GENERAL AND COMMUNITY PEDAGOGY

Easy to Read Version 

What the course is about

This course helps students to:

• understand what pedagogy is (the theory of education),

• learn how pedagogy works (its methods),

• know the main topics of education and training.

What you will learn

1. Knowledge and understanding (DD1)

• Learn the main theories and models of pedagogy.

• Use the basic words of pedagogy.

• Understand learning needs at different ages of life and in different contexts (formal, non-formal, informal).

2. Applying knowledge and understanding (DD2)

• Use what you learn to understand educational events of the past, present, and future.

• Know the tasks and organization of educational and training services.

• Connect theories, policies, and practices in education.

3. Making judgments (DD3)

• Compare and summarize the different theories of education.

4. Communication skills (DD4)

• Explain the meaning of your educational actions.

• Share ideas and activities with others.

5. Learning skills (DD5)

• Recognize your own learning needs.

• Build and follow a personal plan for growth.

• Check your own progress and use it to improve.

• About 40% of the course hours will be lectures.
  In these lectures, the teacher will present the course topics.

• The remaining 60% of the course hours will be for practical activities in class:

  • reworking the lesson contents,

  • working in small groups,

  • presenting the work in class (sometimes also at home).

• There may also be optional visits to associations working in community education.
  These visits connect theory with practice.

• During the course, students will be introduced to the educational and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
  AI will not be a separate lesson, but it will be used as:

  • a support for studying,

  • a tool for working with contents,

  • a way to develop a critical approach to educational technologies.

• If the course is delivered online or in blended mode, some organizational changes may be introduced.
  The goals and contents will remain the same.

To follow the course, students should have:

• Basic knowledge of contemporary history, Italian and European cultural history, and current events.

• Good skills in using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, to prepare written work and presentations.

• The ability to use online search engines to find information and study materials.

• A practical knowledge of English, sufficient to read and understand short academic texts.

• Attendance is not compulsory, but it is strongly recommended.

• Attending classes helps students to:

  • understand the course contents better,

  • discuss topics with classmates and the teacher,

  • check their learning progress.

• During the course there will be:

  • teacher explanations,

  • group and individual work,

  • guided study sessions,

  • presentations of assignments prepared by students.

• These activities will be used as formative assessments, helping students to self-evaluate their learning level.

• There will be two written mid-term tests (in November and December) and one final oral exam.

• Working students and non-attending students can contact the teacher for clarifications.

• Erasmus students may agree on the exam programme with the teacher after an interview.

This course is connected to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In particular, it supports Goal 4: Quality Education.

The course contributes to the following targets:

• Target 4.1: All students should have free, fair, and good-quality secondary education, leading to good learning outcomes.

• Target 4.5: Remove differences between men and women in education and ensure equal access at all levels of education and training, especially for vulnerable groups.

• Target 4.7: All learners should gain knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. This includes:

  • education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles,

  • human rights,

  • gender equality,

  • a culture of peace and non-violence,

  • global citizenship,

  • respect for cultural diversity and for the role of culture in sustainable development.

Frabboni, F., Pinto Minerva F., Introducción a la Pedagogía General [1a. ed.] 

Maccario D., La didattica nei contesti socioculturali e assistenziali, Carocci Faber, 2009, pp. 43-155.

Bastianoni P., Baiamonte M., Il progetto educativo nelle comunità per minori, Erickson, 2021, pp. 13-70; 87-102.

Karlsson S. G. (2020) Looking for elderly people´s needs: teaching critical reflection in Swedish social work education, Social Work Education, 39:2, 227-240, disponibile a: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02615479.2019.1617846?needAccess=true 

How the assessment works

To pass the course, students must complete three compulsory tests.
The final grade is unique and includes all tests.

The three tests

1. Test A – Written (individual)

   • Topic: places and times of education

   • Weight: 30%

   • When: by November (date on TEAMS)

   • Maximum grade: 30/30

   • If you fail, you can repeat the test:

     • 1st repeat: maximum 28/30

     • 2nd repeat: maximum 27/30

     • 3rd repeat and more: maximum 25/30

2. Test B – Written (individual)

   • Topic: educational work with the community

   • Weight: 30%

   • When: by December (date on TEAMS)

   • Same grade reduction rules as Test A.

3. Test C – Oral exam (individual)

   • Topic: the identity of pedagogy

   • Weight: 40%

   • When: during the exam session

   • Only students who passed Tests A and B can take this exam.

Special notes

• Working students who cannot attend may contact the lecturer for clarification.

• Erasmus students may agree on a different exam programme after an interview.

How grades are given

Rubric for Test A (written)

• 28–30/30: full understanding; critical analysis; solid argumentation; correct form and precise vocabulary.

• 24–27/30: good understanding; adequate analysis; appropriate vocabulary.

• 21–23/30: partial understanding; difficulties in comparing theories; limited reflection.

• 18–20/30: fragmentary understanding; weak reflection; basic vocabulary.

• <18/30: inadequate understanding; no reflection; incoherent argumentation; wrong vocabulary.

Rubric for Test B (written)

• 28–30/30: full understanding; critical analysis; personal critical point of view; precise vocabulary.

• 24–27/30: good understanding; adequate analysis; appropriate vocabulary.

• 21–23/30: partial understanding; limited reflection.

• 18–20/30: fragmentary understanding; poor reflective ability.

• <18/30: inadequate understanding; no reflection; incoherent argumentation.

Rubric for Test C (oral)

• 28–30/30: full understanding; critical analysis; clear, fluent oral presentation; precise vocabulary.

• 24–27/30: good understanding; well-structured oral presentation; appropriate vocabulary.

• 21–23/30: partial understanding; not always clear presentation.

• 18–20/30: fragmentary understanding; hesitant and weak oral presentation.

• <18/30: inadequate understanding; confused presentation; inappropriate vocabulary.

For each topic studied in class, students will receive some guiding questions.

These questions help to organize study work.

All questions are available on Microsoft Teams, in the course folder (Assessment tests).

Some examples of questions

From Frabboni and Pinto Minerva

• Why is it important to know the city for those working in education?

• What does “the city as a large decentralized classroom” mean?

• What does horizontal and vertical discontinuity in school mean?

• What are the risks of a cultural system based only on individual demand?

• What is meant by mass schooling?

• What problems limit the quality of school education?

• Why does Frabboni consider the non-formal system important?

• What are the causes of the disintegration of the education system?

• What features should an integrated education system have?

• What is the role of school?

• What is the role of non-formal education?

• What are the main educational problems of the school?

• In a reformed school, what are the goals of the education system?

• What are the objectives related to the social participation of educational institutions?

From Maccario

• What are the features of community education?

• What is the role of the community educator?

From Bastianoni and Baiamonte

• Who are the minors who enter the community?

• What are the features of educational planning in the community?