Learning objectives

A theory of education expresses a conception of the human flourishing and of the ways through which it can be promoted; coherently, it orients the design of educative experiences aimed at developing the different existentive dimensions of the person. The theory of education on which the course is focused is the Socratic one that conceives education as a practice of care: according to this conception, the mission of the educator consists in encouraging the other to care for him/herself.
Knowledge and understanding:
At the end of the course, students should know the theories of education that, from the antiquity to the present day, develop the conception of education as a practice of care; furthermore, they should have understood how the educative experiences, designed starting from these theories, qualify themselves.
Moreover, students should know what are the fundamental issues that arise from a theoretical reflection on teaching and education, what are the problems that nowadays emerge in the educational contexts and what are the main challenges that the didactic practice has to face today.
Capacity to apply knowledge and understanding:
At the end of the course, students should be able to frame the pedagogical reflection adequately, by giving reference to the fundamental theories of education deepened during the lessons, and its main practical declinations, with reference to educative and didactic projects realized in schools.
Autonomy of judgment:
At the end of the course, students should have developed:
-the capacity to individuate and critically investigate the educational needs of contemporaneity;
-the capacity to critically evaluate the didactic and educative practices, being able to recognize the theoretical perspectives that orient their design;
-the capacity to critically examine the coherence between the educative experiences and the theoretical conceptions to which they explicitly inspire themselves.

Prerequisites and basic notions

There are not prerequisites.

Program

The course will present the fundamental principles of the philosophy of care, in connection with the development of a theory of ethical education and a theory of emotional education. In particular, the course will focus on the following themes:
- the ontological priority of care
- phenomenological investigation of care: the general-formal essence and the essence of the concreteness
- the virtues of care
- the ways of being with care
- education as practice of care
- the main theories of ethical education in the international literature: character education, cognitive-developmental approach, care ethics education
- education to virtues: the Socratic and Aristotelian perspectives
- the MelArete project, education to virtues in the light of care: theory and practice
-the cognitive conception of emotional experiences
-thoughts and emotions
-emotional education and emotional self-understanding
-Social-emotional learning
-the project “L’orto delle emozioni”: fostering emotional self-understanding in primary school
-emotional life in "The Divine Comedy"
TEXTS:
-Valbusa, F. e Mortari, L. (2017). L’orto delle emozioni. Milano: FrancoAngeli (NO CHAPTERS 6 and 7)
- Mortari, L. (2019). MelArete. Vol. 1: Cura etica virtù. Milano: Vita e pensiero.
- Valbusa, F. & Mortari, L. (2021). Fenomenologia della vita affettiva nella Divina Commedia (pp. 295-323). In L. Mortari e F. Valbusa (a cura di), Il sentire che noi siamo. Teorie sulla vita affettiva. Roma: Carocci.
-Another essay of your choice from L. Mortari e F. Valbusa (a cura di), Il sentire che noi siamo. Teorie sulla vita affettiva. Roma: Carocci.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Lectures, Socratic conversations and reflective writing exercises.

Learning assessment procedures

Written test (8 open questions, with predefined answer space).
The questions for attending and non-attending students will be different, consistently with the different formative pathway.
Indeed, the questions for attending students will consider the reflective exercises carried out in class.

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation will concern the capacity of critically managing and rethinking the learning contents, and the comprehension of the fundamental concepts explained in the texts of the course.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The grade will be in thirtieths.

Exam language

Italiano.