Mario Ederoclite holds a PhD in Educational Sciences and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Education “G. M. Bertin”.
His doctoral research in Social Psychology, conducted under the supervision of Prof. Paola Villano, focused on masculinity in educational contexts, adopting an integrated pedagogical and psychological approach. His dissertation, which received highest honors from the Evaluation Committee, analyzed social representations, gender stereotypes, and prejudices affecting men engaged in early childhood care and education.
Education
In the academic year 2006/2007, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Community Clinical Psychology from the University of Naples Federico II, with a thesis in Dynamic Psychology focused on online sexuality, examined from a clinical and relational perspective.
In 2005, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Relational and Developmental Psychology at the same university, with a thesis in Developmental Psychology based on a study on the role of the Neapolitan dialect in the construction of social identity.
He further enriched his academic background through several postgraduate training programs integrating psychological, educational, and pedagogical competencies. He obtained a Second-Level Master’s Degree in School Psychology and a specialization in Clinical Sexology. He also deepened his expertise in intercultural and inclusive education through advanced courses in school organization, learning disorders, music education, and gender perspectives in teaching.
He has been licensed as a psychologist since 2009 and is registered with Section A of the Emilia-Romagna Board of Psychologists.
Scientific Activity
He is currently involved in the SINCRONY project (interSectIonal iNClusion in delibeRation and participatiON with Youth), funded by the Horizon Europe program. The project investigates youth participation in decision-making processes, with a focus on intersectional inclusion, active citizenship, and the representation of diversity in educational and social contexts.
Alongside this work, he pursues a research strand examining how
social differences and
categories are constructed and negotiated across educational contexts and public discourse. His research focuses on masculinities and gender relations in education, as well as on the discursive construction of youth and otherness, with particular attention to processes of categorisation, racialisation, and symbolic regulation. This perspective also extends to digital environments and artificial intelligence systems, exploring how technologies and discursive practices may reproduce or reconfigure intersectional forms of social differentiation.
He gained international research experience during a visiting research period funded by the Marco Polo Program at the Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto (FPCE), from September to December 2023, under the supervision of Prof. Isabel Menezes.
He has also participated in international cooperation and mobility programmes within Erasmus+, focusing on training, educational research, and the exchange of good practices in European contexts.
Teaching and Training Activities
Subject Expert for the course Psychological Processes of Social Exclusion and Mediation, within the Degree Programme in Planning and Managing Educational Interventions in Social Disadvantage.
For the 2026/2027 academic year, he holds teaching support contracts at the University of Ferrara for the courses Social Psychology of Groups, Social Psychology and New Media, Psychology of Disinformation, and Pedagogy of Differences.
Since 2022, he has carried out university-level seminar and workshop activities, primarily addressing gender and masculinities in educational contexts, intersectionality, and processes of social construction of difference, including through the discussion and educational application of findings from his own research.
He also provides training for teachers and education professionals. Internationally, he delivered the seminar “Masculinities in Relation: Understanding Images, Norms and Practices” as part of the Erasmus+ project Words for Change (2025).
Peer Review
He serves as a referee for national and international scientific journals, including:
Pedagogia delle differenze – Journal of the Vito Fazio-Allmayer Foundation
RPD – Ricerche di Pedagogia e Didattica. Journal of Theories and Research in Education
Trends in Psychology
International Journal of Early Childhood
Journal of Social Science Education
Social Sciences
Education Sciences
Societies
Affiliations
Member of Gender and Education Research Centre (CSGE)
Affiliate Member of the Italian Association of Psychology (AIP) – Social Psychology Section
SPRinG+ (European network for Social Psychologists Researching Gender+ topics)
Member of the Italian Society of Sexology and Sexual Education (SISES)
