Conference Program

The paper illustrates selected findings of the research project "Children Playfulness in School" (ChiPS), which investigates the relation between inclusive education and children's play in primary school. Through 10 narrative interviews (Rosenthal 2018) with primary school teachers of 4 schools in the Province of Bolzano/Bozen. The interviews were structured to delve into teachers' perceptions regarding several play-relevant aspects, including space (both inside and outside school), children's well-being, and the dynamics of making friends at school. The category of 'play' was intentionally left implicit to avoid reifying in terms of distinctions between play and learning or between different school activities (Petillon 2015, Berti 2023). In our paper we focus specifically teachers’ awareness of children's well-being in the school environment. The paper seeks this way to contribute to the discourse on well-being in schools by research on professionalism of primary school teachers (Capperucci, D. & Piccioli, 2015; Helsper, 2022).

The methodology employed aligns with Grounded Theory, in order to generate theories firmly grounded in the data and the analysis process and to develop working theories that are applicable not only to the specific context of investigation but also transferable to similar settings (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). According to the Grounded Theory (Charmaz 2006, Strauss & Corbin 1990), sensitizing concepts were isolated and formulated to guide the formulation of both the research question and the interview questions. After the first interviews, an initial analysis was carried out which revealed useful categories to reformulate and focus the questions of the subsequent interviews.

The data revealed a significant emphasis on creating cooperative classroom environments and facilitating opportunities for children to interact, with or without adult intervention. Furthermore, implicit knowledge uncovered through data analysis indicates that teachers employ diverse pedagogical strategies to balance education and well-being effectively, adapting to the evolving roles of primary school children as both learners and peers. Such findings suggest insights for conceptualizing the merging between learning and play in primary school environment (Seitz & Berti 2023, Petillon 2017).

The paper suggests that conventional structure of times and spaces, proper of the school institution, may be overcome by exploring, first and foremost, the quality of the relationship between children and their well-being which take place in in what might be called “liminal spaces”. The idea of 'limen', here borrowed from anthropology (cf. Turner 1982 in Berti 2024), indicates the possibilities that open up in the interstices between one activity and another. Moreover, it serves as a creative and generative environment where play and learning merge, fostering participation, cooperation, and friendship among children (Seitz, & Berti 2023). Still, creating and nurturing such liminal spaces require flexible timeframes and attentive observation of children's needs and interactions.

Considering the plurality of factors that contribute to producing equality and recognition of diversity, building positive relationships among members of the group class has long been believed to be a necessary starting point for fostering inclusive processes in different school cycles (DeWitt & Slade, 2014). In the different national and international school contexts, today more than ever, the group-class reflects as a heterogeneous and multicultural microcosm the complexity of social transformations; the interactive group class system is composed of various individuals and the circularity of relationships implies that the behavior of each influences that of others and at the same time is influenced by them; in this way, in order to facilitate the building of positive relationships within a group-class, the teacher's focus of interest shifts from the individual to the relational systems of which he or she is a part in the knowledge that a system is not the sum of its parts, but something more (Ketikidou & Saiti, 2022). Within a class group, the relationships and social-emotional experiences that are established among pupils, in fact, are multiple and can be understood as a product of a system. For example, examining the systemic relationship and interdependence between developmental individuals and the context of life, Vygotsky observed that in addition to the subjective characteristics of individuals, the objective characteristics of the social environment also determine how an experience is experienced and the trajectory of human development (Van deer Veer & Valsiner, 1994). From a Vygotskyan perspective, individuals experience the same event very differently and one's perezhivanie is not the experience itself, but how that experience is understood and internalized by the individual and in which the emotional and cognitive components, therefore, are interpreted as a unicum of "lived experience" (Michell, 2016). Taking individual perezhivanie into consideration, therefore, it is possible during the school year and in different school cycles to hypothesize the use of some autobiographical activities aimed at identifying socio-emotional experiences that may have generated perceptions or beliefs in young students, which may to some extent have oriented the perception of themselves in the environment and have conditioned the construction of positive relationships and the classroom climate (Zaporozhets, 2002). Investigation that analyzes autobiographical aspects can be proposed by asking young students to create narratives - oral or written - referring to a significant episode that involved entire class group (a field trip, a particular lesson or activity held at school, a theater workshop, a class party at the end of the school year, when a new classmate or teacher arrived, etc.) in order to be able to bring out subjective experiences of perezhivanie as a possible analytical tool to help examine the dialectical aspect between individual and social experienced by students (Veresov, 2019). This type of activity concretely promotes an active prominence of all members of the class group, helps the understanding of different points of view and contributes to the realization of a positive climate as a prerequisite for real social, cultural and territorial inclusion.

Equity in education is an internationally shared commitment (OECD, 2012; UN, 2015); inclusion is a key component, as reflected in education policy and academic debates (Kefallinou et al., 2020; Sandoval et al., 2021). All people must be guaranteed learning opportunities that are adapted to their educational needs, without the personalization of educational pathways being an unconscious or explicit vector of exclusion or segregation. It is not only about the achievement of certain academic standards, but especially the well-being at school (Dalgaard et al., 2022; Levine et al., 2024).

This paper focuses on the Italian school system. Here, inclusion legislation provides for the adaptation of pathways for students with special educational needs (disabilities, specific learning difficulties, disadvantage factors) within the common framework of class planning (Aiello & Pace, 2020; Migliarini et al., 2021). However, the pedagogical approach to these students is often characterised by medicalisation and the subordination of education to other areas (Bellacicco et al., 2022; Demo et al., 2023).

We focus on the cultural and structural dynamics in Italian schools that often lead to a delegitimization of the role of teachers and the delegation to external persons (Harwood & McMahon, 2014; Petrina, 2006). Divided into micro-categories, students in each class often have parallel and multi-level school experiences, with the constant risk of exclusionary processes and the devaluation of forms of intelligence that are considered non-standard.

We see a delegation dynamic where the school entrusts other professionals such as psychologists, neuropsychiatrists or speech therapists with the development of effective learning strategies. Families often must turn to private associations to support their children (Campani, 2013). The result is a loss of the eminently educational nature of the school experience, with a strong impact on wellbeing and enjoyment of learning (Govorova et al., 2020; McCoy & Banks, 2012): The focus is no longer on the uniqueness of the individual student, but on trying to normalise diversity to bring it back to a standard within an increasingly norm-centred school.

Here we present an action research (Armstrong & Moore, 2004; Ferrero & Granata, 2023) conducted with primary school teachers in a school in Lombardy to understand (1) how teachers can respond to students’ needs through their own professionalism, (2) how they can avoid – whenever possible – the medicalisation of the school, and (3) how they can promote approaches that foster the uniqueness of each individual by allowing talents to flourish without adhering to the false and homologizing idea of the “average student”. Data were collected through unstructured focus groups and triangulated through semi-structured interviews with neuropsychiatrists and families.

The strong presence of delegation and externalisation dynamics on the part of the school requires a strengthening of pedagogical professionalism, also through a reflection on the power relations between disciplines that consider pedagogical knowledge in a subordinate position to others (Biesta, 2012).

Bringing education back to school (Ferrero & Granata, 2022) through the creative and flexible design of learning spaces and times is a fundamental instance of promoting the well-being of every student in school.

Young carers—children and adolescents—who provide significant care for unwell family members often appear to fall through the cracks between many privileges. Their needs may not be obvious enough to get the attention of schools or children's services until it is considered that they are suffering or at significant risk (Thomas et al., 2003). However, their well-being is inextricably related to school experiences. Schools have a significant role in identifying and supporting vulnerable students and those who require emotional care (Warhurst et al., 2022). Given that most young carers spend a significant amount of time at school when not on their caregiving responsibilities, schools can be a good place to start identifying them and providing support.

Inclusion in education should aim to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage for disadvantaged students. However, schools pay insufficient attention to students' socioemotional needs, either individually or collectively. Academic achievement is the highest priority, with little formal attention paid to students' affective needs. The standard for 'excellent and competent' students might be difficult to meet for students with a lot going on in their lives. Drawing on the findings of a study conducted in rural Kenya with Young carers, the authors emphasise the importance of inclusivity beyond special needs education, into recognizing and supporting vulnerable and marginalised students' well-being. The study explored the lived experiences of young carers in Kandara, Kenya and the gaps in supporting or recognising them in schools and other welfare systems. In the exploratory study, data was collected using semi-structured interviews with twenty young caregivers, between 10 and 22 years, selected through criteria sampling, and seven key informants including teachers, public health workers, and social service workers. Thematic analysis was conducted on the data and triangulated across both data sets.

The findings highlighted the extent of caring responsibilities performed by the participants including physical, emotional and economic support, the challenges they encountered e.g. emotional burden, stigma and neglect, and the meanings they make from the caregiving roles e.g. seeking good karma. Schools came out as a respite for the YCs, but they could also be triggers of further distress due to the stigma, and lack of recognition and support. The analysis also highlighted gaps that exist in the identification and support for young carers in schools including insufficient resources, bureaucracy, overcrowded schools, poor collaboration with families and stakeholders in schools, and lack of information about the students’ backgrounds. Given that these childhood experiences could influence their development and well-being, there is a need for psychodynamic support for the YCs, and psychoeducation of their social networks, to reduce stigmatization; starting in schools. The authors recommend the principles from the Reggio Emilia Approach (REA), a child-centred educational approach; such as collaboration, relationships, respect and reciprocity (Fraser, 2012), as a tool towards the recognition and support of young carers in schools. Finally, the authors call for therapeutic interventions in schools, through the strengthening of the guidance and counselling departments.

they experience a lack of presence and a sense of belonging, particularly within their homes and schools.

The paper aims to investigate the issue of the right to education as a human right, through which schools adapt their methodologies and tools to the needs of students, from an inclusive perspective, through the removal or attenuation of barriers and by increasing facilitators, in ICF optics. The right to school inclusion has yet to be fully fulfilled, as it is protected in legislation but is not always concretely implemented in school practices. The legislation aims to achieve equity in practice (Ferrero, 2023).The issue of the lack of resources due to the economic crisis undermines the social right to education (Matucci, 2019). The equity of school systems is a legally relevant concept and the foundations of inclusive schooling can already be found within the Italian Constitution (Matucci, 2020). Rawls (2002) understands “justice as equity”. Justice and equity are terms that combine well with inclusive ones: guaranteeing equity in fact means giving everyone what they need, considering the fact that the starting point is not the same for everyone, as Don Milani already stated with his warning “There is nothing as unjust as giving equal shares to unequals”.

"Pedagogy is relational. Teachers and learners transform themselves through pedagogical encounters, learning from one another. The productive tension between simultaneous individual and collective transformation defines pedagogical encounters. Our inner life influences the environment in which we live and, at the same time, is deeply influenced by it." (UNESCO Report, 2021). It is within this perspective that Scuola-Città Pestalozzi, for over thirty years, has made socio-affective and relational education its core focus.

This contribution aims to present the practices of design and implementation of Socio-Affective and Relational Education (hereinafter referred to as ESAR) currently in place at Scuola-Città Pestalozzi in Florence. Founded by Ernesto Codignola in January 1945, it is still an experimental institution (former Article 11 DPR 275/99) with an extraordinary statute. The experimentation decree defines not only the educational activities but also research activities aimed at the renewal of the national school system. The school's origin and history have an activist matrix and a strong democratic imprint (Codignola, 1962; Laporta, 1996; Cambi, 2017). And it is within this framework that the ESAR curriculum is situated.

Over the years, Scuola-Città Pestalozzi has found itself reflecting on how to innovate while maintaining the guiding principles around which the School was originally organized. From a school that was conceived as a "city" where students learn democracy to a school that becomes a context for teachers to continue learning from an action research perspective. Recent reflections have led the faculty to observe the need to move away from traditional linear causality and embrace concepts belonging to complex systems, working on the connections between all elements of a system, working on circular causality, where processes reinforce each other, and enhancing the aspects of self-determination and responsibility-taking by members of the school system (Bianchini, 2022).

Creating an educational curriculum aimed at assuming responsibility and achieving personal autonomy within the educational journey has meant engaging with "life skills education in schools," including problem-solving, decision-making, creativity, critical thinking, self-awareness, relational skills, effective communication, emotional management, stress management, and empathy.

The choice to define a curriculum and give ESAR the status of a curricular discipline, allocating it an official weekly space within the timetable, appears almost provocative. However, by observing the daily practice of the school, it becomes clear that this is more of a posture, an habitus that permeates every minute and corner of school life: among teachers, among students, and between teachers and students.

The practice of ESAR as a democratic practice reveals and acknowledges the school's role as a political agent and a privileged place for the construction and recognition of individual identities, while simultaneously educating for respect and the assumption of responsibility towards the collective (Angelini, 2023).