SOCIAL HISTORY OF EDUCATION
Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: STEFANO LENTINIExpected Learning Outcomes
The social history of education is a research discipline that tends to analyze, in historical key, the education-society link, starting from the assumption that every formative experience is itself a concretely social experience, and that, the pedagogical interventions of various types (education, leisure, etc.) from ideological and political choices. In this perspective, the course aims to offer a systematic picture of the history of pedagogical theories and practices up to the present day.
Knowledge and understanding (DD1)
- Knowing theories and models in the pedagogical area to interpret educational and training events in a historical-evolutionary and political-economic perspective (of1)
Knowledge and applied understanding (DD2)
- Connect the theoretical and methodological contents learned to the interpretation of past, present, future events and processes (of4)
Autonomy of judgment (DD3)
- Knowing how to summarize the different approaches present in the theories of education and training (of6)
Course Structure
Face-to-face/distance learning.
If the course is given in mixed mode or distance, the necessary variations can be introduced from what was stated previously, in order to respect the program provided and reported in the syllabus
Required Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of major historical events.
Attendance of Lessons
Attendance at the lessons, although not compulsory, is strongly recommended because of the particular way in which the study programme is carried out. During the lessons, it is possible to test the basic concepts of the topics on the agenda through exercises of various kinds (study groups, short reports, etc.).
Detailed Course Content
The course aims to provide students with a systematic picture of the social history of education, with particular reference to socio-pedagogical issues, currents of thought and authors until today.
A focused look at the history of pedagogical epistemology will allow the deepening of educational places and figures dedicated to the educational treatment for the social recovery of deviant children and people with disabilities.
Textbook Information
General section: history of pedagogical epistemology
1. S. Santamaita, Storia dell’educazione e delle pedagogie, Pearson, Milano 2025 (270 pp.)
Special section: Juvenile deviance and educational treatment
2. A. Mangione, A. Pulvirenti (a cura di), La giustizia penale minorile: formazione, devianza, diritto e processo, Giuffré Francis Lefebvre, Milano 2020 (pp. 1-57; pp. 624-644) - (144 pp.)
3. 3. P. Bertolini, L. Caronia, Ragazzi difficili. Pedagogia interpretativa e linee di intervento, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2021 (243 pp.)
Monographic section: History of childhood and juvenile marginalization
4. S. Lentini, Bambini in manicomio. Roma (1975). L’inchiesta-denuncia di psichiatria Democratica, in «Quaderni di intercultura», Anno XIV/2022 (15 pp.), free download https://cab.unime.it/journals/index.php/qdi/article/view/3976/3684
or, alternatively
4. R. Raimondo, Disability and Childhood in the Asylum of Bologna : Continuity and Changes during the Nineteenth Century (1811-1902), in «Paideutika», 16(31),33-50 (17 pp.), free download
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The course explores the history of pedagogical epistemology, tracing its development from Ancient Egypt to the rise of behaviorism. It also examines the relationship between technologies and education, with particular attention to how tools and innovations have shaped teaching and learning practices. Finally, the program addresses specific pedagogical approaches, analyzing their theoretical foundations and practical applications. | S. Santamaita, Storia dell'educazione e delle pedagogie, Pearson, Milano 2025 |
| 2 | A. Criscenti, L'educazione dei minori fra disagio sociale e responsabilità educativa;S. Lentini, Interventi educativi per i detenuti minorenni: storia ed evoluzione | A. Mangione, A. Pulvirenti (eds.), La giustizia penale minorile: formazione, devianza, diritto e processo, Giuffré Francis Lefebvre, Milano 2020 |
| 3 | S. Lentini, Interventi educativi per i detenuti minorenni: storia ed evoluzione | |
| 4 | The denied childhood of children in menta hospitals | S. Lentini, Bambini in manicomio. Roma (1975). L’inchiesta-denuncia di psichiatria Democratica, in «Quaderni di intercultura», Anno XIV/2022 |
| 5 | Deviance and Educational Interventions with Deviant Minors: Reading a 'Classic' of Pedagogy | P. Bertolini, L. Caronia, Ragazzi difficili. Pedagogia interpretativa e linee di intervento, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2021 |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
The oral examination of the discipline Social History of Education takes place at the end of the course, according to an official timetable published on the dedicated site by DISFOR; the evaluation of the final interview, by the commission, will take into account, overall, the following general rating indices:
- The breadth of the subject matter and consistency of the discussion;
- Specialist lexical correctness;
- Depth level and theoretical link-up skills;
- Ability to relate knowledge to the specific contexts/areas of intervention of the educator.
Note: the learning test can also be carried out by telematics, if conditions require it.
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
1. The relationship between social structure and learning processes in social history;
2. Define the content and reasons for critical pedagogy;
3. The scientific method of critical pedagogy and the reading of the "individual-society-culture" link.
4. The medical pedagogues.