Conference Program

This contribution takes La grande fabbrica delle parole by de Lestrade as a theoretical device through which to interrogate the relationship between language, cultural poverty, and educational equity within the context of shared reading aloud. In the world depicted in the story, words have a price and are unequally distributed: language appears as a scarce resource, regulated by procedures that govern access to and use of it (Foucault, 1999; Foucault, 2020a). Poverty does not coincide with silence, but with the reduction of the symbolic repertoire and with the impossibility of participating in a space of speech (Giancola & Salmieri, 2024; Finetti, 2024).

On this basis, reading aloud is examined as a practice capable of intervening in linguistic inequalities when conceived dialogically (Pera et al., 2023; Salvato, 2024). Equity does not depend on exposure to words, nor on a quantitative expansion of vocabulary, but on the possibility of suspending, temporarily, the logics that administer their circulation (Biesta, 2023). Within this perspective, inequalities operate not only at a material level, but through regimes of representation that render them intelligible and acceptable within a historical episteme (Foucault, 2020a; Foucault, 1999); access to shared words does not abolish inequalities, yet it enables them to be named, to be withdrawn from processes of naturalization, and to be rearticulated in new forms (Dewey, 1992). Shared reading thus institutes a scene in which words can be taken up again, questioned, and transformed, and in which participants are recognized as legitimate interlocutors (Rosati, 2022).

The theoretical framework, developed in dialogue with Foucault, rests on a conception of language as a dispositif of power and subjectivation, where discourse is understood as a regulated practice that produces effects of truth and shapes what can be said, thought, and acknowledged as valid (Foucault, 1999; Foucault, 2020b; Foucault, 2014). Cultural poverty can therefore be reread as an effect of discursive regimes that delimit access to speech and its legitimacy (Finetti, 2024; Giancola & Salmieri, 2024).

The reference to Biesta clarifies the pedagogical implications of this analysis. Biesta criticizes the reduction of education to a measurable process defined in terms of learning outcomes and performance, proposing instead that education be conceived as a space of subjectification in which the subject may emerge not as a programmed result but as an unpredictable event (Biesta, 2023). In this framework, shared reading is not valued for its quantifiable effects on linguistic development; rather, it is understood as a practice that interrupts dispositifs of measurement and economies of performance, opening a space in which speech may circulate without being immediately translated into competence (Biesta, 2023; Illouz, 2024).

Reading aloud thus acquires a specific political valence, calling into question the discursive conditions that determine who may speak and with what authority (Foucault, 2020b; Foucault, 2019). The shared experience of the text becomes a laboratory in which access to language intertwines with the possibility of redefining what counts as common experience, rendering speech not merely an instrument of communication, but a site of democratic transformation (Dewey, 1992; Rein, 2025).

This contribution explores the role of the body in teacher education within a perspective oriented toward the construction of a democratic school. (Biesta, 2023). Embodiment is conceived not merely as a functional or technical dimension, but as an epistemological, relational, and ethical device capable of redefining teaching and learning processes. (Csordas, 1994). Building upon the paradigm of embodiment, this work recognizes it as the very foundation of the cognitive experience. In this perspective, learning is not a purely abstract process but an event rooted in action and sensory perception, where the body acts as a dynamic interface between the self and the world (Stolz, 2015; Varela, Thompson, Rosch, 1991).

Starting from a Foucauldian perspective, the organization of space and time within the institutional contexts often force both students and teachers to behave in a stereotypical, mechanical and impersonal ways, using the body as a vehicle of surveillance and punishment rather than as a tool of trasformation, awareness, and spiritual growth. (Foucault, 1975). In contrast to this vision, several prestigious pedagogists of the past such as Paulo Freire (1970;1996) and bel Hooks (1994) suggest an alternative approach, based on the intrisic nature of the body to exercise its ‘voice’. Free movement, gesture, and mimicry enable the person to become an individual, an active participant in society, possessing agency and empowerment.

Indeed, the relationship between embodiment and movement reveals profound symbolic and relational dimensions. In formative practices, the body and movement can become a tool for building self-awareness, cultivating the ability to reflect, inhabiting the world, and developing complex expressive abilities. (Mezirow, 2016). In this sense, the teaching-learning process is a transformative pathway in which movement functions as a catalyst for a disorienting dilemma.By engaging in non-habitual motor patterns, the individual dismantles rigid meaning schemes, triggering a process of embodied critical reflection that makes pedagogical transformation more profound and visceral.

Specifically, this paper focuses on body percussion and dance movement therapy as multimodal devices capable of combining visual, tactile, verbal, and kinesthetic aspects. (Danzì, 2023) These practices foster an embodied exploration of personal, relational, and physical space (Mignosi, 2017, 2019; Gamelli, 2011) according to an holistic vision of the individual. The research presented aims to demonstrate, how through body practice, educational processes become tools of trasformation, enabling individuals to flourish and manifest their potential as active and engaged citizens.

As teachers of mathematics, science, and technology in a lower secondary school in Salento, we
often ask ourselves what makes a school truly democratic. Does science education belong only in
textbooks, or can it become a shared language for an entire community?
In our school, we developed Scicafè, a project born from the need to connect formal learning with
the social and cultural life of our local area. Its core idea is simple yet transformative: students
move beyond the role of passive learners and become active organisers of scientific dialogue. Each
year, about 80 students in the final year of lower secondary school take part in planning and
carrying out a public event involving scientists, experts, families, local institutions, associations,
and citizens. They help contact guests, manage communication, define the budget, contribute to the
organisation of the event, and take part in the public dialogue.
What makes Scicafè especially meaningful is that it turns the school into a community hub: not just
a place where knowledge is transmitted, but a civic and relational space where learning is built
through responsibility, participation, and encounter. Science is no longer experienced only as a
school subject, but as a shared cultural practice connected to everyday life, local identity, and public
discussion.
Some episodes have shown us particularly clearly the human and educational value of this
experience. Nobel Prize winner Giorgio Parisi joined our students not only in scientific dialogue,
but also in a moment of cultural exchange that led him to approach pizzica, the traditional Salento
dance. That encounter later inspired the creation of a local orchestra dedicated to him, involving
students, teachers, former students, and members of the community. In another edition, Federica
Draghi shared the story of how, during lower secondary school, a science activity helped her
recognise the path she wanted to follow. For our students, moments like these make science more
accessible, more human, and more closely connected to life choices and aspirations.

From a pedagogical perspective, the project shifts the focus from simply teaching science to
fostering student agency. Students are entrusted with real tasks and responsibilities, and the
interdisciplinary nature of the project creates inclusive conditions in which each student can find a
meaningful role. School-based documentation and assessment practices suggest a progressive
strengthening of students’ organisational skills, social interaction, and ability to engage with the
local context.
In conclusion, Scicafè represents a meaningful example of an open and community-based school
experience. By turning science into a catalyst for dialogue and social cohesion, it shows how a
democratic learning ecosystem can help younger generations navigate complexity with critical
thinking, participation, and a stronger sense of belonging.

Transformative Education (TE), as articulated under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.7, aims to enable students to align knowledge, values and practices with socio-ecological sustainability and global justice. However, in the context of an accelerated climate collapse and a persistent "permacrisis", approaches to sustainability education still appear to be too minority. In a context of increasing precariousness, education professionals may find themselves working with young people who may increasingly take radical positions towards the issues of social, political and climate crises (Merzagora et al., 2024). Starting from this, this contribution intends to propose counter-narrative devices to promote transformative education interventions.

In a research experience carried out in 2024 in an attempt to explore the experiences of activists, semi-structured interviews (no. 26) were conducted with people who participate in political life, in activism and association realities. The central theme of interest was to bring to the surface beliefs and opinions about the repertoires of radical actions and civil disobedience within climate movement. From the analysis of the data, different perspectives of meaning emerged (Mezirow, 2003; Fabbri and Melacarne, 2023). One argues that environmental protection must take place through democratic tools such as laws, awareness campaigns and political pressure. The second believes that the methods of the first are not effective enough and therefore implements awareness campaigns, demonstrations in squares, flash mobs. The third, on the other hand, driven by the sense of urgency of the climate crisis, uses direct actions and a strong break with existing rules, arguing that blockades, occupations and civil disobedience can attract attention and force institutions to act more quickly.

How can we work in an educational key to ensure that these perspectives do not lose permeability and become exclusive over time and a limit to rational dialectics?

A viable way forward is to build counter-narratives from the bottom up (RAN, 2015; Schlegel, 2022). An example is the comic book Davide, created by Dante Caramellino and Claudio Melacarne of the University of Siena, which uses graphic storytelling as an educational tool to encourage dialogue and critical reflection. The comic tells the story of Davide, a high school boy who ends up approaching an extreme group. During a violent racist attack on a club frequented by black people, Davide realizes that he is on the wrong side of the story, stops his "companions" and decides to narrate himself independently, becoming the protagonist and not a secondary character.

Counter-narratives, when they are built from bottom-up stories, can encourage the creation of spaces for dialogue and reflection. In this way, it is possible to develop educational methods and approaches that avoid increasing polarization, that know how to welcome contradictions and offer a more realistic vision of reality, made up of complexities and solutions to be negotiated and reconsidered continuously (Melacarne, 2021).

There is a gap in current school-based health programs. Traditional methods often provide concrete information on diseases but neglect the deeper psychological, ethical, social, and environmental dimensions that influence individuals and social life.

This case study focuses on SASPEM (SAlute SPEcchio del Mondo), an experimental health education project that transforms elements of school curriculum into a "One-Health" educational research laboratory involving teachers, students and experts both from the health as well as from the communication world. It is supported by relevant institutions and aligns with the UN 2030 Agenda, providing opportunities to targeting Goal 3 (Health and Well-being), Goal 4 (Quality Education), and Goal 5 (Gender Equality).

Moving away from vertical, top-down instruction, SASPEM adopts a holistic perspective that links human health to animal and environmental well-being.

Some 10 teachers and 150 students are engaged across five Human Sciences classes and one Applied Sciences class from three prominent Italian high schools: Liceo Don Lorenzo Milani (Romano di Lombardia), Liceo Niccolò Machiavelli (Rome), and Liceo Vittoria Colonna (Rome).

The project’s methodology is rooted in three combined approaches:

Place-Based Education (PBE): Learning is rooted in the students' local and social contexts, making abstract scientific concepts personally relevant on the basis of their experience.

Trialogical Learning: Students, teachers, and experts collaborate to create a "shared object"—in this case, multimedia communication products—shifting the focus from passive listening to active production.

Action Research: Educators and researchers use participant observation and reflection questionnaires to collect qualitative data, aiming to unravel participants’ needs, reactions, feelings. The idea to build a replicable model of health education engaging the community and the relationship with and between different stakeholders .

The practical journey begins with a high-level scientific foundation. Students analyze an important video document: the 2024-25 Inaugural Prolusion on global health from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome. Their analysis serves as a springboard for intense, direct dialogues with medical experts and researchers. This interaction is designed to foster students’ agency—a sense of meaningful participation- and influence over their own health and life in their community and suggests further developments.

A peculiar feature of SASPEM is in fact its focus on multimedial communication. With the guidance of professional experts, each of the participating classes produces reels and podcasts translating complex medical-scientific concepts into accessible, engaging messages. Students not only deepen their scientific knowledge but also master digital storytelling and communication technologies.

By sharing these student-led products on school websites and specialized platforms, a wider community dialogue is sparked, in which students have a relevant role, finding new forms of agency and esperiencing their self-efficacy within a context of interdependence.

The importance of building agency and self-efficacy in students to tackle health issues is emphasised.

The case study explores the implications of a journey into the One Health approach and provides an overview of strudents’ perceptions, reactions and interests in health education drawing on the qualitative data collected.