Reconceptualising professional development in early childhood education. A study on teachers' professionalism carried out in Bologna province.

The research undertaken for this doctoral thesis explores the issue of teachers professionalism within pre-school institutions. The issue of early childhood professionalism has become increasingly important in the academic debate over the last decade as it is documented by a growing body of research published on the topic both nationally (Contini & Manini, 2007; Bondioli & Ferrari, 2004) and internationally (Peeters, 2008; Urban & Dalli, 2008; Urban, 2010). The study presented in this thesis aims at investigating teachers’ conceptualisations of professionalism by focusing on their understandings of educational work. The idea standing at the core of this research is that exploring the concept of professionalism from a ground-up perspective could lead to important reflections for a re-conceptualisation of professional development as a space for change directed from within institutions. The study is framed within a broadly sociological concern that inform the data analysis by contextualising the issue of early childhood professionalism in the contemporary socio-political arena. The research involves sixty teachers operating in state, municipal and private pre-school institutions located in Bologna province that took part to focus groups and interviews. The empirical materials, consisting of oral and written statements, are interpreted through phenomenographical analysis that gives account of how features of professionalism vary across the different institutional settings in which they are played out. This thesis, written in English and informed by an European research background, offers a contribution to the furthering of systemic approaches to the investigation of early childhood education professionalism in the context of the national and international academic debate.

Ernesto Buonaiuti e la rivista «Il Rinnovamento»

This work is about the modernist writer Ernesto Buonaiuti (1881-1946) in the early years of his cultural activity. He was suggested by Alfred Loisy's historical method and by William James pragmatism in philosophy. So he refused traditional religious education he received to become a catholic priest and started a long-life battle against Roman Catholic Church. My research tries to investigate the influence of pragmatism on Buonaiuti's thought, analyzing articles he published on the modernist review «Il Rinnovamento», from 1907 to 1909. Then I compared philosophical themes with other works by Buonaiuti, trying to focus the development of his way of thinking throught the years until the end. My conclusion: Buonaiuti was a religious pragmatist all over his life and many works he published after the modernist crisis can confirm it.