Conference Program

This contribution is based primarily on an awareness of its own positioning about decolonial and intersectional theories. Unlike the conventional goal of reaching some sort of normative judgment, the present document analysis we propose is aimed at exploring how texts shape the epistemological and democratic potential of education. We are aware of the need to clarify the distinction between the levels of institutional documents and the level of decolonial theories. The research starts from an exploration of the conditions under which such decolonization would be conceivable, instead of beginning with the assumption that decolonization is not possible or that it has potentially already been achieved. The preliminary premise of this research is that, while the Italian ministerial guidelines use inclusive and pluralistic language in formulating the curriculum, there may be implicit epistemic hierarchies that do not really allow for a structural reconfiguration of the curriculum in decolonial terms. The research explores how the Italian ministerial guidelines configure a decolonial reconfiguration of the curriculum and under what epistemic conditions it is conceivable. The analysis takes an exploratory approach. It seeks to identify the ways in which the school curriculum develops through its discursive and epistemic frameworks. The aim is to determine how these frameworks support or hinder the possibility of rethinking educational practice, including school curricula, in a direction oriented towards emancipation and the enhancement of diversity. The research question is as follows:

What are the democratic knowledge and perspectives shaped by the Italian ministerial guidelines, and how do they help or hinder a decolonial reconceptualisation of educational practice?

Although the analysis does not intend to engage in an evaluation of the political will of the ministerial guidelines, the aim is to identify the particularities of certain discursive configurations and their impact on the epistemic boundaries through which democratic education is imagined.

Documents considered for research purposes:

• La via italiana per la scuola interculturale e l’integrazione degli alunni stranieri [‘‘The Italian way to intercultural schooling and the integration of foreign students’’], 2007

• Linee guida per l’accoglienza e l’integrazione degli alunni stranieri [‘‘Guidelines for the reception and integration of foreign students’’], 2014

• Diversi da chi? Raccomandazioni per l’integrazione degli alunni con cittadinanza non italiana [‘‘Different from whom? Recommendations for the integration of students with non-Italian citizenship’’], 2015

• Orientamenti interculturali. Idee e proposte per l’integrazione di alunne e alunni provenienti da contesti migratori [‘‘Intercultural guidelines: Ideas and proposals for the integration of students from migratory backgrounds’’], 2022

A preliminary document analysis suggests that the Italian ministerial guidelines use inclusive and democratic language, but do not really question colonial epistemic hierarchies. The ministerial guidelines formally recognise diversity but do not go beyond a knowledge framework that underpins the school curriculum and intercultural guidelines, which does not allow for an effectively decolonial approach. At the same time, although decolonial pedagogy is never explicitly mentioned, these institutional documents highlight certain conditions that could facilitate a dialogue from a decolonial perspective, such as the critique of ethnocentrism and assimilationism and the appreciation of culture and language.