https://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/issue/feedITALIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH2023-12-21T09:57:52+00:00Prof. Pietro Lucisano, PhDpietro.lucisano@uniroma1.itOpen Journal Systems<p>The <strong>Italian Journal of Educational Research (IJEduR)</strong>, the official organ of the Italian Society of Educational Research (<a href="https://www.sird.it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SIRD</a>), is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. It is dedicated to educational and didactic research methodologies and to evaluative research in education.</p> <p>The research areas include: curriculum development, teacher training, school, university and vocational education, teaching organization and design, educational technologies and e-learning, disciplinary teaching, teaching 'inclusive education, methodologies for continuous training, docimology, assessment and certification of skills, evaluation of training processes, assessment and quality of training systems.</p>https://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6205Enhancing critical thinking in Ugandan secondary school: Teacher professional development action research2023-08-03T14:42:24+00:00Mauro Giacomazzig.mauro@lgihe.orgLuisa Zecca web@pensamultimedia.itLiliana Maggioni web@pensamultimedia.it<p>Critical thinking is recognized as key in any society. However, the Ugandan system of education is not helping students to become critical thinkers; the education is superficial and uncritically based on rote learning. The main objective of this study was to investigate and document how Ugandan secondary school teachers could be supported in explicitly pursuing the goal of fostering students’ critical thinking. This professional development action research showed that the instructional support coaching system contributed to enhancing the teachers’ professional and pedagogical capacity, led them to transform their instructional planning process, and shifted their beliefs with regard to curricula and learning theories.</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Mauro Giacomazzi, Luisa Zecca , Liliana Maggioni https://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6690Cooperative learning in virtual worlds:2023-08-31T07:38:18+00:00Alfonso Filipponealfonso.filippone@unifg.itEmanuela Anna Montepelosoemanuela.montepeloso@icfoscologabelli.edu.itRomina Leoneromina.leone@icfoscologabelli.edu.itAntonio Bevilacquaantonio.bevilacqua@unifg.it<p>This paper describes a cooperative learning experience conducted within virtual worlds, an innovative approach of the teaching-learning process in the metaverse, achieved thanks to the synergistic action of the University and the School. <br />It is part of a broader research path aimed at innovating the teaching of the STEAM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) and it is the result of a project proposals born within a training itinerary specialist developed within the Italian national network "Innova a 360° (AR, VR, AI)". The exploratory research, based on a case study, aims to actively evaluate the possibility of learning cooperatively within virtual environments, making the delicate teaching-learning process possible in this context, enhancing immersive teaching experiences, of co-construction of knowledge, with a view to enhancing talents through the improvement of technological, digital, multimedia skills and promoting the inclusion process. <br />This contribution offers food for thought on the advantages of using virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence in the teaching of STEAM disciplines and towards pupils with disabilities and special educational needs. It also identifies possible effects on teaching practice and projects itself as an innovative methodology aimed at training citizens capable of dealing with the delicate process of social, historical and cultural changes with specific skills.</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Alfonso Filippone, Emanuela Anna Montepeloso, Romina Leone, Antonio Bevilacquahttps://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6643Educational contexts and support for emotional aspects in the workplace: a qualitative investigation of the role of social-emotional skills in professional practice 2023-10-01T09:35:57+00:00Irene Stanzioneirene.stanzione@uniroma1.it<p>The paper addresses the issue of social-emotional skills in educational work and shows the results of a qualitative survey involving more than 60 educational professionals. The study intends to determine the training needs and the possibility of transformation of emotional aspects into professional competence; finally, we dwell on the role of strategic tools deployed by work contexts to support and sustain educational professionals. We conducted a reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006) on the transcripts, which led to the identification of ten themes with related codes; the themes concern both aspects related to the personal and social domains of social-emotional competence and the fundamental role of the organization in supporting the emotional aspects of the working people through specific strategies, such as pedagogical supervision.</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Irene Stanzionehttps://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6918Investigating Psychological Well-being of Primary School Students: Instrument Characteristics and Preliminary Results 2023-12-21T09:01:23+00:00Emanuela Bottaweb@pensamultimedia.itCeyda Şensin web@pensamultimedia.itEmiliane Rubat du Mérac web@pensamultimedia.it<p>There are many factors that influence the well-being, prosocial conduct, empathy, connection with nature, life satisfaction, pro-environmental attitudes and actions, awareness and emotional regulation of elementary school students. This paper presents an initial analysis of an instrument designed to investigate a child's overall well-being through these factors, all of which relate to a positive relationship with self, others and school. The questionnaire was constructed by selecting items from already validated scales for the analysis of each of the above variables. The study was conducted in 14 primary schools in Lazio (N=433) with outdoor education experience, in order to investigate the possible influence of this specific educational practice on well-being. The results of the exploratory factor analysis have shown that we can hypothesize with a very good degree of confidence a construct of child well-being consisting of four dimensions: Caring For Others, Feeling Good About Yourself, Enjoyment Of Nature and Handling Emotions. Finally, ANOVA analyses have been conducted showing significant differences between males and females in the first three dimensions while no significant differences were found in relation to the experience of outdoor education teaching practices.</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Emanuela Botta, Ceyda Şensin , Emiliane Rubat du Mérac https://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6687Unlocking the power of collaborative learning in secondary schools. 2023-08-30T17:17:40+00:00Barbara Baschierabarbara-baschiera@unive.itJonathan Borgjonathan.a.borg@um.edu.mt<p>This paper presents a transnational comparative study on the use of Collaborative Learning (CL) techniques in lower and upper secondary classes in Italy and in Malta as it analyses the factors which impede its use. The qualitative analysis of open-ended questionnaire data, supplied by participating educators (30 Italian precarious teachers and 50 Maltese Learning Support Educators) at the end of their respective training courses, highlights an appreciation of CL practices besides strong criticism of the factors which inhibit the application of a student-centred philosophy. Findings indicate that teachers in Malta seem to be conditioned by postcolonial socio-cultural aspects, such as a highly centralised education system, a competitive exam-oriented approach to learning and a traditional curriculum-driven attitude to teaching; issues which debilitate the application of CL. Moreover, teachers are seen as reluctant to implement active learning techniques since these are perceived as non-compatible with the inclusion of all students. In contrast, systemic-organisational deficiencies for the recruitment of precarious Italian teachers discourage the use of CL. While resistance from colleagues, students and parents further demotivates upper secondary school teachers, lower secondary school teachers view schools as the ideal places for the experimentation of these techniques. The thematic analysis of focus group data implies an urgency to revisit the understanding of ‘education’ in Malta, the need for Italian teachers to collaborate with education stakeholders and the necessity of continued professional development which can empower teachers to proactively embrace a ‘methodological transition’ towards CL.</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Barbara Baschiera, Jonathan Borghttps://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6684E-Portfolio: a bridge between life project and university choice2023-08-30T09:23:51+00:00Ornella Campoornella.campo@um.esMaría Ángeles Gomariz Vicenteweb@pensamultimedia.itJoaquin Parra Martinezweb@pensamultimedia.it<p>In the Italian education system students must choose how to continue their studies when they finish compulsory education and when they decide to enrol at university. Our work focuses on the choice of the university course and, in particular, on the guidance that students receive in order to make this important decision, which will have a major impact on their future life. Drawing on Bruner's Narrative Psychology and Savickas' Life Design model, we hypothesised that the choice of a course of study should be linked to a wider life project and to personal identity, not least to lay the foundations for a truly decent job. We assumed that to make this connection students would need narrative and individualised tools that could help them see the trajectory of their self from past to future, and that one of these tools could be the e-portfolio. We therefore offered a narrative university orientation, integrated with the possibility of creating an e-portfolio, to a group of nearly 30 Sicilian high school students, with the intention of comparing their results with those of students who had only received a "traditional" orientation, usually consisting of group activities, information days, open days and, more recently, work-school alternation. In this article we will present the reference model, the tools we used and the analyses on this group, which show that young people need more individual support in their orientation, starting from middle school.</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Ornella Campo, María Ángeles Gomariz Vicente, Joaquin Parra Martinezhttps://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6677Analisi dei bisogni formativi dei docenti universitari: una ricerca qualitativa presso l’Università di Trento per costruire processi di sviluppo professionale 2023-08-28T14:53:56+00:00Sabrina Manierosabrina.maniero@unitn.itAnna Serbatianna.serbati@unitn.itFederica Picassofederica.picasso@unitn.itPaola Venutipaola.venuti@unitn.it<p>The paper presents research implemented by the Teaching and Learning Center of the University of Trento, FormID, aimed at identifying academics’ training needs. The action described here is part of a broader in-tervention that, by connecting a top down and bottom up approach, intends to collect contextual data in order to guide a situated training offer responsive to the real needs of the context. The research consists of several actions: interviews with the members of the Scientific Committee of FormID (Serbati et al. 2023a, Serbati et al. 2023b), interviews with Departmental Teaching Delegates and administration of question-naires to faculty, in order to collect the perception not only of individual academics, but also of those who, due to their role, may have an overall view of teaching and needs for improvement. The focus of this paper will be the results of the interviews conducted with the 15 Teaching Delegates. The aim is to investigate the following topics: idea of 'teaching quality', most frequently used teaching strategies, use of ICT, critical issues encountered in teaching, and training needs of faculty members. The result is a heterogeneous idea of teaching quality, touching on various dimensions; the choice of active teaching strategies sees a strong differentiation between bachelor and master degrees, in favor of the latter; there is rare use of formative assessment, while the use of video lectures is widespread. The main training needs of academics concern teaching strategies and assessment.</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Sabrina Maniero, Anna Serbati, Federica Picasso, Paola Venutihttps://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6916Indice2023-12-21T08:38:26+00:00Technical Editorial Staffweb@pensamultimedia.it<p>Indice</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Technical Editorial Staffhttps://ojs.pensamultimedia.it/index.php/sird/article/view/6917Editoriale2023-12-21T08:42:22+00:00Pietro Lucisanopietro.lucisano@uniroma1.it<p>Editoriale</p>2023-12-21T00:00:00+00:00Copyright (c) 2023 Pietro Lucisano