of critical processing, interconnection between different parts of the course and appropriateness of language.
For attending students, a report (3/4 pages) on one of the topics explored during the course will be added to the written exam (2 open-ended questions, 60 minutes). More details will be provided by the lecturer during the course.
The final evaluation will be the result of the average of the scores obtained by the student in the different tests. In particular, for attending students the written test, evaluated in thirtieths, represents the 50% of the final mark, while the other 50% is represented by the report evaluation. For non-attending students the final mark is the result of the written test.
Other information
The lecturer is always available for clarifications on both lesson and the content and organisation of the classes (timetable, materials to be studied, examination procedures, etc.).
The office hours for A.Y. 2023-2024 are normally on Wednesday from 2 to 3 p.m. and can be in person or via Teams platform. In any case, all students are invited to send an email to the lecturer in advance to make an appointment (in person or online). It is also possible to make an appointment on other days and/or times if students have problems on the day and/or time of weekly office hours.
