Knowledge and understanding
The student is familiar with the concept of an educational institution — any organised context whose explicit aim is the formation of the individual: schools, families, educational services, the third sector, and total institutions with a re-educational purpose — and understands their historical origins, theoretical models (from classical paideia to twentieth-century institutional pedagogy) and the Italian and European regulatory framework governing them. In particular, students understand:
the organisational and managerial characteristics of educational institutions: the legal forms under which they operate (public body, accredited private organisation, social enterprise, co-operative, association), their governance and accountability structures, the mechanisms of funding, accreditation and reporting, the division of labour between educational, managerial and administrative roles, and the evaluation systems to which they are subject;
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
The student is able to analyse a real educational institution both as a pedagogical framework and as an organisation: they identify its stated and underlying aims, key players, rules, routines, forms of assessment, sources of funding and managerial constraints, and are able to situate it within the local welfare services network. They are able to design an educational intervention consistent with the institutional mandate and with the organisational and legal constraints of the context, and can use vocational training tools (training programme, apprenticeship plan, work-study scheme) as pedagogical levers. In particular, they are able to apply their knowledge to the analysis of the situation and to decisions relating to:
the organisation, philosophy and structure of the Italian welfare system: its roots (social assistance, social security, universal healthcare), the transition to a mixed welfare system and the principle of subsidiarity, the division of powers between the State, Regions, local authorities and municipalities, the essential levels of social provision, and the role of educational institutions within social, health, labour and education policies;
the functioning of the Italian labour market and the vocational training system: the structure of employment and contractual arrangements, employment services and active labour market policies, and training pathways — initial (vocational education and training), dual (first- and third-level apprenticeships, work-based learning), continuing (inter-professional funds and adult education), on-the-job and other forms of learning in workplace contexts — together with the relevant certification and skills recognition mechanisms;
Independence of judgement
The student is able to critically assess the consistency between an institution’s educational aims and its actual practices, recognise the tensions between its educational and regulatory functions, and evaluate the organisational and economic sustainability of an educational service within the welfare system. They are able to make informed career choices, assessing the relevant labour markets on the basis of data and regulations rather than common misconceptions. In particular, they will be able to independently assess, in line with their career choices, the specific organisation of the relevant labour markets in relation to their degree programme/profile: the professional profiles of educators and trainers and the regulations governing them; career opportunities in the public sector, the private social sector and schools; the collective agreements in force; routes into the profession (competitive examinations, accreditation, professional registers); and the dynamics of supply and demand across the various sectors.
Communication skills
The student is able to present an institutional analysis using appropriate pedagogical, organisational and legal language to both specialist and non-specialist audiences (families, practitioners, administrators, businesses), and is able to draft documents typical of work in educational institutions: educational plans, observation reports, team meeting minutes and training programme forms.
Learning skills
Students are able to independently keep their knowledge up to date regarding regulatory and organisational changes in educational institutions, the welfare sector and the labour market, by locating and using primary sources (regulations, collective agreements, guidelines, institutional and statistical reports) and academic literature.