Francesca Rota
F. Rota - Teaching sustainability: reflections and practices in early childhood education
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Francesca Rota, a PhD student from the University of Milano-Bicocca, completed a two-and-a-half-month visiting period at the DFA/ASP in Locarno during the autumn semester of 2024/2025.
What was the spark that pushed you to undertake a visiting period? And what fascinated you about DFA/ASP to the point of choosing it as your destination?
鈥嬧赌�鈥嬧赌嬧�嬧赌嬧�嬧赌嬧�婭 decided to undertake a visiting period to challenge myself within a research context and a geographical and cultural setting different from my usual environment. I chose DFA/ASP because I knew that the curriculum of the Ticino compulsory school had recently been revised with a specific focus on education for sustainable development.
Tell us how the academic environment and the welcome you received impressed you, and whether it made you feel immediately part of something special.
鈥嬧赌�鈥嬧赌嬧�嬧赌嬧�嬧赌嬧�婩rom the moment I arrived, I could feel the attention and care that DFA/ASP dedicates to students coming from other countries, creating a network of contacts among them, providing dedicated spaces within the offices, and offering support in research work. I was able to immerse myself in a welcoming and stimulating environment, both academically and personally, one that immediately showed curiosity and interest in my research work, valuing it and providing me with all its resources to enrich it.
Briefly tell us about your project and how this visiting experience contributed to its development.
鈥嬧赌�鈥嬧赌嬧�嬧赌嬧�嬧赌嬧�婱y research focuses on education for sustainability, with a specific emphasis on children aged 0-6. Over these months, I had the opportunity to engage with many teachers involved in sustainability in various capacities, participate in training meetings for kindergarten and elementary school teachers, and attend classes in the Bachelor鈥檚 program for Early Childhood Education. This constellation of meetings and formative moments provided valuable nourishment for my research, allowing me to look at it from different, previously unknown perspectives.
How do you evaluate your experience overall? What are your final thoughts?
鈥嬧赌�鈥嬧赌嬧�嬧赌嬧�嬧赌嬧�婭t was a precious and enriching experience that offered me everything I had hoped for when I first envisioned and planned it. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to challenge themselves within an academic, geographical, and cultural reality different from their own, as through comparison, it is possible to return to one鈥檚 own reality with new insights and awareness.