Learning outcomes

The course in general aims to show the importance of a philosophical approach to the educational practice and to the pedagogical reflection. The educator does not only need a series of knowledge, competence, ability of methodological, pedagogical, psychological sociological and anthropological type: every educational problem and pedagogical related debate, contain themes and concepts that require – to be understood - philosophical competence and ability.
Some specific formative objects spring from this general aim. They are expressed as results of what has been learnt.
The first formative object refers to the complex relation between education and philosophy: at the end of the course the student will be able to distinguish the reasons that justify that relation.
The second formative object requires the capacity of looking at an educational problem - and its pedagogical theme - even from a philosophical point of view: at the end of the course the student will be able to interpret a certain educational problem both in pedagogical and in philosophical terms.
The third object refers to the capacity to apply the acquired knowledge to a particular educational context, such as the approach to philosophical problems by children: at the end of the course the student will be able to reflect on the children philosophical capacity.
The forth objective to achieve is related to the development in the autonomous capacity of judgement and communication: at the end of the course the student will be able to speak philosophically in a pedagogical context and to express his/her thought on what has learnt.

Program

Principal contents of the general part of the course:
- from the educational experience to philosophical problems, that is: the philosophic dimension of the educational problems.
- educational themes and problems and their philosophical comprehension: education as experience, educating the “person”, the sincere, ethic and aesthetic dimension of every educational experience.
- identity and role of the philosophy of education among the pedagogical sciences.
- philosophy of education: authors and trends of thought.

Principal contents of the “monographic” part of the course:
- The philosophical experience of children and with children.
- The fundamental existential themes introduced to children.


Texts for the exam

Mandatory for everybody for the general part:
- D. Loro, Problemi educativi e pensare filosofico, Lecture notes 2012-2013 ( The “dispensa” will be available at the end of the course by the cartoleria Ateneo, Lungadige Porta Vittoria, 37 . www.ateneovr.it ).

For the “monographic” part, students may choose one between the two following texts:
- R. Pol-Droit, Il mio bambino è un filosofo, Cinisello Balsamo (Milano), ed. San Paolo, 2011.
- M.Vinciguerra, Pedagogia e filosofia per bambini, Brescia, ed. La Scuola, 2012.
- J. D. Francesch, Elogio dell’educazione lenta, Brescia, ed. La Scuola, 2011.



Teaching methods
Lessons will be frontal in the main, with the possibility to intervene with questions and short debates related to the themes of the day.

Examination Methods

The exam consists of a three-hour written text. It consists of 6 open questions, of different types: descriptive (to show the knowledge of the contents), argumentative (to show the capacity of reflection and associating concepts),applicable (to show the ability of concrete and active thinking on the theoretical contents).
The capacity of efficient communication will be also evaluated by the quality of the written task, which must be correct both grammatically and graphically.
N.B. Each year the programme of the course is updated in its fundamental contents, compared to the earlier years, so, it is scientifically and didactically correct that students enrolled in previous years prepare their exams on the programme of the current academic year, except for those who previously communicate to the teacher their serious reasons for not doing so.