Conference Program

This contribution reflects on the outcomes of a professional development path focused on the “Learning to Learn” (L2L) competence, developed as part of an internship project related to the Master’s Degree Program in Primary Teacher Education at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (academic years 2021/22–2025/26).

In line with the scientific literature that identifies L2L as a factor of equity and democracy (Deakin Crick, Stringher, Ren, 2014), the study proceeds from the hypothesis that the training program fostered among participants a broad view of competence (Hounsell, 1979), evident both in theoretical conceptualizations and in the stated pedagogical choices for school contexts.

At the same time, the research group acknowledges the complexity involved in operationalizing the construct and the presence of several critical issues in everyday educational practice. The investigation therefore aims not only to identify elements of coherence with the proposed framework, but also to highlight limitations of the training program and the professional needs of teachers, understood as key indicators for the redesign of the next three-year training program.

The research design involves teachers who hosted and supported student teachers during their internship project, former student teachers, and current student teachers, and develops through three levels of data collection:

• Investigating conceptions and practices related to L2L, and thus the persistence of professional learning over time, through an ad hoc long-term questionnaire (closed and open-ended questions) administered to cohorts from 2021/22 to 2024/25;
• Examining the relationship between the training received and enacted practices, with particular attention to implementation difficulties, through a final ad hoc questionnaire (including closed and open-ended questions) addressed to the 2024/25 and 2025/26 cohorts;
• Interpreting emerging professional development needs and contextual constraints through qualitative in-depth exploration based on focus groups conducted with mentor teachers and student teachers.

The results aim to contribute to the debate on competence-oriented teaching focused on Learning to Learn in preschool and primary school, highlighting which training devices and methodological approaches can effectively support teachers in fostering students’ autonomy and empowerment. In this perspective, the study discusses the conditions required for Learning to Learn to become a widespread democratic practice (Vainikainen, Hautamäki, 2022), rather than remaining confined to a purely theoretical dimension.