Conference Program

This paper examines DE.CO.DE, a pilot initiative in the Lake Geneva region that positions young people aged 15 to 25 as active agents in strengthening democratic culture in the face of disinformation, deepfakes, and artificial intelligence. Rather than treating media literacy as a technical competence alone, the project conceptualises it as a democratic practice grounded in collective inquiry, public reasoning, and shared responsibility.

DE.CO.DE is framed as a multi level Learning Community structured around youth participation and agency. At the micro level, workshops function as youth to youth democratic spaces in which participants critically analyse digital content, examine the political implications of algorithmic systems, and deliberate on norms for responsible engagement in public debate. Pedagogical approaches include problem based learning, debate, and facilitated collective reflection, with a sustained emphasis on voice, reciprocity, and the co construction of knowledge.

At the ecosystem level, the initiative connects a university research centre, schools, journalists, youth networks, and civic actors in Geneva and Vaud, forming a cross sector learning community in which young people engage directly with researchers, educators, and media professionals around questions of democratic responsibility in digital environments in Switzerland and beyond. This interorganizational dimension extends democratic learning beyond formal classrooms and situates youth participation within a broader regional process aimed at strengthening democratic resilience.

The initiative further integrates journalists with international field experience and a participant cohort composed of both locally embedded youth and international students, deliberately creating a space for the exchange of situated media experiences across diverse political and cultural contexts.

By linking youth engagement at the local level to global information disorders, and by connecting both local and international youths living in the region, the paper argues that youth centred Learning Communities can operate as democratic infrastructures that cultivate critical judgement, systems thinking, and collaborative capacities. It also reflects on the institutional and pedagogical conditions required to sustain democratic participation and interorganizational learning over time.

Research has repeatedly documented the fragmented, selective, and often symbolic use of educational research in policy and school practice (Edwards-Schachter & Greca, 2017). Evidence is frequently invoked rhetorically, yet only partially translated into collective decision-making or structural change. This persistent gap has been framed, in broader science policy debates, as a manifestation of the “Ivory Tower” problem: the relative isolation of academic knowledge from the social contexts it is meant to serve. In response, frameworks of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and Public Engagement have emerged as attempts to reconfigure the relationship between science and society( Owen et al., 2012; Ceseracciu, 2023). In both concepts, research moves beyond dissemination or consultation; it entails the meaningful involvement of citizens in shaping research questions, methods, interpretations, and uses. However, while these frameworks have been widely discussed in fields such as technology and sustainability, their implications for educational research remain uncertain and under-theorized.

If responsibility and engagement are to be structurally embedded rather than rhetorically endorsed, they require educational practices that redistribute epistemic agency. In the field of teacher education, this opens a crucial possibility: repositioning students not as passive recipients or future “users” of evidence, but as co-researchers participating in the co-production, translation, and circulation of locally relevant knowledge (Timmis et al., 2024). Further pedagogical framing is necessary, though. I therefore build upon the theory of Learning Communities (LCs) presented as democratic responses to global socio-ecological challenges (Montanari, 2025; Francesconi et al., 2024). Pre-service teachers can be conceptualized as boundary actors who traverse institutional domains—universities, schools, municipal authorities—facilitating the movement of knowledge across them.

This paper argues that the transformative potential of LCs depends not only on partnerships between institutions and local actors, but on the democratization of educational knowledge itself. Democratic schooling, in this sense, demands infrastructures that enable communities to critically generate, deliberate upon, and act on evidence, rather than merely receive expert recommendations.

I hence introduce an empirical case, namely, a course-embedded co-research project involving 134 pre-service primary teachers at the University of Padova. Working in small groups, students designed and administered interviews and questionnaires grounded in European competence frameworks, collecting 383 responses within school networks. A core research item examined how educational research is perceived and mobilized in school innovation processes. Mixed-methods analysis revealed a persistent perception–practice gap: research is rhetorically valued but rarely integrated into collective decision-making. However, stronger orientations toward research use emerged when initiatives were locally anchored, problem-driven, and discussed within proximate decision arenas, suggesting that proximity and deliberative spaces are decisive for uptake. Crucially, the co-research process itself functioned as a Learning Community intervention. Through cycles of co-definition, data production, joint analysis, and member checking, students, faculty, and school actors engaged in structured collective sensemaking.

I argue that beyond improving students and schools’ awareness on research use, the process cultivated a culture of scientific literacy understood as a collective democratic capacity: the ability of a community to question sources and deliberate on evidence.

Introduction

“Classi in rete” model uses digital tools (Webex and Knowledge Forum) to enable teachers and students in small schools to participate in new learning experiences and collaborate with other small and “standard” schools through shared planning and joint educational projects (Mangione et al., 2021). Designed to address the geographical and cultural isolation often affecting these schools, the model aims to promote teachers’ and students’ technological and collaborative skills. The paper focuses on the impact on teachers’ skill development, considering evidence (Kormos & Wisdom, 2023) that teachers in small and rural schools often show lower technological literacy and use technology less frequently than urban teachers.

Method

The study involved 26 participants: 18 teachers (16 females; M age = 50.06, SD = 10.79) and 8 school principals (7 females; M age = 56.88, SD = 6.94) of small schools in Liguria. Data was collected at the end of the programme through a purpose-built questionnaire with five parallel items for teachers and principals, enabling systematic cross-role comparison. The tool assessed perceived development of teachers’ collaborative (3 items) and technological (2 items) competences on a 5-point Likert scale (5 = Completely agree; 1 = Completely disagree). Given the ordinal measurement level and limited sample size, non-parametric inferential statistics were employed throughout. Between-group differences were assessed via the Mann–Whitney U test. Within-group comparisons were examined through Friedman's test; where significant effects emerged, pairwise post hoc comparisons were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Differences across the two technological competencies items were evaluated directly via the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Results

The analysis showed consistently high ratings (>3.5 on a 1–5 scale), indicating strong agreement among teachers and school leaders that participation in “Classi in rete” fostered teachers’ collaborative and technological competences. No statistically significant differences emerged between the two groups’ overall evaluations. For collaborative competences responses considered jointly revealed a significant difference (χ²(2)=10.25, p<.01): post hoc analyses showed stronger collaboration with teachers from other schools (M=4.61, SD=0.57) than with colleagues of the same school (M=4.19, SD=1.06; Z=-2.95, p<.01). For technological competences, no significant differences emerged between the use of the asynchronous (Knowledge Forum) and synchronous tool (Webex).

Discussion

“Classi in rete” can be framed within the framework of ‘extended school’ (Mangione et al., 2025) in digital space, where innovation in small schools is shaped by educational spatiality, plurality, and continuity. In this perspective, digital networking becomes a condition that expands educational action beyond geographical constraints. The evidence supports this framework: stronger teachers’ collaboration across schools than within schools suggests digitally mediated educational spatiality beyond institutional boundaries. Similar evaluations by teachers and principals indicate shared recognition of competence development (plurality), while comparable gains in synchronous and asynchronous technological competences reflect balanced collaborative practices, supporting educational continuity.

Problem

Cooperation between schools, families, and local actors is increasingly recognized as a key element in the development of community-based learning communities (CBLCs). Research shows that especially parental involvement positively influences students’ learning outcomes and well-being (Epstein, 1985; Jeynes, 2011). However, educational trajectories remain strongly associated with socio-economic status and migration background, particularly in schools located in socio-economically disadvantaged contexts (low-SES contexts) (Mang et al., 2023; Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2024). These schools often assume broader social responsibilities. However, cooperation with marginalized families remains challenging. Language barriers, institutional distance, and negative school experiences may limit participation (Barce, 2025). In addition, deficit-oriented discourses about schools in disadvantaged areas can obscure structural conditions and hinder inclusive collaboration (Bremm, Klein & Racherbäumer, 2016). Understanding how schools engage families in these contexts is therefore crucial for developing inclusive CBLCs.

Purpose

This paper examines how parental involvement in SES-schools in Germany is described in the educational research literature and how these practices can contribute to the development of CBLCs. The study addresses three research questions:
(1) Which forms of parental involvement are described in SES-schools?
(2) Which conditions foster or hinder successful cooperation between schools and families?
(3) Which measures are discussed in the literature to strengthen collaboration?

Theoretical Lens

The study draws on research on educational inequality and family–school partnerships and connects these perspectives to socio-ecological approaches to learning communities. Within this framework, schools, families, and community actors are understood as interconnected participants in local learning ecosystems shaped by multiple contextual influences (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Epstein, 2011). Parental involvement is conceptualized not only as support for individual learning but also as a form of collective participation contributing to democratic and collaborative learning environments and to the development of CBCLs (Wenger, 1998).

Methodology

The study is based on a systematic literature review (Willems, 2020; Engelmann, 2024). In total, 454 publications were screened using a PRISMA-inspired procedure. After title and abstract screening and a full-text review of 62 publications, six empirical studies met all inclusion criteria. The studies were analyzed using structuring qualitative content analysis following Kuckartz and Rädiker (2022). A theory-informed category system synthesized findings on forms of parental involvement, contextual conditions, barriers, and measures.

Findings

Across the studies, informational formats (e.g., parent meetings or information letters) represent the most common form of parental involvement. Counseling formats such as individual consultations are also widely documented. Additional approaches include participatory structures, cooperative formats, low-threshold offers (e.g., parent cafés), and school-wide initiatives.

The studies mainly address families experiencing multiple disadvantages, including poverty, language barriers, educational distance and unstable family conditions. Successful cooperation is associated with trust-building, clear communication, cultural sensitivity, and low-threshold access, while barriers include language difficulties, precarious living conditions, time constraints, and limited trust in institutions.

Discussion

The findings suggest that parental involvement in low-SES contexts often develops through relationship-oriented and accessible practices rather than formal participation structures. From a learning communities perspective, these practices can serve as entry points for broader collaboration between schools, families, and local actors and contribute to the development of inclusive CBLCs.

Learning Communities and Educating Cities share a foundational promise: to promote inclusion and participation as conditions for democratic education (IAEC, 2020; UNESCO, 2014a; Zorde & Lapidot-Lefler, 2025). However, although inclusion is widely framed as a global challenge and a declared policy objective (UN, 2006; EC, 2021), in real territorial contexts it often takes heterogeneous and sometimes ambivalent forms, oscillating between normative discourse and concrete implementation (Gillovic & McIntosh, 2020; Liasidou & Stylianou, 2024).
Starting from this tension, the paper interprets the Educating City as a networked socio-educational system that can be understood within an ecosystemic framework of learning (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Vélez et al., 2024), and thus as an extended territorial Learning Community. In this perspective, the city is not conceived as an administrative boundary, but as a distributed learning environment in which institutions, cultural organizations, and urban practices co-produce knowledge and redefine forms of participation. Accessibility therefore becomes an indicator of the quality of relationships between microsystems, mesosystems, and governance levels, making it possible to assess whether inter-institutional cooperation generates transformative outcomes.
The paper presents a case study conducted in Palma de Mallorca, a city belonging to the International Association of Educating Cities, examined as an urban context with a strong cultural-tourism orientation and a commitment to policies promoting accessibility and participation (Ajuntament de Palma de Mallorca, 2014). The study investigates whether and how inclusive historical-cultural tourism practices – understood as heritage mediation devices accessible to people with disabilities and to diverse audiences – produce educational effects on the local community. Such practices may configure the city as a learning community capable of integrating residents and visitors within shared processes of awareness and participation.
From a methodological perspective, the study adopts an embedded single-case design (Yin, 2005), articulated through sub-units of analysis related to practices and devices, and based on multiple sources of evidence: document analysis, direct observation, and interviews (Eisenhardt, 1989). The analysis distinguishes episodic interventions from systemic configurations, emphasizing the documentability of practices, the plurality of experiences, and their pedagogical relevance.
The inclusive quality of historical-cultural tourism practices represents a significant indicator of a territory’s transformative capacity (Bellato & Cheer, 2021). Inclusion thus acquires pedagogical value when it supports competencies that are essential for democratic participation and the development of agency: critical and systemic thinking, collaboration, and flexibility (Nyanjom et al., 2018; UNESCO, 2014b). Only within such a framework can the Educating City be interpreted as a territorial Learning Community capable of activating processes of collective learning and civic co-responsibility, critically engaging with the global challenge of inclusive equity.

In recent years, socio-educational systems have increasingly faced the challenge of integrating emerging technologies while preserving the relational and democratic foundations of educational work. At the same time, local partnerships among schools, social services, and community organizations are becoming central to addressing complex global challenges. Within this perspective, learning communities represent a key framework for fostering collective knowledge production, democratic participation, and transformative educational practices.

This contribution presents preliminary findings and theoretical reflections emerging from the TEACH-AI (Transformative Educational Approaches for Civic and Human-centred AI) research project, conducted by the CREDDI research group at eCampus University (Adamoli et al., 2026). The project investigates how generative artificial intelligence is perceived, understood, and potentially integrated within Italian socio-educational services, involving professionals from social cooperatives and community-based organizations. Through a participatory research design combining survey research and action-oriented methodologies, the project aims to analyse current practices and to support the co-development of strategies for a responsible and human-centred integration of AI in educational contexts.

The empirical phase of the research involved over 400 workers from social cooperatives distributed across the Italian territory. Data were collected through the PAIR (Participatory AI for Inclusive Relationships) questionnaire (Rondonotti & Emanuel, in press), designed to investigate three key analytical dimensions: capability, referring to professionals’ competences to use AI meaningfully; affordance-in-practice, addressing the situated ways in which technological possibilities are activated within everyday work; and sentiment, capturing the emotional and socio-cultural perceptions associated with AI adoption.

The results highlight an ambivalent relationship between socio-educational professionals and generative AI. On the one hand, AI is recognized as a potential resource for accessing information, supporting problem solving, and optimizing administrative tasks. On the other hand, participants express concerns about the possible weakening of educational relationships, risks related to data privacy, and the standardization of complex socio-educational processes. This tension reveals a broader challenge for learning communities: how to harness technological affordances without compromising the relational, contextual, and ethical dimensions that characterize educational care (Fiorucci & Bevilacqua, 2024).

From the perspective of learning communities, the TEACH-AI project proposes a framework in which technological innovation is embedded within participatory governance processes involving educators and organizations. By adopting action research and collaborative design practices, the project aims to support collective learning processes that enable professionals to critically interpret and shape the role of AI in their contexts. In this sense, learning communities become spaces where technological, pedagogical, and ethical dimensions intersect, allowing local actors to co-construct responses to global transformations (Garkisch & Goldkind, 2025).