The social, cultural and economic changes of this century have inevitably also affected the world of education and training, which, therefore, have renewed paths, objectives and goals. Internalised knowledge must be re-used creatively in a new context. 'Knowing' becomes 'knowing how' and then 'knowing how to be'. Learning is lifelong and is…

In order to answer the call of Agenda 2030 (UN, 2015), higher education must assist in giving form to a new society in which democracy is cultivated in both the minds and practices of our society. A democratic education is the answer to the challenges of contemporary society, which is characterized by indifference and an unwillingness to engage…

This essay illustrates how an online language education course, implemented within an online language teacher education programme offered at master's level at an Italian university, was designed to foster pre-service teachers' active learning through digitally-enhanced activities. The course was developed within a community of inquiry framework…

We experience (perceive, act upon and react to, and conceptualize) dynamical processes in nature as agentive. Expressed differently, we experience events as resulting from activities and interactions of "Forces of Nature" (such as wind, light, heat, fluids, electricity, substances, and motion) that are conceived of as powerful agents…

What happens when five teacher candidates and their professor bring a wordless picturebook into Italian classrooms? This article presents a grounded discussion of our immersive experiences from the United States and the minilessons they taught stemming from a piece of children's literature through our study abroad program in Italy. The opening of…

This article describes an important document compiled by a group of Italian geographers who teach in the Teaching Sciences faculty. Twenty-two university professors in an online community debated concepts and compared ideas in order to establish content, methods and didactic approaches to be applied when training Primary School teachers (pupils…

Recent work in science and technological studies has provided a clearer understanding of the way in which science functions in society and the interconnectedness among different strands of science, policy, economy and environment. It is well acknowledged that a different way of thinking is required in order to address problems facing the global…

The introduction of foreign languages into the first three-year cycle of primary school has spurred the need for qualified teachers, and is one of the main discussion points among experts in foreign language teaching. Most of the contemporary studies report that there is a global gap between the supply of qualified teachers of foreign languages to…

This article represents the collaborative efforts of two college faculty, one in the USA and one in Australia, exploring notions of internationalization of colleges of education and research on multilingualism and teacher education. First, the paper presents experiences of interactions with international researchers in Mexico, Brazil, Germany,…

In the summer of 2007, the authors had the opportunity to lead a group of Hofstra University students, pre- and inservice, undergraduate and graduate, elementary and art teachers, to Sorrento, Italy, for interdisciplinary courses in both literacy and art education. The culminating project, a shadow theater play and performance, brought together…

Engagement in the arts nurtures the development of cognitive, social, and personal competencies. When well taught, the arts provide young children with authentic learning experiences that engage their minds. To get children to think critically, teachers ought to become comfortable with the problem-solving process themselves. This article…

Cross-cultural experiences in teacher education are an important part of multicultural education because they allow preservice teachers to examine their world view and develop culturally sensitive dispositions critical for teaching in our diverse society. Research has shown that effective cross-cultural experiences can lead to personal…

This paper focuses on Italy's arts and cultural education. The Ministry of Education is responsible for setting the national curriculum and for the cultural axes. The decisions on all the cultural and creative aims for each type of education are taken at national level and at the level of each individual school. At national level the guidelines…

Considers reflective practice from the point of view of the sociology of education, drawing attention to reflexivity as a social phenomenon, discussing reflective practice as a methodological problem and as a research instrument, and indicating some of the areas where research on teachers and their preservice and inservice training in Italy can be…

The design and content of new undergraduate and graduate teacher-education curricula in Italy, mandated by a 1990 law, is discussed. The four-year university curriculum is designed to train infant and elementary-school teachers, and a two-year graduate program is designed for secondary-school teachers. (MSE)