Expert in Social and Cultural Education

The First Cycle Degree/Bachelor Programme in Expert in Social and Cultural Education provides students with the basic training necessary to work as socio-pedagogical educators in accordance with Law 205/2017 (art. 594). These professionals work in socio-educational, training and pedagogical contexts, conducting formal and informal activities, at various stages of life, in a perspective of personal and social growth. Experts in Social and Cultural Education work in socio-educational and social care services and facilities, with people of all ages, primarily in the following contexts: education and training, schools, social care, limited to the socio-educational aspects, parenthood and families, culture, judiciary, environment, sports, and international integration and cooperation. They devise specific measures for communities and individuals in the socio-educational, social healthcare, recreational-cultural and environmental education service sectors.
As professionals in the socio-educational and social healthcare sectors, they develop knowledge and strategies to deal with conditions of psychosocial distress and marginalisation, in their various connotations, both with regard to prevention and social rehabilitation, working in teams with other professionals.
As professionals in the recreational-cultural and environmental education sectors, they develop knowledge and strategies in relation to the promotion and implementation in communities of services aimed at the cultural growth of the population and at raising awareness of issues related to the cultural and natural environment and to the protection of education.
In order to pursue said professional goals, the programme catalogue covers fundamental theoretical skills - of a pedagogical, psycho-social and socio-anthropological nature - in order to understand socio-educational processes with regard in particular to individuals, communities and contexts of socio-cultural and educational vulnerability in modern society, along with the main pedagogical and teaching models for intervention in the various contexts in which socio-educational professionals work. These skills constitute the core focus of the first year of the degree programme. During this year, students will study subjects from the educational science discipline (pedagogy, psychology, sociology, anthropology), with a specific focus on the processes of empowerment of individuals and communities, and will acquire the required linguistic competence. At the end of their training, graduates in Social and Cultural Education will have achieved a B1 level in a foreign language.

In the second year of the degree programme, special emphasis is placed on analytical and planning skills in order to allow the education professional to acquire adequate tools for educational planning and programming, as well as advanced skills in the analysis of individual and collective educational needs in relation to specific sociocultural contexts and local and national welfare policies. The programme seeks to provide the skills that enable education professionals to engage with social, collective and family realities, acting directly and indirectly to support the development of individual and community empowerment. During this year, students will further develop their pedagogical, psychological and sociological skills, focusing mostly on the specific contexts of the various areas (disability, employees, migration, educational poverty, etc.) in which socio-pedagogical educators work.
During the third year of the degree programme, students further develop specific educational skills related to community development and intervention in synergy with other professional and social interlocutors. The programme is completed with internships and further study and analysis of areas that are of interest to the students.

As part of the programme catalogue, special emphasis is placed on competencies related to the internship experience, which must be carried out in one of the various types of socio-educational services in the region and with the operational knowledge (know-how) gained from the vocational training workshops planned in the second part of the degree programme.

Admission to First Cycle Degree/Bachelor programme requires possession of a secondary school diploma awarded after five years of study or a foreign qualification recognised as suitable.

Additionally, knowledge and competence in the following areas are required:

- good knowledge of the grammatical and syntactic structures of spoken and written Italian
- ability to comprehend the core meaning of a spoken or written message
- ability to express one's own views on a known topic
- ability to identify the main differences between different theoretical stances in relation to the same subject matter
- inductive and deductive reasoning abilities
- English language skills (minimum A2 level) based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The methods for verifying the knowledge required for admission are defined in the degree programme teaching regulations.
If the results of the test are not positive, additional learning requirements will be specified.
Completion of the learning requirements is the subject of a separate test. The relevant testing method is also set out in the degree programme teaching regulations.

Students who do not complete the additional learning requirements by the date established by the competent bodies and, in any case, by the end of the first year of the degree programme, will be unable to sit exams in the following years.