BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The course aims to consolidate the theoretical knowledge and conceptual frameworks of family pedagogy, fostering students' ability to identify and interpret emerging educational needs and challenges in contemporary families. The course is designed to develop professional reflexivity and provide the methodological tools required to design educational interventions and parenting support strategies, both in standard settings and in contexts of family vulnerability.
In line with the Dublin Descriptors, the expected learning outcomes are structured as follows:
1. Knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Know and understand the key concepts, main theoretical references, and conceptual models of family pedagogy.
- Identify the morphological and relational transformations, as well as the emerging educational needs, that characterize contemporary families.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Apply theoretical models to the design, implementation, and evaluation of educational practices and networking, based on the paradigms of participation and educational continuity.
- Design and manage specific relational tools for the educator-family relationship, with a specific focus on the sensitive phases of transition/settling-in (ambientamento) and parent-teacher conferences.
- Exercise professional reflexivity for the analysis, design, and evaluation of good professional practices, particularly within contexts of family vulnerability and fragility.
3. Making judgments
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Critically analyze and reshape the studied concepts, establishing meaningful connections between themes, authors, pedagogical trends, and fields of action.
- Assess the complexity of contemporary family dynamics, formulating independent pedagogical judgments that are methodologically and ethically sound.
4. Communication skills
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Present clearly and rigorously their study outcomes and designed intervention projects.
- Articulate the rationale behind educational proposals, explaining with appropriate pedagogical vocabulary the methodological reasons, goals, and educational objectives intended for specific operational contexts.
Course Prerequisites
None
Teaching Methods
1. Lectures and Dialogic Teaching
Interactive Lectures: Presentation of theoretical and epistemological frameworks, encouraging continuous classroom discussion.
Reflective Analysis: Guided discussion of real-world experiences, case studies, and typical professional scenarios in educational services, analyzed through the conceptual framework of the course texts.
2. Active and Collaborative Learning
Problem Posing & Problem Solving: Analysis of concrete problem-situations to stimulate critical thinking and the practical application of knowledge.
Group Work and Cooperative Learning: Collaborative activities aimed at co-design, thematic debate, and subsequent presentation of outcomes.
3. Development of Transversal Skills (Soft Skills)
Oral Presentations and Written Reports: Tasks dedicated to presenting group work results to refine communication skills and argumentative synthesis.
Peer-to-Peer Discussion: Structured debates among students and with the professor to foster independent judgment, lifelong learning skills, and interpersonal competencies.
4. Teaching Supports and Digital Learning
E-learning Platform (Moodle): Official course repository where all supporting materials (lecture slides, supplementary readings, exercise guidelines) will be published.
Assessment Methods
The assessment system includes continuous monitoring of the learning process (formative assessment) and a final written exam designed to verify both theoretical knowledge and the capacity for critical analysis and methodological application.
1. Formative Assessment (Ongoing)
- Continuous Monitoring: Ongoing feedback is provided during and at the end of each lecture based on classroom activities and reflective work, ensuring real-time monitoring of students' comprehension and progress.
- In-Class Presentation (Optional for attending students): Attending students have the option to analyze and present a pre-agreed educational scenario in small groups. Students who successfully complete this presentation will be exempt from the second part of the final exam (case analysis) during the official session, and will only take the first theoretical part.
2. Final Examination (Summative)
The final exam consists of a 90-minute written test. Students must demonstrate thorough knowledge and the ability to articulate and critically argue the contents of the study texts and classroom activities. The test is structured into two parts (maximum score: 30 points):
- Part One (Knowledge and Understanding - max 18 points):
- 9 multiple-choice questions (1 point each);
- 3 open-ended questions (3 points each).
- Part Two (Application and Critical Interpretation - max 12 points) with a written and well-reasoned analysis of a given educational situation, aimed at verifying the student's ability to interpret and decode educational contexts.
Supplementary Oral Exam (at the Professor's discretion): The professor reserves the right to request a supplementary oral interview following the written test if deemed necessary to verify the actual acquisition of skills or to accurately assign the final grade.
3. Assessment Criteria
The final grade is awarded on a 30-point scale (0-30/30 cum laude). Marks are based on the following criteria:
- Relevance and Time Management: Ability to respond to the prompts precisely, accurately, and within the scheduled 90-minute timeframe.
- Linguistic Competence and Textual Coherence: Ability to organize a coherent and cohesive written discourse (semantically, syntactically, and orthographically) within the given constraints.
- Analytical and Conceptual Rigor: Ability to accurately analyze the presented scenarios by properly applying the pedagogical categories and frameworks examined in the study texts and during lectures.
4. Communication of Results
Exam results will be sent to each student's institutional email address through the University's digital student portal.
Contents
The course aims to foster a reflective and critical approach to the plurality of contemporary family configurations, integrating theoretical frameworks with the analysis of educational practices within 0-6 early childhood services. The program is organized into four main thematic areas:
1. Epistemological Framework of Family Pedagogy
- Definition, identity, and epistemological status of the discipline.
- Historical evolution and theoretical models of reference in family pedagogy.
- Presentation and critical analysis of the main authors in pedagogical literature.
2. Family Transformations and Early Childhood Services
- Socio-pedagogical analysis of today's family structures and morphologies.
- The complex transition to parenthood in contemporary society.
- Interconnections and relationships between family dynamics and early childhood education and care structures (nurseries and preschools).
3. Vulnerability, Inequalities, and Educational Policies
- Lexical and epistemological clarifications: family vulnerability, social inequalities, and educational poverty.
- The fallout and impact of fragile contexts on daily educational practices.
- Critical analysis and study of key national and international policy documents, guidelines, and frameworks.
4. Educator-Family Relationships within the Integrated 0-6 System
- Theoretical models and methodological approaches for building relationships between parents and educators.
- Practical and relational tools: from the settling-in/welcoming phases to parent-teacher conferences.
- Paradigms of equitable participation, co-responsibility, and educational continuity in early childhood education services.
Online Resources
More information
For Erasmus students, it is possible to have an interview to agree on a specific program before the initial interview in the course.
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Working students are invited at the beginning of the year to contact the teacher for an informative interview and the targeted presentation of the examination program.