Raffaella C. STRONGOLI
Associate professor of Didactics and Special Education and lecturer in Didactics and Methods and Techniques of Educational Design, Organization and Research. PhD in Language Studies and Intercultural Education, founding member and board member of the Association Orti di Pace Sicilia. She has participated in numerous international research projects and scientific and publishing initiatives on the themes of environmental education, educational innovation and valuing differences. In particular, for the project "Task 21 "EdTech & AI: Creating pedagogical material for the 21st century," she was responsible from the pedagogical point of view for an international pilot teaching experiment of flipped classroom in the Course of Methods and Techniques of Educational Design, Organization and Research (CdlM 85 Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Design) from 2019 to 2024. He is a member of the research and working group of the Italian Society of Pedagogy (SIPED) "Pedagogy of the Environment, Agenda 2030, Sustainability of Wellbeing. Next Generation EU, Justice, Educational Resilience." As part of research projects promoted by the University of Catania, she has been a component of several research projects (FIR, FIRD, PIACERI) and is currently PI of the Starting Grant research project "EcoDidactics, Educational Innovation and Learning Environments" (EcoDiAmbi). The main lines of investigation of her research activity are related to: educational models and teaching practices in an ecological perspective with particular reference to the design of ecodidactics, design of educational spaces and outdoor learning experiences, educational metaphors related to learning-teaching processes, design of medial and flipped learning approach-inspired educational paths, gender, feminist and ecofeminist education.
Academic Research Activities
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From July 1, 2024 – present: Associate Professor of Didactics and Special Pedagogy at the Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania.
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From July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024: Tenure-track Assistant Professor (Art. 24, paragraph 3, letter b, Law no. 240/2010) in Didactics and Special Pedagogy at the Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania.
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From December 4, 2017 to May 4, 2021: Fixed-term Researcher (Art. 24, paragraph 3, letter a, Law no. 240/2010) in Didactics and Special Pedagogy at the Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania.
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From August 16, 2016 to December 3, 2017: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Educational Models and Training Processes. Design and Evaluation of Outdoor and Land-based Educational Practices (M-PED/01 and M-PED/04) at the Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, pursuant to Art. 22 of Law no. 240/2010. Scientific Director: Prof. Maria Tomarchio.
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Since October 31, 2016: Teaching Assistant in Didactics and Special Pedagogy (SSD: M-PED/03) for the Master’s Degree Course in Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Planning, University of Catania.
Education and Academic Training
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October 26, 2015: PhD in Linguistic and Intercultural Education Studies with distinction (Excellent) from the University of Enna “Kore.” Doctoral Dissertation: The Metaphor of Cultivating the Earth in an Educational Perspective.
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June 27, 2013: Postgraduate Specialization in Design, Implementation, and Monitoring of Educational Activities for the Support of Students with Behavioral and Learning Difficulties, awarded with honors (70/70 cum laude), Interregional Advanced Education Catalog.
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July 26, 2011: Master's Degree in Pedagogical Sciences (110/110 cum laude), University of Catania. Thesis: The National Association for the Interests of Southern Italy: Origins of a Development Model for the Mezzogiorno.
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November 19, 2008: Bachelor's Degree in Education and Training Sciences (110/110 cum laude), University of Catania. Thesis: Edgar Morin: A Bibliographic Review.
Editorial Roles and Scientific Committee Memberships
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Since July 2023: Member of the Editorial Board of I Problemi della Pedagogia (A-class scientific journal).
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Since 2023: Member of the Editorial Committee of the European Journal of Educational Sciences.
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Since 2022: External Reviewer for Pedagogia Oggi (A-class scientific journal).
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Since 2022: Member of the Scientific Committee and Referee Board of the peer-reviewed book series Ecologie della formazione, FrancoAngeli.
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Since 2021: Member of the International Scientific Committee and Referee Board of LIMEN – Studi e Ricerche Pedagogiche Oltreconfine, peer-reviewed international series, Pensa Multimedia.
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Since 2021: Member of the Scientific Committee of the peer-reviewed book series ERICA, FrancoAngeli.
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Since 2020: Member of the International Scientific Committee of the peer-reviewed series DiScuTerE – Didattica fra Scuola, Territorio e Educazione, FrancoAngeli.
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Since 2020: Reviewer for the international series La libreria di Stardi, Sinestesie.
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Since 2020: Member of the Scientific and Referee Committee of the Tascabili Bonanno Pedagogia series, Bonanno Editore.
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Since 2017: Co-director of the scientific series EducAzione – Pedagogy and Didactics, A&G Cuecm Publishing.
Research Leadership and Group Participation
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Since October 14, 2024: Principal Investigator of the interdisciplinary research project "Unsustainable Inequalities. Faces and Profiles of Educational Poverty between Justice, School System and Inclusive Policies" (InDieSPI), funded by the University of Catania (Line 1 – Collaborative Research), involving the Departments of Educational Sciences, Humanities, and Law.
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Since June 2021: Member of the SIPED (Italian Society of Pedagogy) Research Group Pedagogy of the Environment, Agenda 2030, Well-being Sustainability, Next Generation EU, Justice, Educational Resistance, coordinated by Prof. Pierluigi Malavasi and Professors Maria Luisa Iavarone and Cristina Birbes.
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From November 8, 2022 to December 31, 2024: Principal Investigator of the project EcoDidactics, Educational Innovation and Learning Environments (EcoDiAmbi), Starting Grant – Line 3, University of Catania (Protocol No. 0437964).
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From February 28, 2022 to August 31, 2024: Researcher in the Erasmus+ international project Share the Music for Inclusive Learning in Education (Project no. 2021-1-EL01-KA220-SCH-000032762).
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From October 1, 2020 to October 31, 2022: Scientific Lead for pedagogical and didactic tasks in the Erasmus+ project Be YOU: Building Entrepreneurial Mindset in Youth for a Sustainable Society (2020-2-FR02-KA205-01841).
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Since July 1, 2020: Researcher in the University of Catania project Time and Times of Education (TEMPO), funded under the "PIA.CE.RI. 2020-2022" research plan.
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Since 2020: Scientific Director of the Educational Research Laboratory (LRE), Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania.
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Since 2020: Scientific Director of the Educational and Didactic Planning Laboratory (PED), Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania.
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Since 2020: Member of the Research Group of the Permanent Laboratory for Didactic Innovation, Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, established by departmental resolution (22.05.2020).
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From October 1, 2019 to July 31, 2022: Scientific Lead for pedagogical and didactic tasks in the Erasmus+ project Task 21 – EdTech & AI: Creating Pedagogical Material for the 21st Century (2019-1-FR01-KA203063063).
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2017–2019: Member of the pedagogical and didactic research group in the FIRD Research Project, University of Catania: Education and Change. Models for Educational and Didactic Innovation, Sustainable Development, and School Institutions (Departmental Resolution, 18.10.2017).
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2014–2017: Member of the FIR University Research Group, University of Catania: Nature-Culture Axis. Educational Planning, Integrated Training System, and Territorial Configuration.
Institutional Roles
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Since October 5, 2024: President of the Master’s Degree Program (LM-85) in Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Planning.
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2019 – May 4, 2021 and since January 1, 2021: Member of the Quality Assurance Committee, Master's Degree LM-85.
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2019 – May 4, 2021 and since July 1, 2021: Member of the Internship Committee, Master's Degree LM-85.
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September 11, 2023 – October 4, 2024: Chair of the Internship Committee, Bachelor’s Degree Program L-19 in Education and Training.
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February 13, 2023 – October 4, 2024: Communication and Social Media Coordinator for the Bachelor’s Degree Program L-19 in Education and Training (monitoring of website, Facebook, Instagram, etc.; Council Record No. 49, dated 13.02.2023).
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Since November 2022 to October 4, 2024: Member of the Quality Assurance Committee, Bachelor's Degree L-19.
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2018 – May 4, 2021 and from July 1, 2021 to October 4, 2024: Member of the Internship Committee, Bachelor’s Degree L-19.
Membership in Scientific Societies
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Since 2024: Member of the Italian Society of Special Pedagogy (SIPeS)
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Since 2017: Member of the Italian Society for Educational Research (SIRD)
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Since 2015: Member of the Italian Society of Pedagogy (SIPED)
Awards and Honors
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2022: Riccardo Massa Award for the book Verso un'ecodidattica. Tempi, spazi, ambienti, Pensa Multimedia, Lecce, 2021.
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2019: SIPED 2019 Award, M-PED/03 Researchers Category, for the book Metaphor and Pedagogy. Educational and Didactic Models in an Ecological Perspective, FrancoAngeli, Milan, 2017.
Last updated: October 14, 2024