Conference Program

This contribution focuses on learners’ autonomy in studying as well as student agency within school-based Service Learning (SL) experiences developed in the context of the Avanguardie Educative (AE) Network (Giunti et al., 2023). These experiences are interpreted as privileged contexts for the development of self-regulatory competencies, responsibility, and active participation. Drawing on established theoretical frameworks concerning autonomous learning, metacognition, and self-regulation (Boscolo, 2012; Cornoldi et al., 2018), SL is conceptualized as a pedagogical device capable of integrating disciplinary learning, social engagement, and student protagonism (Furco, 1996; Nieves, 2006).

The experiences documented within the AE Network indicate that students are involved in all phases of the learning process: from needs analysis to activity design, from the implementation of interventions to the evaluation of outcomes. Throughout this process, learners are required to independently plan their work, manage time and resources, collaborate with peers, and monitor the results of their actions. Such practices foster the development of self-regulation skills, metacognitive reflection, and awareness of one’s own study methods. In the SL projects implemented within the AE Network (Orlandini et al. 2020), a high degree of autonomy in managing activities emerges clearly, as responsibilities are directly entrusted to students, who organize their work, identify intervention strategies, and assess the effectiveness of their contributions. Research activities, material production, documentation, and dissemination of experiences stimulate sustained forms of self-directed learning, in which students become responsible for their own educational pathways and for the social impact of their actions (Lotti et al., 2025). The analysis of the documented practices also highlights how SL promotes a distinct form of situated agency, grounded in the assumption of responsibility toward oneself and the community (Mortari, 2017; Culcasi, 2025). Students do not merely carry out assigned tasks; rather, they act as intentional subjects capable of making informed decisions, solving problems, and adapting their strategies according to contexts and objectives. In this sense, service experiences become opportunities to develop a sense of self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and conscious engagement (Mortari, 2008). From an educational perspective, SL functions as a learning environment that makes learning processes visible and strengthens their reflective dimension. Through moments of self-assessment and reflective re-elaboration, students are guided to recognize their progress, identify critical issues, and improve their study strategies.

In conclusion, this contribution suggests that SL experiences significantly contribute to the development of students’ autonomy in learning and their agency. They promote a conception of learning as an active, responsible, and socially situated process, contributing to the formation of individuals capable of self-regulation, critical participation, and the conscious construction of their personal, cultural, and civic development trajectories.