by Chiara Urbani

1. Enlarged contexts of learning in Preprimary education for
professional teacher’s development
Learning in informal contexts to promote learnfare
perspective
Chiara Urbani
Academic Year 2013/2014
Phd in Science of Cognition and Education
University Ca’ Foscari
Venice

2. The European framework of Pre-primary
education-1
European policy to improvement
for education and training
systems
( Smart,sustainable and inclusive growth,
COM 2020)
Youth on the move:
•At Ue level: “promote the recognition of non-formal and informal learning”
•At National level: Promote: “...efficient investment in education and
training systems at all levels (pre-school to tertiary)” and “... improve
educational outcomes, addressing each segment (pre-school, primary,
secondary, vocational and tertiary) within an integrated approach,
encompassing key competences and aiming at reducing early school
leaving”;
European Training 2020 :
“…LLL [...] is designed to cover learning in all contexts — whether formal,
non-formal or informal — and at all levels: from early childhood
education and schools through to higher education, vocational education
and training and adult learning”
“... Educational disadvantage should be addressed by providing high
quality early childhood education and targeted support, and by promoting
inclusive education” [Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for
European cooperation in education and training ( ET 2020 )
2 European models
Integrated
(OCSE-Eurydice, 2009)
Disjointed
Early childhood
education services
(child care)
Pre-primary school
(early education)

3. The European framework of Pre-primary education-2
Fig.1. Enrolment of 0-3 year-olds in child care
0-3 year-olds
Fig.2. Enrolment of 4 year-olds in early education
4 year-olds
Fig.3. Enrolment of 3-6 year-olds in early education
3-6 year-olds
Average in OCSE
Average in Italy

4. Head start (HS)
USA 1965
Early years evaluation
(EYE) Canada 1971
from
experiences
in WELFARE STATE
setting
...to most recent policies:
casda the actual
What’s
perspective?
I servizi educativi per la prima infanzia a carattere
innovativo
IRER Lombardia 2004
The child care transition; A league table of early
childhood education and care in economically
advanced countiries
Report card UNICEF 2008
Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe:
Tackling Social and Cultural Inequalities
OCSE-Eurydice 2009
A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive
growth
Europe COM (2010a) 2020
Status and pedagogical task of preschool to be
strengthened
Sweden 2011
Il lavoro educativo con la prima infanzia. Tra
progetto pedagogico e scelte organizzative
Università Milano-Bicocca 2008

5. New frontiers emerging from policies
Why promote pre-primary educational services?
(policies do not determine the behavior)
BUT:
• SOCIAL
point of view
Prevention of discomfort and socio-cultural disadvantage: preprimary education as insurance for life? (Head Start, 1965-2005;
Carolina Abecedarian Project, 1972, Perry Pre-school Project, 1962-2006;
Effective Provision of Pre-school Education, 2003, OCSE- Starting Strong
II, 2006; OCSE-Eurydice, 2009;)
Conciliation female employment/ maternal role: reduce public
spending and encourage the work re-integration? (Unicef Report card,
2008; OCSE-Eurydice, 2009;)
• EDUCATIVE
Enhancing school learning prerequisites: to facilitate the
transition from child to pupil? (OCSE 2006-2009; G.S. Becker,
Human capital, 1964)
point of view
The benefits of early socialization: the “wrong myth” (OCSE, 20062009)
Qualification of educational relationship (UNICEF Report Card 8,
2008)
Contradictory results on
the long term effects
(Unicef Report card,
2008)
BUT:
No evidence of actual
correlation
(OCSE-Eurydice,
2009, Pfau-Effinger,
2010)
BUT:
Too many variables
(Unicef Report card,
2008)
BUT:
Different needs...
individualized respons
(IRER Piemonte, 2004)
BUT:
The response of the
Neurosciences
(Harvard
Research,2007;
National Research
Council, Washington
D.C., 2000, 2001)

6. Critical issues
Releasing personal
dimension with its
employability translation
The personalization of welfare:
Transition to flexibile and innovative
systems of learnfare
(Margiotta, 2012)
Sen,1999; Nussbaum, 2011
Umanizing re-foundation:
The individual Agency
(Costa, 2011, 2012)
Development (personal and professional)
as like...
“...personal freedom to choose the life
that give value”
How?
Trought integrated relationships emerging from enlarged contexts of
learning: social (parental and intergenerational) interacting
and professional (community of practice) contexts.

7. Life-long training and professional development
of pre-primary teachers
Initial – Induction - Continuing
Professional development TALIS
The italian framework
• Early childhood services educator
• Pre-primary teacher
Proposal for a
planning of the
new profiles

8. Professional development in capability approach
The value over the
COMPETENCE APPROACH
Not just...teacher’s reflexive and transformative
competence
CAPABILITY APPROACH
...to: support capabilities development and qualify a new participatory idea of professional
teacher’s development
•
Freedom to act and freedom to... achieve (Sen, 1999)
• Capabilites and functionings (Sen, 1999; Nussbaum, 2012)
• Conversion factors
• The device of transformative reflexivity (Mezirow, 2003)

9. Functionings of life
Fine functionings
Opportunities/ Conditions to build capability to realize...
as
FREEDOM TO CHOOSE between DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES
(FREEDOM OF AGENCY)
CONVERSION factors
(Social, political etc.)
Environment factors
es. education (Nussbaum, 2000)
COMBINED capacities
INTERNAL capacities
Resources
INNATE capacities
Entitelements
Provisions
No-functionings

10. The research setting
Research
question:
Find correlation between:
Teacher professional development & capability process
For a new define of pre-school educational policies
A new plan for teacher professional development
looking for value beyond the competence/skill
trought personal agency
for capability empowerment
Hypoteses:
Conversion factors:
1.Resources framework
Continuing training
International and professional mobility
2. Institutional and regulatory
framework
3. Organisational and processing
framework
4. Other available resources
(latent resources)
Institutional, regulatory, contractual guarantees
Contractual provisions
Career plans
Professional recognition
National Guidelines for the over-all pre-school education
Professional Communities of Practice
Collegiality
Intra- and extra- school relational contexts (parental
and intergenerational)
Informal learning contexts
Networks (intra- and extra- curricular)
Social contexts of local governance

11. Objectives:
aIdentify areas of competences of the professional development
in
pre-school education:
- Early childhood care services (child care)
- Pre-school education (early education)
Methods:
Mixed studies:
quali-quantitative
Quantitative study
Qualitative study
•Questionnaires on self-perception skills
• Qualitative semi-structured interview
•Participant observation by action research
To realize a continuing professional development pilot
trought capability process
based on the integration of enlarged contexts of learning
(social, parental, and intergenerational)
Expected results:
Identify development frameworks (conversion factors)
Define a teacher professional development model
Define and develop a new pre-primary education
policy

12. References:
•
ANNALI PUBBLICA AMMINISTRAZIONE (2008), Sviluppo Professionale degli insegnanti, Periodici Le Monnier, Firenze.
•
COMMISSIONE EUROPEA (2009), Rapporto Eurydice, Educazione e cura della prima infanzia in Europa: ridurre le disuguaglianze
sociali e culturali, Agenzia esecutiva per l’istruzione, gli audiovisivi e la cultura, Bruxelles.
•
COMUNICAZIONE DELLA COMMISSIONE EUROPA 2020, Una strategia per una crescita intelligente, sostenibile e inclusiva, COM
(2010a) 2020 definitivo. Bruxelles, 3.3.2010. Web: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:2020:FIN:IT:PDF.
•
COMMISSIONE EUROPEA, UNITÀ EUROPEA E-TWINNING (2011). eTwinning Report. Sviluppo professionale degli insegnanti: uno
studio sulla pratica attuale, in:
http://www.etwinning.net/shared/data/etwinning/booklet/eTwinning_report_2010/IT_eTwinning_Report_2011.pdf
•
COSTA M. (2012a), Criticità e opportunità di sviluppo professionale del docente nei primi anni di carriera in Italia, in Formazione &
Insegnamento, Vol. 3 (pp. 42-58).
•
COSTA M. (2012b), Agency Formativa per il nuovo learnfare, in: Formazione e Insegnamento, Rivista del Dipartimento di Filosofia e Beni
culturali dell’ Università Ca’Foscari, Venezia.
•
EISENSHMIDT E. (2006), Novice teachers as members of professional learning communities, In: Education-line: European Conference
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