Main Article Content
Abstract
The article explores the role of teachers in contemporary schools in light of the cultural and technological transformations taking place in today’s society. Through a critical review of the scientific literature, an analysis has been made of innovative teaching methods such as project-based learning, service learning and dialogic practices, highlighting their impact on student engagement, development of transversal skills and improvement of social inclusion. The reflection also focuses on the concept of distributed leadership, which promotes an educational community capable of integrating school, family and locality in a participatory and co-built formative process. Teachers emerge as facilitators of know-how, reflective practitioners and transformative intellectuals, capable of guiding students towards an active and conscious citizenship. Finally, the article underlines the importance of teachers’ continuing training in order to promote a pedagogy oriented towards dialogue, creativity and building essential skills to tackle the challenges of complexity.
Keywords
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The author declares that the submitted to Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society (Je-LKS) is original and that is has neither been published previously nor is currently being considered for publication elsewhere.
The author agrees that SIe-L (Italian Society of e-Learning) has the right to publish the material sent for inclusion in the journal Je-LKS.
The author agree that articles may be published in digital format (on the Internet or on any digital support and media) and in printed format, including future re-editions, in any language and in any license including proprietary licenses, creative commons license or open access license. SIe-L may also use parts of the work to advertise and promote the publication.
The author declares s/he has all the necessary rights to authorize the editor and SIe-L to publish the work.
The author assures that the publication of the work in no way infringes the rights of third parties, nor violates any penal norms and absolves SIe-L from all damages and costs which may result from publication.
The author declares further s/he has received written permission without limits of time, territory, or language from the rights holders for the free use of all images and parts of works still covered by copyright, without any cost or expenses to SIe-L.
For all the information please check the Ethical Code of Je-LKS, available at http://www.je-lks.org/index.php/ethical-code
References
- Alexander, R. (2020). A Dialogic Teaching Companion. New York: Routledge.
- Baldacci, M. (2015). La buona scuola nasce dal pensiero critico. MicroMedia, 3 June, 2015.
- Baldacci, M., Nigris, E., & Riva, M.G. (2020). Idee per la formazione degli insegnanti. Milan: FrancoAngeli.
- Baldacci, M., Bocciolesi, E., Michelini, M.C., Odini, L., & Oliverio, S. (2023). Per un’idea di insegnante. Pedagogia più Didattica, 9(2). DOI:10.14605/PD922304
- Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity. Cambridge (UK): Polity Press.
- Bell, J. (2010). Doing your research project: A guide for first-time researchers (5th ed.). Maidenhead (UK): Open University Press.
- Benasayag, M., & Schmit, G. (2003). Les passions tristes: Souffrance psychique et crise sociale. Paris: La Découverte.
- Benelli, C. (2015). Danilo Dolci tra maieutica ed emancipazione. Memoria a più voci. Pisa: ETS.
- Branson, C.M. (2010). Free to Become: The Essence of Learning and Leading. In A.H. Normore, (Ed.), Global Perspectives on Educational Leadership Reform: The Development and Preparation of Leaders of Learning and Learners of Leadership (Advances in Educational Administration, Vol. 11) (pp. 85-104). Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3660(2010)0000011008
- Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3–4), 369–398. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.1991.9653139
- Buber M. (1984). Das dialogische Prinzip. Heidelberg: Lambert Schneider.
- Cambi, F., Cives, G., & Fornaca, R. (1991). Complessità, pedagogia critica, educazione democratica. Florence: La Nuova Italia.
- Ceruti, M, & Bellusci, F. (2023). Umanizzare la modernità. Milan: Raffaello Cortina Eds.
- Chen, P.H., & Yang, S.C. (2019). The Impact of Project-Based Learning on Student Motivation and Engagement: A Meta-Analysis. Educational Technology & Society, 22(4), 1-12.
- Commissione Europea (2018). Raccomandazione del Consiglio relativa alle competenze chiave per l’apprendimento permanente. Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:C:2018:189:FULL
- Condliffe, B., Quint, J., Visher, M.G., Bangser, M. R., Drohojowska, S. Saco, L., & Nelson, E. (2017). Project Based Learning: A Literature Review, 1-78. New York, NY: MDRC.
- Dewey, J. (1997). Democracy and Education. New York: Simon and Schuster.
- Dewey, J. (1998). How we think: a restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
- Dienhart, C., Maruyama, G., Snyder, M., Furco, A., McKay, M. S., Hirt, L., & Huesman, R. Jr (2016). The impacts of mandatory service on students in service-learning classes. The Journal of social psychology, 156(3), 305–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2015.1111856
- Dolci D. (1988). Dal trasmettere al comunicare. Milan: Sonda.
- Dos Santos, E. , Gonçalves, B. , de Oliveira, K., & Silva, M. (2018) Project Based Learning Applied to Technical Drawing. Creative Education, 9, 479-496. DOI: 10.4236/ce.2018.93034.
- Fiorin, I. (2016). Oltre l’aula. La proposta pedagogica del Service Learning. Milan: Mondadori.
- Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York-London: Continuum.
- Freire, P. (1976). Education: The Practice of Freedom. London: Writers & Readers Publishing Cooperative.
- Freire, P. (2013). Education for Critical Consciousness. New York: Bloomsbury.
- Furco, A. (2002). Is Service-Learning Really Better than Community Service? In A. Furco, & S. H. Billig (Eds.), Service-Learning: The Essence of Pedagogy (p. 25). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
- Grant, M.M. (2002). Getting a grip on project-based learning: Theory, cases and recommendations. Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal, 5, 1-17.
- Harris, A. (2012). Distributed leadership: implications for the role of the principal. Journal of Management Development, 31(1), 7-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621711211190961
- Harris, A. (2013). Distributed Leadership: Friend or Foe? Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 41(5), 545-554. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143213497635
- Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London: Routledge.
- Hernández-Ramos, P., & De La Paz, S. (2009). Learning history in middle school designing multimedia in a project-based learning experience. Journal of Research on Technology In Education, 42(2), 151-173.
- Hmelo-Silver, C.E., Duncan, R. G., & Chinn, C. A. (2007). Scaffolding and Achievement in Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning: A Response to Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006). Educational Psychologist, 42, 99-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520701263368
- Holm, M. (2011). Project-Based Instruction: A Review of the Literature on Effectiveness in Prekindergarten through 12th Grade Classrooms. River Academic Journal, 7(2), 1-13.
- Hooks, B. (2009). Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. New York & London: Routledge.
- Jäppinen A.-K., & Sarja A. (2012). Distributed Pedagogical Leadership and Generative Dialogue in Educational Nodes. Management in Education, 26(2), 64-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0892020611429983
- Kedian, J., Giles, D., Morrison, M., & Fletcher, M. (2015). Leadership Development as a Dialogic Process: The Rationale and Concept of an International Leadership Institute. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 19(2), 182–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2014.997800
- Lavanga, F., & Mancaniello, M.R. (2022). Formazione dell’adolescente nella realtà estesa. Padova: Libreriauniversitaria.it Edizioni.
- Lyotard, F-J. (1979). La condition postmoderne. Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit.
- Mergendoller, J. R. , Maxwell, N. L. , & Bellisimo, Y. (2006). The Effectiveness of Problem-Based Instruction: A Comparative Study of Instructional Methods and Student Characteristics. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(2): https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1026
- Mezirow, J. (1991), Transformative Dimension of Adult Learning. Melbourne: John Wiley & Sons.
- Michelini, M.C. (2013). Educare il pensiero. Per la formazione dell’insegnante riflessivo. Milan: FrancoAngeli.
- Michelini, M.C. (2016). Fare comunità di pensiero. L’insegnamento come pratica riflessiva. Milan: FrancoAngeli.
- Miur (2012). Indicazioni nazionali per il curricolo della scuola dell'infanzia e del primo ciclo d'istruzione. Decreto Ministeriale 16 novembre 2012, n. 254.
- Miur (2018). Indicazioni nazionali e nuovi scenari. Documento a cura del Comitato Scientifico Nazionale per le Indicazioni Nazionali per il curricolo della scuola dell’infanzia e del primo ciclo di istruzione.
- Morin, E. (1999). Une tête bien faite: Repenser la réforme, réformer la pensée. Paris: Le Seuil.
- Morin, E. (2008). On Complexity. Cresskill (NJ): Hampton Press.
- Savery, J.R. (2019). Comparative Analysis of Problem-Based and Project-Based Learning Approaches. Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 8(1), 1-13.
- Senge, P., Scharmer, C.O., Jaworski, J., & Flowers, B. S. (2008). Presence: Human purpose and the field of the future. New York: Crown Currency.
- Schön, D.A. (1991). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Aldershot: Avebury.
- Spillane, J.P., & Diamond, J.B. (Eds.) (2007). Distributed leadership in practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
- Stillo, L. (2020). Per un’idea di intercultura. Il modello asistematico della scuola italiana. Roma: Roma-Tre Press.
- Su, Y.L. (2023). Research on the Design of Senior High School English Transfer and Innovation Activities Based on Project-Based Learning. Open Access Library Journal, 10, 1-11. DOI:10.4236/oalib.1110139.
- Ucan, S., Kılıç Özmen Z., & Taşkın Serbest, M. (2023). Understanding the cognitive and socio-emotional dimensions of dialogic teaching and learning approach. International Journal of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, 13(1), 158-175. https://doi.org/10.31704/ijocis.2023.007
- Ward, C. (1978). The child and the city. London: The Architectural Press.