The PhD is an advanced academic qualification obtained at the end of courses of no less than three years, and accessed through an admission test.
Educational aims
The PhD in Pedagogical Sciences has one curriculum, that is organized in two main fields: a pedagogical-historical field and a didactic-experimental field. For each of the 2 directions inside the curriculum, there is the possibility to follow a course/an orientation that develops the interdisciplinary interactions of pedagogy with psychology.
Curricula and research topics
Compulsory attendance of 2/3 or lectures (normally attendance certificates for each events/workshop, seminar, conference are distributed fore candidates).
The teaching courses organized during the first year of the curriculum correspond to the features of the Italian academic subdivision of the EDUCATIONAL STUDIES in four areas.
Indeed, the lectures, workshops and in-depth seminars on research methodologies concern:
- General and social pedagogy, which includes: education philosophy, family pedagogy education, intercultural pedagogy, adult education;
- History of pedagogy, which includes: history of school, history of education, history of childhood theories, history of childhood imaginery and children's literature.
- Didactics and Special Pedagogy, which includes: teaching and learning methodologies, inclusive education, special educational needs, education technologies and e-learning
- Experimental pedagogy, which includes: theories and strategies for planning and evaluating educational interventions, docimology/evaluations strategies, methodology of empirical research in education.
The research topics also include possible correlations between the pedagogical and psychological areas.
In the second year of the course, a dozen seminars / workshops of an eminently technical-methodological nature are organized, with the aim of training doctoral students to conduct scientific research of a quantitative and qualitative type, with particular attention to the international aspects of research.
The third year of the course is instead dedicated almost exclusively to the development of the individual research which is in any case followed by a main tutor and a possible co-tutor, by each PhD student. He attends also workshops and other meetings with teachers from other Italian and foreign universities. In this way, PhD students are in a favorable condition to play the functions of expert in educational processes, at a higher level, both as regards scientific research (especially within the university world) and as regards institutions and educational services of various kinds.
Research training activities foreseen for doctoral students in line with the educational objectives of the doctorate
Seminar and workshops lectures held by teachers of Pedagogical Sciences on the different research methodologies (history of pedagogy; pedagogy; teaching; special pedagogy; experimental pedagogy); seminars held mainly by foreign teachers who are experts in the subject matter of the course of study, including seminars of the Higher School of Humanities of the University of Bologna; lectures and seminars at other national and international universities; participation in educational and training projects. Direct knowledge of innovative and cutting-edge experiences, both in national and international and in particular European education.