Education
He graduated in Pedagogy in 1983 at the University of Bologna. He obtained a PhD in Pedagogy in
1991.
Academic career and institutional activity
He worked as a Social Operator and Pedagogical Coordinator in social and healthcare services and in
the infancy services, in the city of Bologna. After that, in 2000 he became Researcher in “General and
Social Pedagogy” at the University of Bologna, and in 2005 he became Associate Professor. In 2011 he
became Full Professor. He has been president of the First Cycle Degree Educator in Childhood Social
Services and the Single Cycle Degree in Primary Teacher Education. Now he is Vice-President of the
Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences.
Teaching activity
Since 2001 he has taught “General and Social Pedagogy” in the First Cycle Degree Educator in
Childhood Social Services and in the Single Cycle Degree in Primary Teacher Education. Since 2011 he
has taught “Reflexivity and Pedagogical Deontology” in the Master of Pedagogy. He has also taught
“Pedagogy” and “Pedagogy of Communication” in the Department of Medicine and Surgery since 2009.
He is member of the Teaching Board of PhD in Pedagogical Sciences. In a.a. 2015/16 he also taught in
the Master for teachers with Montessori’s approach.
Scientific activity
He shares the perspective of Critical-Rational Problematicism in Education, whose founders are Antonio
Banfi and Giovanni Maria Bertin. He has “contaminated” this perspective with contributions coming
from other fields of knowledge (hermeneutics, science, theories of complexity): in this way he has
maintained an interdisciplinary method which tends to see pedagogical research as an epistemology of
connections rather than a specialisation on specific thematic areas. The dialogue with the thought of
Soren Kierkegaard, as well as the analysis of the connections standing between moral, ethics and faith,
have represented a precious occasion to underline the elements of radical problematicity that are
present every time educators and teachers face the complexity of the construction of individual choices,
when these choices do not find adequate supports or significant contributions in the models already
present in the available cultural heritage. Moreover, the reference to some key issues of the
neuroscientific research (in particular the studies on cerebral plasticity) gave him the possibility to
analyse the deep interconnections that are present in the educative experience between pole
traditionally considered as opposite by the pedagogical reflexion, such as nature and culture, mind and
body, autonomy and dependence, spontaneity and conditioning. This reflexion clearly cannot avoid to
combine with the analysis of the “educating environment” seen as field of phenomena events, and
these relations force, in our historical moment, to confront with a new model of rationality: the interest
for the educating environment has been expressed even in the form of field research, with analyses
and contributions aimed to bring out the trends of deep evolution and transformation ongoing today in
the educative and scholastic services. These researches intend to propose some possible directions of
training for the educators, that allows them to face the rising complexity inherent to their professional
practise. On this last issue, he participated in particular at the research activities of the multiannual
project “From Paris to Caltagirone”, born from the collaboration between the Department of Sciences of
Education of the University of Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna Region. Furthermore, since he has been
part of the project Erasmus Plus “Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices”.
Belonging to scientific and editorial committees
Since 2009 he has been member of the editorial staff of the review “RPD – Review of Pedagogy and
Didactics”, and coordinator of the section “Models, experiences and contexts”.
Since he has been co-director of the series “Theoretical Pedagogy” of the editor Franco Angeli.
Since he has been co-director of the series “New Paradigms” of the editor Junior.
Awards
In 2014 he received the SIPED award for the book “Il transfert, il dono, la cura”, Franco Angeli, 2012.
Other activities
He is responsible of CRECEL (Center of Etical Research, Culture, Epistemology, Languages) of the
Department of Sciences of Education of the University of Bologna.
