Education as a situated practice of emancipation: Alice Hallgarten Franchetti

Abstract

This article examines the figure of Alice Hallgarten Franchetti; the analysis is based on texts and testimonies produced by her contemporaries, understood as narratives through which educational roles, practices, and models are constructed and articulated.
The study highlights the richness of the modes of engagement adopted by Alice—as an educator, cultural promoter, and mediator between social and pedagogical contexts—interpreting her work as a situated practice of emancipation. Through the design and management of the rural schools of Montesca and Rovigliano, a form of educational agency emerges, expressed in curricular, organizational, and relational choices, and giving shape to a model of schooling capable of combining contextual observation, adaptation of curricula, and public responsibility.