Maria Luisa BONINELLI
Update: November 2025
Maria Luisa Boninelli is a researcher in ‘Experimental Pedagogy’ PAED 02/B at the Department of Education Sciences at the University of Catania.
She holds a PhD in Cognitive and Education Sciences from Ca' Foscari University in Venice. She collaborates with the Feuerstein Institute and the International Centre for Studies on Educational Methodologies on research into learning potential and is involved in various national and international projects and research groups.
She has carried out research and teaching activities in various European academic institutions, including Norway, Latvia, Switzerland and Austria.
Since 2012, she has held various teaching positions at the University of Catania in the scientific disciplinary sectors PAED 02/A and PAED 02/B, particularly in specialisation courses for teaching Special Education and Learning for Sensory Disabilities and Special Education Cooperative and Metacognitive Approach.
Since 2023, she has been a lecturer in the three-year degree course in Education Sciences for the teaching of Educational Research Methodology with Laboratory and in the Master's degree course in Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Design for the teaching of Design and Evaluation of Training Interventions in the Territory (2024).
Her research interests currently cover a number of areas:
- experimental pedagogy
- inclusive school assessment
- cognitive enhancement
For her scientific work, she received the following recognition in 2025:
- Winner of the International Award Shaping the future of Education: New challenges of Universal design for learning. Co-Organiser Edizioni Universitarie Romane, with the patronage of SIRD, SIREM, SIPES, CIRPED. Ren Reward 2025 for the best contribution presented during the 5th International Conference. Title of the contribution: Enhancing Reading Comprehension, Logic, and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study in Primary School. Reason: best contribution in the topic of pedagogical and didactic epistemology for innovative educational practices.
- She is Co-Scientific Director (with P. Mulè, C. Muscarà and V. Perciavalle) of the research laboratory entitled ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder and Life Project’.
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