This work aims to point out some elements, still on a preliminary basis, of the history of the struggle in defense of public and democratic education in Brazil in the period between the 1990s and the 2000s. The conditions generated from above in the context of world politics and the process of resumption of democratization made the 1990s fruitful for the political organization of the working class in general and for the educational field, in particular, resulting in an organization of collective strength in the history of Brazilian education. From the 1990s onwards, in different governments – José Sarney, (1985-1990); Fernando Collor (1990-1992); Itamar Franco (1992-1995) and Fernando Henrique (1994-1998), supported the educational reforms implemented within the neoliberal State and the advance of the offensive of the dominant classes by the hegemony of capital, there was a process of curbing its capacity for collective struggle. Between 2003 and 2016, Brazil experienced important social and economic changes that directly affected the well-being of the population, especially the poorest. These changes took place after the arrival of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Roussef (Workers' Party - PT) to the presidency of the republic, who, although he continued some economic policies of the previous government, established as a priority the social policies of tackling poverty and South-South regional integration processes, recovering the role of the State as an inducer of economic growth. After a political, legal and media coup by the Dilma government, educational policies suffered constant tension in their laissez-faire led by the governments of Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro in the years 2016 to 2022, converging with the denial of scientific knowledge guided and based on assumptions of the invisible hand of the market that intentionally hid the political dimension for a segment of Brazilian society. National education was emptied of content aimed at emancipation that would have concrete chances if implemented within education policies and materialized in the school institution, having the effect of not individualizing or mitigating the emancipatory possibilities of education and teacher training that would bring about transformations. The resumption of forms of collective resistance and confrontation, capable of altering the historical conditions of Brazilian education, requires, among other things, an in-depth understanding of the specificities of this history of educators' struggle to learn lessons that indicate what are the fundamental elements in current situation of development of capitalism crises and reaffirm the fight for public schools, social justice, secular and democratic.

In a global context of rapid social, economic, political and environmental changes, democracies are facing major challenges and have to deal with legitimacy and efficiency problems. In this specific context, education for democratic citizenship plays an important role in shaping active future citizens and became for this reason an important pedagogical objective all over the world. Education for democratic citizenship can be defined as “education, training, awareness raising, information, practices and activities which aim, by equipping learners with knowledge, skills and understanding and developing their attitudes and behaviour, to empower them to exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities in society, to value diversity and to play an active part in democratic life, with a view to the promotion and protection of democracy and the rule of law.” (Council of Europe, 2018a, p. 72). Education for democratic citizenship happens in the political, conceived as the space between humans being generated by human speech and action (Arendt, 1998; Arendt, 1950) where different conceptions of common life in the society meet (Mouffe, 1993). To handle efficiently in this space, it is important to develop competences. Among them an important role is played by critical thinking and argumentative dialogue.

In our presentation we would like to contribute to the reflection on the role played by simulation games (Raiser & Warkalla, 2011) in developing these competences. This in the context of a three-year international and interdisciplinary research project in which institutions from Switzerland and from Germany are involved. The aim of the project is the development of simulation games aimed to train the competences mentioned above. The presentation focuses on the analysis of the data collected in secondary I and II school classes in Switzerland during the test phase of the draft version of the simulation games (February-April 2024).

Data will be collected at the end of the game by questionnaires, interviews and focus groups with students and teachers involved in the experimentation. The information collected will focus on the experiences by playing the game and the difficulties encountered in understanding the materials, rules, roles and positions to be defended, as well as those encountered in the single phases of the game (preparation, discussion, decision-process, institutionalization of knowledge), etc. The interviews with the teachers will also serve to understand and evaluate any adjustments made by the teachers to the predefined versions of the game and the possible use for formative and summative assessment of the studied competences offered by the Reference framework of competences for a democratic culture (Council of Europe, 2018b). The information collected will then be used for the development of a final version of the game which will then be promoted in 2025 in Swiss secondary schools in Italian, German, French and English language.

Don Lorenzo Milani with the Barbiana school and Maria Maltoni with the experience of the school in San Gersolè are two representative figures of the twentieth century because they proposed and implemented an alternative education with a democratic purpose. Both, although they didn't know each other, worked in Mugello; Maltoni was from 1920 to 1956 in the Municipality of Impruneta; Don Milani created his own educational community in Barbiana. Maria Maltoni was a militant teacher, whose commitment to innovation in childhood education and theaching was appreciated by intellectuals such as Lombardo Radice, Italo Calvino and Francesco Bettini. Education was inspired not by an authoritarian educational model, but by a democratic paradigm that aimed through knowledge and direct experience of things, at a self-education that transformed children from spectators to protagonists of their own education. For this reason, she adopted a new methodology which involved the use of notebooks and diaries where children wrote and drew, expressing and recounting their daily lives. Don Lorenzo Milani, like Maltoni, was also interested in developing critical thinking and promoting social justice through his pedagogy of word to the the poor, developing an unprecedented educational method that enhanced discussion, understanding, collective writing, a method that it was the opposite of the one used in those schools that valued only the best and excluded others. Don Milani was very critical about the traditional school that welcomed members of the elite social class, the only social class that possessed the use of the language. In the Barbiana school he took care of restoring the dignity of the poor, teaching them words and encouraging reflection, criticism and autonomy. Barbiana anticipated the concept of inclusion, that means caring and having an interest in everyone, by developing authentic relationships, valuing differences, committing ourselves to becoming sovereign citizens: the slogan “I care” means, in fact, "I will work to ensure that social injustices are eliminated". The comparison between the two teachers, which is made through the interpretation of different direct and indirect sources, wants to clarify how both, building a democratic school, are interested in the development of the critical and autonomous thinking of each student.

In the context of a rapidly growing and multicultural Europe, addressing the educational needs of youth emerges as a pivotal challenge, with nearly 1 in 4 students having migrant backgrounds. Despite the growth of this population, European school systems lack innovative pedagogical approaches that foster the achievement of their full potential and address these students’ needs, valuing those skills that can be an asset for career opportunities, social cohesion, and personal and professional development..

Extensive European data and broader research reveal that children from migrant families often face exclusion, a low sense of belonging, and a lack of tailored programs that meet their unique needs. This underserved condition is well displayed by the academic underachievement of migrant children when compared to their non-migrant peers, posing huge concerns about the pursuit of justice and equity within the European schooling systems.

Hence, new insights regarding alternative education practices and new pedagogical cultures are needed.

We will present an innovative pedagogical approach to science education aimed at driving positive social change that actively engages the scientific and education communities to improve the educational outcomes of migrant children. Drawing from feedback surveys and our experience in implementing the Same Migrant Community programme (SMC) with 6,000 children across 9 countries, we will show how the initiative fosters linguistic diversity and resilience, while also increasing the scientific capital of migrant children through role model exposure.

The programme connects migrant children and scientists through science outreach activities in a shared heritage language and is carried out through hands-on workshops on multiple scientific topics. We will further examine how exposure to such role models can elevate aspirations for higher education, enhance scientific capital, and simultaneously nurture cultural resilience and bilingualism.

Our discussion will extend to the opportunity of developing the SMC programme in Italy in consideration of its growing migrant population.

UNESCO and Critical Pedagogy both recognise the need for a radical re-imagination of a just, sustainable, and peaceful future (ICFE, 2021; Bearzi, 2023) in response to the dis-imagination produced by capitalist neoliberalism (Giroux, 2020; Marcuse, 1991). As educational practice is inherently political (Freire, 1996), promoting continuously and creatively reconstructed participatory experiences can help overcome the crisis of democracy (Dewey, 1988, 1916). In the perspective of a permanent and transformative education (Secci, 2012; Mezirow, 2016), we must not, at any age, lose critical thinking, capable of resisting the ‘liquid culture’ (Bauman, 2021) of neoliberal training (Freire, 1996). However, young people in particular are the ones that take the lead in transcending the gerontocracy, ideally supported by competent adults (ICFE, 2021; Miscioscia, 2021). A ‘political and non-politicising pedagogy’ (Giroux, 2004) must humanise technology and engage in dialogue with the hybrid media system that regenerates values and identities (Chadwick, 2013; Barberis, Giacomini, 2020) to respond to postmodern educational challenges.

In this context, an action research project (Michelini, 2013), which has some similarities to the emergent design mix methods (Trinchero, Robasto, 2019), has been carried out between September 2022 and July 2023. The project aimed to investigate an epoch-making phenomenon observed during the Italian general elections of 25 September 2022. According to pre- and post-election polls conducted by leading research institutes in the field (SWG, 2022; IPSOS, 2022a), the voting patterns of Generation Z (18-26 years) have significantly diverged from other age groups. The reasons for this divergence were explored in focus groups (Cyr, 2019) conducted with 66 high school and technical institute students (aged 17-19) from central and southern Lazio between 12 and 18 September 2022. The focus groups were structured as in-depth group interviews (Merton, 1987). Further focus groups, recursive individual interviews with upper secondary school students and teachers, both in-depth and brief, were conducted. Additionally, the involvement of 10 university students (aged 20-23) provided valuable support in bridging the intergenerational gap.

The targeted young people describe their self-identified ‘progressive’ identity primarily in terms of their sensitivity to civil rights and sustainability (SWG, 2022; IPSOS, 2022b). However, there are some grey areas that need to be considered. Among students in technical institutes, there is a prevailing disinterest and distrust of the political class. In the more politically engaged high school student community, the concept of social justice is not as prominent. This community demonstrates a considerable understanding of the political parties’ policies. Among the sources of information used exclusively by this age group, the role of TikTok should be emphasised. Similar to the case of the invasion of Ukraine (Bearzi, Tarantino, 2022), this social medium contributed significantly to the edification of adolescent socio-political identity and promoted penetrating insights. On the other hand, the platform’s algorithm inevitably produced conformist effects.

In conclusion, to address the crisis of democracy in the context of the New Social Contract for Education (ICFE, 2021), it is a priority to promote the principles of social justice by adequately attuning to the semiosphere of Generation Z.