Six new Ph.D.s in Reggio Childhood Studies and positive ANVUR evaluation of PhD

The positive recognition by ANVUR National Agency for the Evaluation of the University System and Research of the doctoral program “Reggio Childhood Studies from Early Childhood to Lifelong Learning” was presented today at Caffarri, which also saw the proclamation of six new doctoral students in the morning.

Established in 2019 by Unimore's Department of Education and Human Sciences and industrial partner Fondazione Reggio Children - Centro Loris Malaguzzi ETS, the PhD “Reggio Childhood Studies from Early Childhood to Lifelong Learning”, to which Carla Rinaldi contributed strongly, recalled both by the speakers and during the discussion of the theses, is Desu's first industrial PhD led by director Annamaria Contini and the first international PhD in education, and is coordinated by professor Carla Bagnoli. From 2019, there have been 55 students in the Phd course, which has 22 Ph.D.s to its credit, six of whom have discussed their theses today, while 27 Ph.D.s are currently attending the course.

The ANVUR evaluation of the doctoral program should be placed in the broader context of the evaluation of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, judged as a Band A University, promoted with the highest attainable rating, with a “Fully Satisfactory” Accreditation rating.  As has already been pointed out, to date, among the 19 Italian universities surveyed in the two-year period 2023-2024 and whose outcomes have been made public, only Turin Polytechnic has achieved the same result.

“This is the conclusion of a challenging but beautiful journey,” said Francesco Profumo, President of the Reggio Children Foundation, addressing the course of study of the new doctors. “A moment of particular importance for the University, Reggio Children Foundation and the city.” The president stressed that “the Reggio Childhood Studies doctoral program is unique in the training of young people in modern pedagogy,” and added that “Anvur's evaluation represents a value in form and substance, a path charted for future researchers as well.”

“The Reggio Childhood Studies PhD was born out of the experience of kindergartens and schools opening up to other sectors,” said Reggio Emilia Mayor Marco Massari. "In addition to being DESU's first industrial PhD, the first international PhD, it is the first PhD to bear the city's name. Research is necessary in science and education. Transdisciplinarity is typical of our city, as is the “one health” approach that links human, animal and environmental health. Congratulations to Unimore, which grows in its relationship with the city, for the evaluation because research paves the way, thanks to the Reggio Children Foundation, an industrial and decisive partner, the PhD acts what Carla Rinaldi called “solidarity through research.”

For Professor Antonio Felice Uricchio, ANVUR President : "The evaluation was a path of strong interaction of Unimore with civil society, including the Reggio Children's Foundation, and other actors in a vibrant territory. "One health is a theme dear to the Agency. The results will be particularly valuable for the university and research. The industrial PhD does training and research and uses the results by generating and multiplying social effects."

“A doctorate that is particularly close to Desu's heart, it is our department's doctorate par excellence,” said Desu Director Annamaria Contini. "Today we are particularly proud of this achievement. I have a reason for emotion thinking that I would have liked to share this joy with Professor Carla Rinaldi who contributed so much to the doctorate and the Anvur hearing.  Then president of the Reggio Children's Foundation, she participated in the design of the doctorate and made an important contribution in the characteristics of internationality and interdisciplinarity." The foundation “has research in its mission and it was easy to find points of connection.”

“The 8-hour ”interrogation" with Anvur was a moment of reflection on our practices. - said Carla Bagnoli, coordinator of the Reggio Childhood Studies doctoral program - I understood the “fantastic pair,” that is, rootedness and internationality, which in Reggio are in a virtuous relationship. Thanks to the initiation of Professor Alberto Melloni and the work of expanding the international network, it was easy to give it this form. The Reggio Emilia approach is not a theory, not a school: transdisciplinarity is not a top-down imposition but a democratic epistemology in which everyone has a voice and everyone has respect. It is an epistemology of listening, as Carla Rinaldi said. This is needed to achieve social impact. The doctoral one is a socially engaged research, a cooperative and involving science."

Reggio Children Foundation director Cristian Fabbi recalled that "Carla Rinaldi strongly wanted the doctorate, combining research in schools and academic research. She had the courage to go down this path, seeking a synthesis that was not taken for granted. A path that has already had its run-in with 22 PhDs. As an industrial partner we have both offered the physical space, the whole Caffarri is a space, a research laboratory, a hybrid identity that opens to the world of social, economic. A doctorate to be inside the debate of society, and create a global educational community."

Professor Antonio Ribba, Coordinator of the University Quality Presidium, also spoke, and Professor Maria Elena Favilla, Quality Assurance Manager of Desu, was present.

THE STRENGTHS OF THE PH.

The doctoral program “Reggio Childhood Studies” was evaluated on the basis of course design, training and research activities, and monitoring and improvement of activities. Mainly it is highlighted as being “strongly characterized by a vocation for interdisciplinarity and internationality.” Created with the Reggio Approach and early childhood in mind, the course interprets, as Carla Rinaldi put it, childhood as a quality of life and stands as a “crucial tool to address the challenges of education and learning in a broad and general sense.”

Internationality thanks to the international reputation of the doctoral course with “a broad and composite faculty, including national and international scholars of the highest scientific profile,” with seven non-EU members, including Australia, Canada, the United States and the EU, the advisory board and scientific committee of the Reggio Children Foundation, and the network of international academic contacts. In fact, among the universities involved to be noted, in addition to Unimore, Milano Bicocca and Polimi, Universities of Urbino, Bologna, Padua, Accademia di Brera, and, abroad, MIT in Boston, Harvard, Amsterdam, Toronto. It should also be considered that a quarter of present and past students come from abroad, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China, France, Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Iran, and Russia, and that missions abroad are frequent.

Transdisciplinarity thanks to the openness to all types of master's degrees, but especially the extension “to all areas of learning and knowledge, in order to understand, address and respond to the epistemological, ethical and social urgencies that characterize our contemporaneity,” with the opportunity to “build unprecedented professional profiles.” This is also evidenced by the topics covered in the theses discussed today: from ethnobotany against blindness to plants to learning environments between play and technology, from ethical awareness in childhood to the food atelier, from teachers' and infancy's learning to learn to mothering identity as a social construct.

Also emphasized is “the rootedness of the course in the territory,” the city of Reggio Emilia, due to residency, with “adequate availability of study venues,” including the Caffarri, and “the involvement of numerous experts from cultural and social institutions, industry, and the third sector.” Important is “the possibility of active participation in projects” and practices, provided by the industrial partner, Reggio Children Foundation, and “in workshops and numerous opportunities for scientific and professional growth,” as well as the possibility for doctoral students to present their research. Also important was the possibility of financial support, which enabled most doctoral students to take advantage of scholarships and support doctoral activities.

Greater involvement of doctoral students in teaching activities, increased scientific productivity of articles and papers, implementation of service web information regarding activities, basic or advanced seminars are indicated as areas for improvement.

In addition to Unimore and Reggio Children Foundation, FCR - Farmacie Comunali Riunite, Fondazione Manodori, The LEGO Foundation, Comer and Unindustria Reggio Emilia support the doctoral program.

RESEARCH TOPICS IN THE THESES OF NEW PH.D.S.

Very varied and topical were the topics of the thesis research projects that were discussed by the six doctoral students in the morning at Caffarri, in the research spaces of the Reggio Children's Foundation, where there is a doctoral study room. Present in particular were ecology and rights, ranging from ethnobotany to nature-inspired learning environments, ethical awareness in education, food and taste to maternal identity.

The committee consisted of the course chair and coordinator, Professor Carla Bagnoli, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Professor Maja Antonietti, University of Parma; Professor Andrea Pintus, University of Parma; and Cristian Fabbi, Director General of Reggio Children Foundation as an expert member.

Camilla Cantadori presented her thesis, “Living Learning Environments: rethinking education at the confluence of biomaterials, play and technology,” in which she proposes a new educational paradigm that integrates biology and biomaterials in learning activities and in the design of educational spaces to foster care and coexistence with Nature.

Rosa Buonanno with "Ethnobotany in Educational Contexts. Green Memories to Counter Plant Blindness“ takes an interdisciplinary approach that interweaves biology and pedagogy, for a dialogue capable of generating new reflections on the relationship with nature, seeking a paradigm shift, promoting ‘biophilia’ and countering ”blindness to plants."

Jennifer Coe discussed the thesis "Food, Taste and Education. Experiences in and from the Food Atelier in Reggio Emilia Perspective" and highlights how emotional, relational and sensory experience related to food is often at the margins of educational practices and explores how food ateliers can promote a multisensory and participatory approach to taste and food.

Marco Iori presented the research project “Promoting Ethical Awareness: a grounded theory on the ethical-social education curriculum in preschool,” a pair that has been little explored to date. The research aims to enhance a curricular approach that promotes ethical awareness, through an immersive experience.

Annamaria Gentile presented the research project “Learning to Learn in Preschool,” which considers “learning to learn” one of the key competencies for lifelong learning and in education, especially in the early years of life.

Esther van der Walt discussed the thesis “Maternal Identity: a Social Construct,” which through feminist, social constructivist, autobiographical and multiple language approaches highlights how personal narratives can challenge traditional representations.

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