My research lies within the fields of general, social, and intercultural pedagogy and focuses on the educational processes shaping contemporary societies, with particular attention to inequalities, migration, sustainability, and forms of social participation. These different lines of inquiry share a critical, postcolonial, and intersectional perspective aimed at examining the relationships between education, power, recognition, and social justice.
Migration, Reception, and Social Inclusion
The first area of research concerns forced migration and the reception and integration of asylum seekers and refugees. My work examines educational and social practices within reception services, the conditions that facilitate or hinder inclusion, and the tensions arising from the interplay between pedagogical aims, institutional arrangements, and migration policies. Particular attention is devoted to migrants’ life trajectories, the right to housing, media representations, processes of community participation, and forms of vulnerability associated with legal, social, and housing insecurity.
Educational Professions, Training, and Adult Learning
A second line of inquiry focuses on the competencies and professional identities of practitioners working in reception and inclusion settings. Educational work is explored in its relational, ethical, and planning dimensions, considering the dilemmas and scope for action that characterise services shaped by political and organisational constraints. This area also includes research on migrant adult learning, the teaching of Italian as a second language, and the development of personal, social, intercultural, and citizenship competencies. Particular interest is directed towards educational practices that foster autonomy, empowerment, recognition of experience, and participation in community life.
Sustainability Education and Climate Justice
A further area of research concerns sustainability education and climate justice. My work explores the role of schools, educational services, and teacher education in responding to the ecological crisis by examining competencies, representations, and teaching practices. Particular attention is paid to European frameworks, including GreenComp, and to the possibility of reinterpreting them through critical and decolonial perspectives. The aim is to highlight the connections between ecological transition, social inequalities, human mobility, and educational responsibility, moving beyond approaches to sustainability that are exclusively technical or centred on individual behaviour.
Public Pedagogy, Participation, and Social Transformation
My research also extends to forms of learning that emerge within social, cultural, and media spaces. From this perspective, I investigate public pedagogy, media narratives, hate speech, cancel culture, activism, and the practices through which young people and adults interpret reality and participate in shaping a shared world. This line of inquiry focuses on the educational dimensions of conflict and social transformation, as well as on the recognition of plural forms of knowledge, expression, and participation.
Methodologically, my research primarily adopts qualitative, ethnographic, and participatory approaches, including observation, interviews, focus groups, and action research. These methods are understood not merely as tools for collecting data but also as reflective practices attentive to the researcher’s positionality, power asymmetries, and participants’ involvement in the production of knowledge.
