JavaScript is Disabled
Your browser's JavaScript functionality is disabled. It has to be enabled to use this function of ConfTool.
Here you can find information on how to enable JavaScript
If you have any problems, please contact the organizers at sdconference2026@scuolademocratica-conference.net.

Conference Program

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Wed02Sept

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu1

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu2

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu4

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu5

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 13

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 14

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Sala Sociologia

Geologia e Mineralogia (CU005): Aula "Sergio Lucchesi"

Giurisprudenza (CU002): Aula "Francesco Calasso"

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula A

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula C

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula D

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula 201

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula T02

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula TO1

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI "Aldo Moro"

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI Bis

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XII (Multimediale)

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XIII "Massimo D'Antona"

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Sala Lauree

Rettorato: Aula Magna

No specific location / location unknown

8:00am

9:00am

10:00am

11:00am

12:00pm

1:00pm

2:00pm

3:00pm

4:00pm

5:00pm

6:00pm

7:00pm

M.06. Facing AI Challenges in a Democratic and Socio-Constructivist Perspective: Imaginaries, Agency and Explorative Experiences with a Reggio Emilia-Inspired Approach

10:00am - 11:45am

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu1

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu1

Convenor(s): Maria Barbara Donnici (Fondazione Reggio Children-Centro Loris Malaguzzi, Italy); Lorenzo Manera (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia); Elena Sofia Paoli (Fondazione Reggio Children-Centro Loris Malaguzzi, Italy); Ludovica Brandi (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia); Chiara Magurno (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia); Elena Repman (Università degli studi Guglielmo Marconi); Alessia Donini (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia)

H.12. Intercultural Knowledges and Practices for Democratic Education (1/2)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu1

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu1

Convenor(s): Massimiliano Fiorucci (Roma Tre University, Italy); Veronica Riccardi (Roma Tre University, Italy); Lisa Stillo (Roma Tre University, Italy)

H.12. Intercultural Knowledges and Practices for Democratic Education (2/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu1

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu1

Convenor(s): Massimiliano Fiorucci (Roma Tre University, Italy); Veronica Riccardi (Roma Tre University, Italy); Lisa Stillo (Roma Tre University, Italy)

I.06. New Social, Professional and Educational contexts: Rethinking the Italian University System

10:00am - 11:45am

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu2

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu2

Convenor(s): Luca Refrigeri (University of Molise, Italy); Simone Campanella (University of Macerata, Italy); Lucia Mentore (University of Macerata, Italy); Noemi Russo (University of Molise, Italy)

E.13. Democratic Practices, Expansive Learning and the Commons in Education

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu2

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu2

Convenor(s): Magdalini Kolokitha (University of Thessaly, Greece); Angeliki Lazaridou (University of Thessaly, Greece)

B.10. Learning Democracy And Democratic Competencies Through Service Learning And Youth Lead Participatory Methods

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu2

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu2

Convenor(s): Cinzia Albanesi (Università di Bologna, Italy); Christian Compare (Università di Bologna, Italy); Patrizia Lotti (Indire, Italy); Diego Di Masi (Università di Torino, Italy)

A.02. Alphabets of Peace As Transformative Devices

10:00am - 11:45am

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu4

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu4

Convenor(s): Silvia Nanni (University of L'Aquila, Italy); Anna Paola Paiano (University of Salento, Italy)

F.01. Ageing with Disability, Life Projects and Democratic Citizenship: Rethinking Special Pedagogy for Older Adults (1/2)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu4

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu4

Convenor(s): Filippo Gomez Paloma (University of Cassino and Lazio Meridionale, Italy); Claudia Maulini (University Parthenope, Napoli); Enrico Miatto (Iusve, Mestre (Ve)); Chiara Gentilozzi (University Giustino Fortunato, Benevento); Antonio Cuccaro (University Niccolò Cusano, Roma)

F.01. Ageing with Disability, Life Projects and Democratic Citizenship: Rethinking Special Pedagogy for Older Adults (2/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu4

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu4

H.01 Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: Toward a Culture of Inclusion (1/2)

10:00am - 11:45am

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu5

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu5

Convenor(s): Annalisa Buffardi (Indire, Istituto Nazionale di Documentazione, Innovazione e Ricerca Educativa, Italy); Stefania Sansò (Indire, Istituto Nazionale di Documentazione, Innovazione e Ricerca Educativa, Italy)

H.01 Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: Toward a Culture of Inclusion (2/2)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu5

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu5

G.09. Financial Education, Gender and Democratic Empowerment: Rethinking Equity in Economic Learning (2/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu5

Location: Aule di Botanica (CU028): Aula Blu5

Convenor(s): Luca Refrigeri (University of Molise, Italy); Claudia Maurini (Bank of Italy, Italy); Maria Iride Vangelisti (Bank of Italy, Italy)

B.09. Learning Communities as Transformative Environments: Bridging Local Action and Global Challenges (1/3)

10:00am - 11:45am

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 13

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 13

Convenor(s): Sibilla Montanari (University of Vienna, Austria); Nazime Öztürk (University of Vienna, Austria); Denis Francesconi (University of Vienna, Austria); Evi Agostini (University of Vienna, Austria)

B.09. Learning Communities as Transformative Environments: Bridging Local Action and Global Challenges Abstract of Contribution (2/3)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 13

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 13

A.11. School Evaluation For Improvement, Equity, Inclusion And Well being (1/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 13

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 13

Convenor(s): Cristina Stringher (Invalsi, Italy); Michela Freddano (Invalsi, Italy)

F.10. The Realm of Ableist Meritocracy: Unmasking Practices of Pseudo-Inclusion Within the Italian Education System (1/2)

10:00am - 11:45am

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 14

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 14

Convenor(s): Marianna Piccioli (Università degli Studi di Roma "Foro Italico", Italy); Simona D'Alessio (Grids – Gruppo di Ricerca Inclusione e Disability Studies, Italy); Giuseppe Vadalà (Grids – Gruppo di Ricerca Inclusione e Disability Studies, Italy); Fabio Bocci (Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Italy)

M.03. Critical Dialogue with AI in Schools: Metacognition, Agency, and Democratic Learning (1/3)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 14

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 14

Convenor(s): Nadia Sansone (UnitelmaSapienza University of Rome, Italy)

C.02. Ethno-racial Diversity and Other Biographical Traits in Educational Professions: Possible Challenges for Democratic Education

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 14

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Aula 14

Convenor(s): Rita Bertozzi (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy); Mariagrazia Santagati (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy)

G.13. Intersectionality in Educational Research: Epistemologies and Methodologies favouring a Democratization of Postmigrant Societies (1/2)

10:00am - 11:45am

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Sala Sociologia

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Sala Sociologia

Convenor(s): Barbara Gross (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy); Luisa Conti (University of Jena, Germany); Robert Pham Xuan (University for Continuing Education Krems, Austria); Giulia Filippi (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy); Lisa Bugno (Università degli Studi di Padova, Italia); Giulia Messina Dahlberg (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

I.09. The Democratic Turn in University STEM Education

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Sala Sociologia

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Sala Sociologia

Convenor(s): ola Lilensten (Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris, France); Kylee Goode (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom); Ilija Rašović (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom)

G.13. Intersectionality in Educational Research: Epistemologies and Methodologies favouring a Democratization of Postmigrant Societies (2/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Sala Sociologia

Location: Edificio ex Tumminelli (C007): Sala Sociologia

🚩 [SPECIAL EVENT] H.23. Hip Hop as Educational Ecology: Epistemologies, Pedagogical Frameworks, Youth Development, and the Challenge of Educational Inequality

10:00am - 11:45am

Geologia e Mineralogia (CU005): Aula "Sergio Lucchesi"

Location: Geologia e Mineralogia (CU005): Aula "Sergio Lucchesi"

Chairs: Matteo Cerasoli (KEEP IT REAL Research Coordinator).

Promoted by ÀP Antimafia Pop Academy.

Further information on special events are available on the conference website: https://www.scuolademocratica-conference.net/workshops-3/.

\n\n\n\nPromoted by ÀP Antimafia Pop Academy\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChairs Matteo Cerasoli (KEEP IT REAL Research Coordinator)\nKeywords Hip-Hop Studies, Educational Inequalities, Youth Agency\nOver recent decades, Hip-Hop Studies has progressively established itself as a transdisciplinary field situated at the intersection of education, cultural studies, youth work, community organizing, critical sociology, and critical pedagogy. As an emerging scholarly paradigm, it has gained increasing recognition within educational discourse across the international academic debate.\nGrounded in the cultural practices, aesthetics, and epistemologies of hip hop, this approach, examined through pedagogical and sociological lenses, repositions young people not merely as passive recipients of educational interventions, but as cultural producers, knowledge-makers, and agents of social transformation.\nThe “Keep It Real – Comunità in Cerchio” project (promoted by ÀP Antimafia Pop Academy) constitutes a compelling empirical case through which to critically engage with the broader phenomenon of hip hop culture’s diffusion and appropriation as an educational environment and as an instrument for self-construction within socialization processes during the transition to adulthood. It devotes particular attention to hip hop practices as modes of contesting dominant narratives, cultivating community belonging, nurturing democratic participation, and opening spaces for alternative forms of expression and recognition.\nAgainst this backdrop, this event investigates how hip hop, understood simultaneously as a sociocultural environment and as a pedagogical toolkit, can sustain meaningful learning, foster socioemotional development, and counter educational inequalities across formal, non-formal, and informal settings. The overarching aim is to critically examine both the transformative potential and the inherent contradictions of hip hop as an educational and socializing apparatus.\nAgenda\n\nIntroduction – Hip Hop and Educational Processes: The Project “Keep It Real – Comunità in Cammino” Pasquale Grosso (President of ÀP – Antimafia Pop Academy)\nFocus 1. Hip Hop and AcademiaDavide Fant (University of Milan-Bicocca), Fulvia Antonelli (University of Bologna, curator of the experience Scuola delle Donne del Pilastro)\nFocus 2. Hip Hop and the field: Hip Hop, body and movement, Jacopo ‘DeadPoet’ Ferri (B-boy)Giulia ‘Chimp’ Giorgi (B-girl)\nFocus 3. Hip Hop and the field: Hip hop, youth and voiceMirko ‘Kiave’ Filice (rapper, art educator, sound engineer)\n\n

🚩 [SPECIAL EVENT] D.00. Learning on the Margins: Early School Leaving, Educational Inequalities and the Politics of Place

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Geologia e Mineralogia (CU005): Aula "Sergio Lucchesi"

Location: Geologia e Mineralogia (CU005): Aula "Sergio Lucchesi"

Chairs: Claudia Cicciotti (ActionAid Italia), Luca Fanelli (ActionAid Italia), Gianfranco Zucca (IREF – Istituto di Ricerche Educative e Formative).

Promoted by ActionAid Italia & IREF – Istituto di Ricerche Educative e Formative.

Further information on special events are available on the conference website: https://www.scuolademocratica-conference.net/workshops-3/.

\n\n\n\nPromoted by ActionAid Italia & IREF – Istituto di Ricerche Educative e Formative\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChairs Claudia Cicciotti (ActionAid Italia), Luca Fanelli (ActionAid Italia), Gianfranco Zucca (IREF – Istituto di Ricerche Educative e Formative)\nKeywords early school leaving; territorial inequalities; educational governance\nIn recent years, early school leaving has re-emerged as a key indicator of the deep social and territorial inequalities shaping urban life. Its persistence in the metropolitan peripheries of Italy reflects not only the limits of the educational system but also the changing relationship between school, territory, and citizenship. As research on spatial and educational inequalities has shown (Benadusi & Giancola, 2016; Wacquant, 2008), peripheral areas are not merely geographic spaces but social formations where exclusion, stigma, and institutional weakness converge, affecting both access to and the quality of education.\nSchools located in such contexts often act as welfare institutions of last resort, compensating for fragile family networks and weakened public infrastructures (Ballarino & Checchi, 2006). This generates a growing tension between the educational and the social mandates of schooling—one that risks overburdening educators while narrowing the school’s emancipatory potential.\nThis special event explores this tension from a sociological and policy perspective, analyzing how early school leaving is defined and governed within contexts of urban marginality. It focuses on three key questions:\n\n\nhow spatial segregation and territorial deprivation affect educational trajectories;\n\n\n\nhow schools, often stigmatized or isolated, can become spaces of civic resistance and social innovation;\n\n\n\nwhich forms of multi-level governance—linking institutions, the third sector, and local educational communities—can sustain inclusive and democratic education in fragile territories.\n\n\nDrawing on the case of Rome’s VI Municipality, the project BELLA! Fateci spazio (promoted by ActionAid International Italia ETS) and IREF – Istituto di Ricerche Educative e Formative) offers an empirical lens on the interplay between inequality, school orientation, and educational wellbeing. The findings feed a broader reflection: school dropout is not merely an individual failure but a structural manifestation of territorial injustice (Dubet, 2011), calling into question the capacity of democratic systems to guarantee both the right to education and social cohesion.\nThe special event, held in Italian, builds on the participatory learning process promoted through ActionAid’s educational inequalities programme, and invites a transdisciplinary dialogue between empirical research, public policy, and civic engagement to reimagine educational justice policy in peripheral urban contexts.\nThe project Bella! Fateci spazio is financially supported by Fondazione CDP.\n\n\nProvisional agenda\n\nIntroduction – Education, Territory and Democracy: Why Early School Leaving Is a Political IssueClaudia Cicciotti (ActionAid Italia) and Gianfranco Zucca (IREF)\nLearning on the Margins: Educational Inequalities and School Trajectories in Rome’s VI MunicipalityLeonardo Piromalli (IREF), Sabina Licursi (University of Calabria), and Emanuela Pascuzzi (University of Calabria)\nBuilding Educational Communities in Fragile Territories. Local Policies and the Multi-Level Governance of Early School LeavingMariaSole Piccioli (ActionAid Italia), Claudia Pratelli (Municipality of Rome – Councilor for Education, Training, and Employment), and Federico Neri (Scaro Community)\nRoundtable. Beyond Early School Leaving: Educational Justice, New Forms of Citizenship and Policy RecommendationsFabrizio Barca (Forum Disuguaglianze e Diversità), Giuseppina Jose Mangione (INDIRE), Marco Rossi-Doria (Con I Bambini ETS), and Katia Scannavini (ActionAid Italia)\n\n

🚩 [SPECIAL EVENT] H.00. Framing School-to-Work Programs: Evaluation, Voice and Social Justice

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Geologia e Mineralogia (CU005): Aula "Sergio Lucchesi"

Location: Geologia e Mineralogia (CU005): Aula "Sergio Lucchesi"

Chairs: Donatella Poliandri (INVALSI), Mauro Palumbo (University of Genoa), Alessandra Decataldo (University of Milano-Bicocca).

Promoted by Associazione "Per Scuola Democratica".

Further information on special events are available on the conference website: https://www.scuolademocratica-conference.net/workshops-3/.

\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPromoted by Associazione \"Per Scuola Democratica\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChairs Donatella Poliandri (INVALSI), Mauro Palumbo (University of Genoa), Alessandra Decataldo (University of Milano-Bicocca)\nKeywords school-to-work programs; evaluation; voice and recognition\nSchool-to-Work Programs (SWPs) are increasingly promoted as policy responses to the challenges young people face in accessing meaningful learning and work opportunities. Yet, evaluations often focus on immediate functional outcomes, capturing only part of their significance. Their democratic and distributive implications also depend on how SWPs are framed, evaluated and governed—on the assumptions they embed, the opportunities they open to different groups of students, and the forms of recognition and participation they enable or constrain. Drawing on capability and social justice perspectives, this panel examines SWPs as policy instruments whose design can either broaden opportunities or reinforce stratification.\nWe welcome contributions that investigate SWPs through evaluation lenses capable of making issues of justice, recognition, and voice visible. Proposals may explore:\n(a) how SWPs distribute learning and work opportunities across social groups;\n(b) how teachers, school leaders, educational and company tutors, families and host organisations negotiate responsibilities and expectations in contexts of institutional change;\n(c) how students interpret and articulate their SWP experiences, bringing their voice to the forefront;\n(d) how evaluation and monitoring tools illuminate the mechanisms linking local practices to broader regimes of inequality and precarious work.\nDuring the panel, the Special Issue Learning for Democracy, 2/2025, “School-to-Work Programs: an Opportunity for Social Justice?”, will be presented, providing a shared framework for discussing its conceptual contributions and empirical insights. This presentation will support a broader exchange on comparative and international perspectives, upcoming research, and future directions for advancing work on SWPs, democratic evaluation, and educational justice.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n

I.12. Whose University is it? Neoliberal Governance: The Challenge to Academic Freedom, Equity, and Critical Thinking (2/2)

10:00am - 11:45am

Giurisprudenza (CU002): Aula "Francesco Calasso"

Location: Giurisprudenza (CU002): Aula "Francesco Calasso"

Convenor(s): Silvia Zanazzi (Università di Ferrara, Italy); Catherine Edelhard Tømte (University of Agder, Norway); Edoardo Esposto (University of Sapienza, Italy)

G.08. Ecofeminist dialogues across History of Education and Children's Literature

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Giurisprudenza (CU002): Aula "Francesco Calasso"

Location: Giurisprudenza (CU002): Aula "Francesco Calasso"

Convenor(s): Dalila Forni (Università dell'Aquila, Italy); Claudia Cirella (Università Lumsa)

E.11. The Child is a Citizen: Democratic Experience, Participation and Rights in the Early Age

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Giurisprudenza (CU002): Aula "Francesco Calasso"

Location: Giurisprudenza (CU002): Aula "Francesco Calasso"

Convenor(s): Emiliano Macinai (Università di Firenze, Italy); Rossella Certini (Università di Firenze, Italy)

E.12. Democratic Participation, Commons and Inclusion in Education

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula A

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula A

Convenor(s): Barbara Mazza (University of Sapienza, Italy)

A.05. Education, Democracy and Resistance in Occupied Palestine (1/3)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula A

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula A

Convenor(s): Elena Pacetti (Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Italy); Arianna Taddei (Università degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino); Buad Khales (Al-Quds University)

H.15. Migrant-background Youth in Education: the Role of Policy and Practice in (Re)producing and Challenging Inequalities (1/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula A

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula A

Convenor(s): Berenice Scandone (Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy); Giulia Marroccoli (Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy)

G.19. Uncertain Futures, Structured Inequalities: Habitus, Time and Transformation in Education

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula C

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula C

Convenor(s): Marco Romito (Università di Milano-Bicocca, Italy)

G.11. Gender Representations And Democracy: Violence, Media And Cultural Resistance

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula C

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula C

Convenor(s): Milena Meo (University of Messina, Italy); Valentina Raffa (University of Messina, Italy)

I.07. Organising As Workers In Higher Education: In, Against And Beyond The University

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula C

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula C

Convenor(s): Sol Gamsu (Durham University, United Kingdom); Flora Petrik (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany); Ana Tanevska (University of Uppsala, Sweden)

B.12. Reimagining Democracy in Schools: Pedagogical and Organisational Pathways to Participatory Renewal (1/2)

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula D

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula D

Convenor(s): Giulia Pastori (University Of Milan-Bicocca, Italy); Maria Ranieri (University Of Florence, Italy); Valentina Pagani (University Of Milan-Bicocca, Italy); Maria Sola Piccioli (Action Aid International)

B.05. Democratic Education and Critical Thinking: Innovative Practices in School (1/4)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula D

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula D

Convenor(s): Tatiana Arrigoni (Iprase, Italy); Chiara Tamanini (Iprase, Italy)

B.12. Reimagining Democracy in Schools: Pedagogical and Organisational Pathways to Participatory Renewal (2/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula D

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula D

L.03. Ecologies of Education and Democracy in Posthuman Times: More and Less-than-human Troubles

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula 201

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula 201

Convenor(s): Alessandro Ferrante (Università Milano-Bicocca, Italy); Andrea Galimberti (Università Milano-Bicocca, Italy); Maria Benedetta Gambacorti-Passerini (Università Milano-Bicocca, Italy)

H.07. Creative and Emancipatory Research with Migrants and Refugees: Rethinking Methods, Education, and Democratic Participation

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula 201

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula 201

Convenor(s): Daniel Buraschi (Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain); Alessandra Barzaghi (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy)

D.11. Schools as Democratic Territories: Spatial Justice, Participation and Co-Governance Across the Whole School-Building Process

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula T02

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula T02

Convenor(s): Petra Regina Moog (Sophia::Academy, Germany)

G.10. Gender and Sexuality Education as Democratic Practice: Bodies, Relations, and Intimate Citizenship (2/3)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula T02

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula T02

Convenor(s): Silvia Demozzi (University of Bologna, Italy); Cosimo Marco Scarcelli (University of Padua, Italy); Giulia Selmi (University of Parma, Italy); Eleonora Bonvini (University of Bologna, Italy)

B.07. Educators as Agents of Change: Enacting Transformative Education in Practice (2/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula T02

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula T02

Convenor(s): Luisa Conti (University of Jena, Germany); Paolo Bonafede (Università degli Studi di Trento)

F.08. Nurturing Inclusivity: Care Practices and the Transformation of Higher Education

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula TO1

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula TO1

Convenor(s): Maurizio Merico (University of Salerno, Italy); Anna Fausta Scardigno (University "A. Moro" of Bari, Italy); Antonietta De Feo (University RomaTre, Italy); Martina Visentin (University of Padua, Italy)

F.07. Neurodiversity, Education, and Social Justice (1/2)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula TO1

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula TO1

Convenor(s): Marco Cadavero (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna); Anna Salerni (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy); Silvia Zanazzi (Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Italy)

D.09. Reversing Educational Inequalities: Successful Interventions for Democratic Learning

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula TO1

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula TO1

Convenor(s): Tiziana Chiappelli (University of Siena); Sabina Leoncini (University of Siena); Maria Rita Mancaniello (University of Siena); Chiara Carletti (University of Siena); Giovanni Giamello (University of Siena); Garazi López de Aguileta (University of Barcelona); Lidia Bordanoba (University of Barcelona); Mariana Sultanova (Institute for Education, Bulgaria); Simona Sankalaitė (Public Policy and Management Institute)

M.12. Science Communication and Scientific Information: actors, practices, and strategies in the Digital Era

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI "Aldo Moro"

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI "Aldo Moro"

Convenor(s): Giovanni Brancato (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy); Melissa Stolfi (Roma Tre University, Italy)

F.03. Deaf Inclusion as a Democratic Imperative (1/2)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI "Aldo Moro"

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI "Aldo Moro"

Convenor(s): Alessandra Faggiotto (Università di Macerata, Italy); Donata Chiricò (Università Magna Graecia – Catanzaro, Italy); Enrico (3,4) Dolza; Danilo Del Piro (Università della Calabria, Italy)

F.03. Deaf Inclusion as a Democratic Imperative (2/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI "Aldo Moro"

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI "Aldo Moro"

G.06. Decolonizing and Queering Education: Intersections of Power, Epistemic Justice, and School Practices (1/2)

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI Bis

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI Bis

Convenor(s): Giuseppe Burgio (University of Enna "Kore", Italy); Stella Rita Emmanuele (University of Enna "Kore", Italy); Lavinia Pia Vaccaro (University of Enna "Kore", Italy)

M.18. Pedagogies of Wellbeing: Self-Regulation, Inclusion and Learning in Diverse Educational Contexts

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI Bis

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI Bis

Convenor(s): Letizia Zampino (University of Trento, Italy)

H.03. Assembled Youths: Complex Biographies and Educational Trajectories For Uncertain Futures (1/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI Bis

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XI Bis

Convenor(s): Juan de Dios Oyarzún (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile); Aina Tarabini (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

L.05. Living together, Co-Governing, Becoming: More-than-Human Futures for Democracy in Education

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XII (Multimediale)

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XII (Multimediale)

Convenor(s): Francesca Peruzzo (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom); Paolo Landri (Cnr – Iriss)

D.05. Evaluating Education and Democracy: Approaches, Methodologies and Practices for Social Justice and Critical Literacy in the Digital Era

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XII (Multimediale)

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XII (Multimediale)

Convenor(s): Gabriele Tomei (President, Aiv (Italian Association of Evaluation), Italy); Donatella Poliandri (Vice President, Aiv (Italian Association of Evaluation), Italy)

E.09. Spaces of Commons in Education: Learning Democracy through Practices of Togetherness (1/2)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XII (Multimediale)

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XII (Multimediale)

Convenor(s): Stelios Pantazidis (University of Thessaly, Greece); Yannis Pechtelidis (University of Thessaly, Greece)

M.17. Educating with and Against AI: Pedagogical Practices and Algorithmic Infrastructures

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XIII "Massimo D'Antona"

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XIII "Massimo D'Antona"

Convenor(s): Leonardo Piromalli (Iref – Istituto di Ricerche Educative e Formative, Italy)

D.12. The Encounter Between Educational Institutions and Families in the 21st century: Educational Inequalities, New Conflicts and Social Changes

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XIII "Massimo D'Antona"

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XIII "Massimo D'Antona"

Convenor(s): Géraldine André (UCLouvain Belgique, Belgium); Andrew Crosby (UCLouvain Belgique, Belgium); Mervé Ozden (UCLouvain Belgique, Belgium)

M.08. Media, Arts and Digital Democracy: Negotiating New Cultural Ecologies

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XIII "Massimo D'Antona"

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula XIII "Massimo D'Antona"

Convenor(s): Alfonso Amendola (Università di Salerno, Italy); Martina Masullo (Università di Salerno, Italy); Camilla Masullo (Università di Napoli Federico Ii, Italy); Pietro Ammaturo (Università e-Campus, Italy); Maria Beatrice Russo (Università di Salerno, Italy); Giovanna Landi (Università di Salerno, Italy)

B.08. Knowledge, Data, and Democracy: Towards Systemic Innovation in School (INDIRE

10:00am - 11:45am

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Sala Lauree

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Sala Lauree

Convenor(s): Andrea Nardi (Indire, Italy); Silvia Panzavolta (Indire, Italy); Andrea Benassi (Indire, Italy)

🇮🇹 Symposium | What Pedagogy for Meaningful Learning? From Neuroscience to Teaching Practice (ANP – Associazione Nazionale Presidi)

1:00pm - 2:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Sala Lauree

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Sala Lauree

Promoted by ANP – Associazione Nazionale Presidi

\nPromoted by ANP – Associazione Nazionale Presidi\n\n\n\nNeuroscientific research over recent decades has profoundly transformed our understanding of learning processes, offering pedagogy conceptual and operational tools of extraordinary scope. Yet the dialogue between cognitive science findings and everyday teaching practice remains fragmented — often mediated by simplifications that risk distorting the complexity of both fields.\nThis round table opens a space for genuine cross-disciplinary exchange, centred on a core question: what does ‘meaningful learning’ actually mean? When does an educational experience leave a lasting mark on the student’s mind and person? What cognitive, relational, and contextual conditions must be created for learning to be more than momentary performance?\nNeuroscience teaches that learning is a deeply embodied act, modulated by emotion, memory, attention, and intrinsic motivation. Yet schools continue to organise time, space, and assessment according to logics that often disregard these fundamental mechanisms. How can this gap be bridged? How can scientific evidence be translated into concrete teaching choices, without falling into neurobiological determinism or methodological improvisation?\nThe discussion will explore pedagogical practices that place the learner in their full complexity at the centre: competency-based teaching, cooperative learning, metacognition, the role of formative feedback, and the management of emotions in the classroom as a resource rather than an obstacle. The aim is not to import foreign models uncritically or to chase pedagogical trends, but to build a grounded, reflective, and scientifically informed professional teaching culture.\nThe round table is addressed to school leaders, teachers, researchers, and trainers.\n\n\nProgramme (2 hours – in Italian)\nSPEAKERS\n\nAntonello Giannelli – President, ANP\nMaria Luisa Iavarone – Full Professor, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope\n2 school leaders – To be defined\n\nMODERATOR\n\nLicia Cianfriglia, ANP\n\n\n\n \n

🇮🇹 Symposium | Confused and Happy. Italian Teachers Between Change, Crisis, and Job Satisfaction (Be for Education Foundation)

3:00pm - 4:45pm

Scienze Politiche (CU002): Sala Lauree

Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Sala Lauree

Promoted by Be for Education Foundation

\nPromoted by Be for Education Foundation\n\n\n\nTeachers play a crucial role in the daily functioning of the school system and are called upon to mediate among numerous demands, covering different roles even within a single day. At the same time, teachers are central actors in school transformations, as they are the primary implementers of educational policies and systematically find themselves mediating between social innovations and the persistence of school bureaucracy. Alongside these tensions, which place teaching somewhere between an autonomous profession and clerical employment, a further set of significant challenges stems from the demands of social interactions—not only in educating and caring for students, but also in interfacing with parents and other professional figures.\nThis complex set of tasks, roles, and responsibilities leads to high stress levels for teachers and, particularly in Italy for those at the end of their careers, modest salary recognition. It is therefore unsurprising to find profound dissatisfaction among teachers regarding the social perception of their work and the belief that they do not enjoy the social prestige they deserve. Nor is it surprising to see the media representation of teachers as burned out and in deep crisis. Closer inspection, however, reveals that teachers generally tend to reaffirm their career choice and, above all, report widespread and high satisfaction with many aspects of their job.\nThe symposium stems from this apparent contradiction and seeks to address three crucial questions:\n\nHow do elements of satisfaction and crisis coexist within the teaching body?\nWhich teacher profiles appear most at risk, and which school factors can tip teachers toward distress? Which factors can serve as resources?\nWhat policies can be introduced to support teachers?\n\nThe symposium compares the results of three major surveys on teachers—OECD-TALIS 2024, the Fourth National Survey on Teachers, and HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) Teachers—aiming to provide a nuanced answer to these questions, which are often oversimplified in the press. It highlights the importance of conducting rigorous research on teachers’ needs as a vital component for the smooth functioning of the school environment.\n\n\nProgramme (2 hours – held in Italian)\nSPEAKERS\n\nGianluca Argentin (University of Milano-Bicocca)\nLaura Palmerio (INVALSI)\nVeronica Velasco (University of Milano-Bicocca)\n\nCHAIR AND DISCUSSANT\nProf. Orazio Giancola (Sapienza University of Rome)\n\n\n \n

★ Plenary #2. KEYNOTE LECTURE | Radhika Gorur: "Data, Knowledge and Democracy: A Focus on Emerging Cultures in Education Policy"

5:30pm - 7:00pm

Rettorato: Aula Magna

Location: Rettorato: Aula Magna

Introduced and moderated by Paolo Landri, Research Director at the National Research Council (CNR-IRISS).

Further information on keynote lectures are available on the conference website: https://www.scuolademocratica-conference.net/keynote-speakers-4/.

Modern democracies rely on data to support evidence-based policymaking (EBP). Over the last fifty years, EBP has been fuelled an explosion of data in the form of indicators, surveys, comparisons, statistical modelling and so on. In education, comparative surveys such as TIMSS and PISA and national performance assessments have shaped policy in consequential ways. Such data have come to be seen as apolitical, fair and trustworthy – and as essential tools for democratic decision-making. Since numbers are like a universal language and amenable to simplified visualisations, they have also become the cornerstone of transparency – citizens are encouraged to see the data for themselves to make informed political decisions. \nHowever, more recently, data have taken a ‘digital turn,’ characterised by real-time data flows, predictive analytics, algorithmic modelling, dashboards and artificial intelligence (AI). These forms of data promote new forms of ‘data-driven decision-making’ (DDDM) that appear distinct in significant ways from the ‘evidence-based policymaking’ (EBP). Moreover, policy advice is increasingly shaped by human-technology and public-private assemblages: policymakers now work alongside data scientists, consultants and AI vendors, often drawing on infrastructures and instruments developed by private knowledge brokers such as PwC and Microsoft, in ways that are often opaque.\nThis keynote explores the implications of the shift from EBP to DDDM for democratic decision-making in education, raising questions regarding the impacts of this shift for knowledge, democracy and education.

📍 REGISTRATION

8:00am - 7:00pm

☕️ WELCOME COFFEE

9:00am - 10:30am

🍴 BRUNCH BREAK

11:45am - 12:45pm

☕️ COFFEE BREAK

4:45pm - 5:15pm