Access to this Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts requires a high school diploma or other qualification obtained abroad and officially approved, as they certify the standard knowledge required. Because of the specificity of the professional role of the Educator of Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts and his/her future commitment in the interpersonal relationship, the language skills in terms of comprehension and writing of Italian texts are considered of primary importance.
The knowledge required for admission and the methods for assessment are specified in the Teaching Regulations of the degree programme, which also indicate the additional training obligations envisaged in the event that the student does not pass the assessment.

The final test of the degree programme includes the presentation of an individual written paper, of theoretical or empirical nature, that may be inspired by the internship activities.
The paper is intended as a summary of the three-year training programme and represents its completion. It proves the full possession of the basic knowledge gained during the three years and the ability to give a coherent, critical and constructive speech on a specific issue, yet considered into a general context of conceptual reference. It must be written in a clear, precise language.
It can be inspired by the internship activities, without being a simple presentation of the final internship report. The paper can be the development of action projects and include their theoretical premises, the project rationale and therefore the presentation and discussion of collected data and the evaluation of the results achieved.
The final paper normally deals with a discipline on which at least one examination has been passed by the student; exceptions may be considered, provided they are properly justified and agreed with the tutoring professor and/or the department commission responsible for coordinating the final paper and degree thesis activities.

The final score of the degree is expressed into a grade out of one hundred and ten. The minimum mark to pass the examination is sixty-six out of one hundred and ten.
The final score is the sum of:
a) the weighted average based on the number of CFUs assigned for each examination, expressed in a grade out of one hundred and ten;
b) an increase in the weighted average of 0.1 points for each honour awarded;
c) the grade increment obtained for the final paper, up to a maximum of 4 points;
d) the grade increment obtained in the final assessment of the practical internship, up to a maximum of 2 points
e) an increase of 1 bonus point, awarded to all those who act as representatives and who have participated in training and who meet the requirements of the “Empowerment Project” (DP teaching regulations approved on 23 May 2023)

Educator in nurseries and childhood services
The skills associated with the main functions of the educator in nurseries and childhood services (equally relating to the different possible contexts indicated in the professional opportunities) are:
- implement observation practices of children and of nurseries and early childhood services with regard to pre-literacy and socialisation processes and practices (among peer figures and with other reference figures such as adults, parents, and professionals) for the target;
- design prevention, education, recovery and support programmes for the family;
- carry out educational actions addressed to young children attending crèches and childhood services;
- develop and apply individualisation, personalisation and cooperation strategies, mainly relating also to the inclusion and integration of persons differing in gender, psycho-physical integrity, society of origin and own cultures;
- perform tests on processes and educational practices, involving children in crèches and early childhood services;
- document processes and educational practices, involving children in crèches and early childhood services;
- mediate and negotiate conflicts for any psycho-physical and socio-cultural differences;
- network, manage relations and create an educational alliance among services/agencies/parental and professional players;
- activate programmes and activities aimed at creating educational alliance and continuity between crèches and early childhood services and family;
- work at board and/or team level;
- contribute to programmes and refresher and in-service staff training activities.


Socio-pedagogical educator.
The skills associated with the main functions of the social and pedagogical professional educator (equally relating to the different possible contexts indicated in the professional opportunities) are:
- implement observation practices of persons and contexts involved in socialisation and literacy processes and practices, with reference to different conditions and ages of life and/or education (children, teen-agers, youths, adults, and the elderly);
- implement the planning and design of prevention, education and recovery programmes, with reference to different conditions and ages of life and / or education ((children, teen-agers, youths, adults, and the elderly) and in particular for persons with disabilities and marginalisation;
- implement educational actions addressed to the recipients outlined above;
- develop and apply individualisation, personalisation and cooperation strategies, mainly relating to the inclusion and integration of persons differing in gender, generation, psycho-physical integrity, society of origin and own cultures;
- implement documentation and verification of educational processes and practices, with reference to different conditions and ages of life and / or education (children, teen-agers, youths, adults, and the elderly);
- mediate and negotiate conflicts for any psycho-physical and socio-cultural differences;
- network, manage relations and create an educational alliance among services/agencies/parental and professional players;
- implement paths and activities of academic and career guidance;
- work at board and/or team level;
- contribute to refresher and in-service staff training programmes and activities.

Educator in nurseries and childhood services
The main functions of the Educator in nurseries and childhood services include the development and realisation of relevant and valid processes and education and socialisation practices aimed at providing children with a multidimensional training and help them reach their personal independence and social responsibility.
Such tasks/functions (equally relating to the different possible contexts indicated in the professional opportunities) are mainly:
- analyse, design and implement pedagogical and teaching actions in nurseries and childhood services;
- monitor, check and provide documentation for development processes and educational practices addressed to children;
- welcome and provide educational support to young children and their families;
- implement peer socialisation actions with the reference adults figures (relatives and professionals) for young children;
- implement inclusion and integration actions of genders, psycho-physical impairments, and cultures in nurseries and childhood services;
- implement conflict mediation and negotiation actions (for psycho-physical and socio-cultural differences) in nurseries and childhood services;
- implement networking, care and continuity actions based on the education partnership between nurseries and childhood services with other services/agencies/parental and professional players;
- develop educational continuity actions with pre-schools;
- participate in and contribute to collegial responsibility and team work;
- participate in further education and training activities for personnel.

The other figures with whom graduates can collaborate as nursery and early childhood educator are:
on a professional level: pre-school teachers (to guarantee training continuity), social and pedagogical professional educators of extra-school educational services (e.g. reading centres, game libraries, family centres, etc.), entertainers, atelierists, pedagogues, psychologists, child psychiatrists, cultural mediators, social assistants, experts in educational sciences (functional to further education); on a parental level: relatives, with specific reference to parents, grandparents, etc.


Socio-pedagogical educator.
The main functions of the social and pedagogical educator include the development and realisation of relevant and valid education, socialisation and cultural literacy processes and practices aimed at providing children with a multidimensional training and help them reach their personal independence and social responsibility.
Such tasks/functions (equally relating to the different possible contexts indicated in the professional opportunities) are mainly:
- analyse, design and implement pedagogical and teaching actions for people living different conditions and of various ages (children, teen-agers, youths, adults, elderly);
- monitor, check and provide documentation for development processes and educational practices affecting different conditions and ages of life and/or education;
- implement peer literacy and socialisation actions with the reference adults figures (relatives and professionals);
- implement inclusion and integration actions of genders, generations, psycho-physical impairments, and cultures;
- implement conflict mediation and negotiation actions (for psycho-physical and socio-cultural differences);
- implement networking, care and continuity actions based on the education partnership with other services/agencies/parental and professional players;
- implement academic and career guidance;
- participate in and contribute to collegial responsibility and team work;
- participate in further education and training activities for personnel.

The other professional figures with whom graduates can collaborate as social and pedagogical educator are:
on a professional level: teachers of different school levels, nursery and early childhood services, social and pedagogical professional educators working in other educational services out of schools, pedagogues, entertainers, psychologists, psychiatrics and child psychiatrists, doctors, nurses, cultural mediators, social assistants, experts in educational sciences (functional to refresher courses); on a parental level: relatives, with specific reference to parents, grandparents, etc.

Educator in nurseries and childhood services
The profile of educator in nurseries and children's services is part of a path that trains in pedagogy and educational sciences, in order to achieve a functional professionalism to work in these contexts. The nursery educator works in educational services for children from the first months of life up to 36 months, included in the Integrated Education and Training System, which are managed by both public and private entities (such as crèches and micro-crèches; spring sections; supplementary services such as play spaces, children and family centres; educational services in home settings). The childcare educator works in personal services of an educational and/or recreational nature for girls and boys aged 0-6 and their families (such as toy libraries, intercultural centres, family homes, residential or home-based settings) and in parenting support services.
However, please note that the degree in Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts, which includes this profiles, allows graduates to work also in other socio-educational contexts relating to the various times of life (children, teen-agers, young people, adults, and elderly) and featuring prevention, education and recovery processes and practices.


Socio-pedagogical educator.
The profile of socio-pedagogical professional educator is part of a pathway that trains mainly in the field of pedagogy and educational sciences, in order to achieve a functional professionalism to work in the multiple educational contexts aimed at the different ages of life (childhood, adolescence, youth, adults and the elderly), extra-school and school type and characterised by processes and practices of prevention, education and recovery.
The educational contexts /settings in which social and pedagogical professional educators may be employed include:
families in situations of discomfort, therefore home education, neutral space and support for parenthood, school, youth centres, centres for disability, prison, external criminal enforcement services, family and community homes (for minors, for women, for the disabled, for those with dependency issues, social or external criminal enforcement), street education, centres and / or adult education projects, vocational guidance and adult working contexts, services or centres for the elderly, cultural and territorial services and/ or decentralised teaching rooms (museums, libraries-art galleries, playrooms, workshops), services or centres for foreigners and / or for cultural integration, social cooperatives, international cooperation, media education.

As regards the professional opportunities described above, the Degree Programme in Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts, with its two curricula that are active from the second year after the first year in common is aimed at providing students with:

- a sound knowledge of theoretical and historical contents of educational and training issues (in the areas of psychology, teaching, languages, sociology, law and philosophy);

- knowledge of educational contexts, with particular reference to crèches and childhood services, educational services aimed at school-age and adult subjects experiencing discomfort, or disability or educational poverty, parenting support, schools, youth centres, disability centres, prisons, services for external criminal enforcement, family-type homes and communities (for minors, for women, for disabled people, for people with addiction problems, for social workers or people undergoing external criminal execution), street education, centres and / or adult education projects, vocational guidance and adult working contexts, services or centres for the elderly, cultural and territorial services and/ or decentralised teaching rooms (museums, libraries-art galleries, playrooms, workshops), services or centres for foreigners and / or for cultural integration, social cooperatives, international cooperation, media education).

- proper skills in terms of observation, analysis and interpretation methods of the contexts and relations in the various educational and training areas of intervention;

- adequate designing, implementation, management and assessment skills relating to educational, individual and collective actions, with special reference to educational issues of the times of life, situations of discomfort and disability, as well as those related to family and intercultural relationships;

-deep knowledge and acquisition of experiences in educational and social reintegration activities relating to deviancy and criminality sectors.

For the attainment of these objectives, a training programme is planned which includes a partial differentiation for nurseries and childcare services on the one hand, and the multiple contexts of the socio pedagogical educator on the other, and which we shall indicate briefly as the ‘nursery curriculum' and the 'socio pedagogical curriculum'.
Since the first year, the Programme ensures to both curricula a multidisciplinary instrumentation of historical-legal-cultural-phylosophical and psycho-social interpretation of educational phenomena, and the knowledge of the main types of educational structures and strategies implemented outside the school setting.
Since the second year, the ‘nursery' curriculum provides knowledge of the child’s condition with regard to the psychological sphere and its contexts, through a multidisciplinary perspective attentive to the dimensions of sociology, languages and ethics, which deals with the dynamics related to development and the needs of inclusion since childhood.
The third year provides knowledge on family dynamics and parenting, service culture and the history of childhood culture. An adequate number of teachings, together with the ad hoc workshops introduced, and the internship activity, ensure in the third year the affirmation of relational, communicative, methodological and heuristic skills, adapted to the profile of a nursery educator.

The socio-pedagogical educator curriculum develops, in the second year, psychological, pedagogical, sociological, historical, philosophical and juridical knowledge and skills necessary to analyse, design and conduct interventions in intercultural and group education, also promoting skills to manage, understand and prevent the multiple forms of discomfort disability dissimilarity and deviance that are typical of today's social contexts.
In the third students acquire additional tools for analysis and reading of the dynamics and educational conflicts and consolidate some operational skills, both through the internship and familiarisation with multiple cultural mediators of the educational relationship.


The specific training objectives will also be achieved with seminars in collaboration with local services and institutions and, above all, with laboratories as provided for by DM 378/18 Annex B.

In the curriculum addressed to educational figures working in the nursery and childcare services are included at least 5 CFUs of workshops for as many Pedagogical and Developmental Psychology teaching areas as required by DM 378/ 18, Annex B, and in accordance with the indications contained therein. 

Also the curriculum addressed to the socio pedagogical educator includes workshop credits referring to distinctive teachings of the underlying profile, and aimed at introducing operational knowledge and preparatory professional practices of importance to the figure of the socio pedagogical educator. 

A focused internship activity is also provided. This internship activity will be divided into two phases (for a total of 14 CFUs): - guidance internship: students will have the opportunity, among other things, to get to know the local institutions/associations where they will carry out their subsequent training internship.

 The trainee will be informed about the nature and modalities of the internship within the structure, as well as the educational project in which he/she might be involved. 
- direct training internship, consisting in a long period of time working in an organisation, during which trainees will recreate the objectives, the organisation, the working methodologies of the service and the role of the educator (tasks and functions) though the observation, document analysis, interviews to privileged individuals (coordinators, educators, other types of personnel of the multi-professional team) on one hand; on the other hand they will start gaining experience as educators within the service through shadowing (working side by side with the educator: including team and supervision meetings) and daily educational activities. Such activities will be carried out based on the project previously agreed with the internship office.
In the specific “nursery curriculum” case, 50% of the direct internship shall be carried out in crèches or childhood educational services, in accordance with regulations (att. B of DM 378/2018).

Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” are able to:
- agree on assumptions and action modes, networking with peer professionals in terms of levels and functions, internal and external to the service, and involved in the educational project both as professional social and pedagogical educator and in charge of the pedagogical area;
- start a relationship with people under an educational programme and their reference figures (parents and/or parental figures, teachers, healthcare, social-care, specialist figures, etc.) to create synergy and educational alliance, even in situations of intercultural communication;
- adopt verbal and non-verbal communication modes, using multiple registers of verbal interaction, with particular attention to listening modes and emotional support;
- communicate and work in multi-professional and interdisciplinary teams;
- develop individual and group projects, write reports and opinions (which may be requested even by the Surveillance Court), draw up meeting minutes, observe subjects and contexts, and document the experiences using different suitable modes according to the various recipients;
- possess adequate English language skills, also in terms of specific lexicon, and IT skills for teaching and education activities.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects included in some teachings.In order to prove that they have gained the skills described above, students will have to pass written (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, drawing up projects) and/or oral tests, as well as obtain positive assessments on their internship programme and draw up a final paper. Students will be clearly and exhaustively informed on testing and evaluation modalities.

Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” are able to:
- think about both broad-ranging educational topics and specific educational phenomena;
- understand the educational needs of the individual, including those relating to bio-psychological and socio-cultural aspects;
- consistently link the subjects and the times of life (children, adolescents, young people, adults, and the elderly), to the educational contexts;
- design and evaluate adequate educational choices (also of prevention and recovery/rehabilitation) to readdress them if required (also with particular reference to the issues related to differences of gender, generation, psycho-physical profile, social discomfort and marginality, educational poverty, ethnic diversity);
- evaluate educational contexts, programmes, projects, strategies, materials and tools, and analyse their results and effectiveness and redesign individual and collective educational actions.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects included in some teachings. In order to prove that they have gained such independent judgement, students will have to pass written (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, projects) and/or oral tests, as well as obtain positive assessments on their internship programme and draw up a final paper. Students will be clearly and exhaustively informed on testing and evaluation modalities.

Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” are able to:
- critically access multiple information sources;
- envisage training and refresher courses to improve their educator knowledge/skills/competences;
- conduct individual and/or group researches, starting from observing, analysing and collecting documentation of educational cases truly experienced daily;
- think about their own oral communication both on the pragmatic and interpersonal relationship point of view, and the language aspects of oral and written statements that are typical of professional communication.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects attached to some teachings. In order to prove that they have gained such independent judgement, students will have to pass written (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, projects) and/or oral tests, as well as obtain positive assessments on their internship programme and draw up a final paper. Students will be clearly and exhaustively informed on testing and evaluation modalities.

Psychological and pedagogic-didactic area
Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” know:
- theories, history and methods of education and training;
- theories, history and methods of teaching and learning, and evaluation;
- animation methods and strategies for educational purposes in formal and non-formal contexts;
- methods and tools for educational and historical and educational research;
- history, theories and issues of educational politics;
- historical reality, structural configurations, legal and administrative aspects of education and training institutions;
- needs related to the specific ages of education and training (children, teen-agers, youths, adults, elderly);
- bio-psychological and socio-cultural features of the persons involved in prevention, education and recovery processes;
- psycho-pedagogical issues in building one’s own relationships and creating the personal identity, with specific reference to the early childhood and adolescence, to the cultural and gender differences and disabilities, social and educational discomfort and deviance;
- educational models and contexts for social purposes (in schools and out of schools) involved in inculturation and acculturation processes, as well in processes and strategies of inclusion and integration in the social and multicultural context.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects attached to some teachings.
In order to prove that they have gained such knowledge and skills, students will have to pass written (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, projects) and/or oral tests, as well as draw up a final paper.
Students will be clearly and exhaustively informed on testing and evaluation modalities.


Psychological and social, historical and religious, legal, and medical and criminological area
Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” know:
- historical reality, structural configurations, legal and administrative aspects of the family, educational services for childhood and the other times of life and institutions for criminal prosecution;
- historical and cultural, and historical and religious models and contexts of inculturation and acculturation, as well as of integration processes and strategies;
- (typical and atypical) psycho-physical mode of development of subjects in developmental age, and socio-health conditions for the promotion of health and well-being;
- sociocultural and criminological features of the persons involved in prevention, education and recovery processes;
- social and psychological, social, historical and religious, legal and criminological issues and dynamics in building one’s own relationships and creating one’s own personal identity, with specific reference to the cultural and gender differences, comparative family and child law, and social and educational discomfort, social deviance.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects attached to some teachings. In order to prove that they have gained such knowledge and skills, students will have to pass written (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, projects) and/or oral tests, as well as draw up a final paper.
Students will be clearly and exhaustively informed on testing and evaluation modalities.


History, aesthetics and literature
Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” know:
- theories and methodologies of artistic and literary languages;
- relevant philosophic, artistic, and literary interpretations of training processes in the contemporary world;
- forms and strategies of narrative communication, and of the languages of cinema, television, photography, and digital language;
- long term events and issues in the history of contemporary world.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects attached to some teachings. In order to prove that they have gained such knowledge and skills, students will have to pass written (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, projects) and/or oral tests, as well as draw up a final paper.
Students will be clearly and exhaustively informed on testing and evaluation modalities.

Psychological and pedagogic-didactic area
Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” are able to:
- observe and interpret the dynamics of educational contexts to understand any needs (expressed and to ascribe) of both the individuals under the educational project and the educators, at an institutional level and in community structures;
- design, prepare, document and evaluate both direct and mediated educational actions, on the individuals and groups that work in team and independently, with specific reference to early childhood services and to those social and pedagogical services for the other times of life;
- process individual and group educational strategies in communities differing in type and characteristics, focusing on communication issues and issues of interpersonal, intergender, intergeneration and intercultural relationships;
- design and develop suitable research and action plans in the educational, historical and educational, and psychological field;
- participate in the organisation, management and evaluation of educational and social reintegration services, and service networks, aimed at developing an integrated training service.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects included in some teachings. In order to prove that they have gained such knowledge and skills, students will have to pass written and oral tests (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, projects), as well as draw up a final paper.


Psychological and social, historical and religious, legal, and medical and criminological area
Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” are able to:
- observe and interpret the dynamics of educational contexts to understand any needs (expresses and to ascribe) of both the individuals under the educational project and the educators, at an institutional level and in community structures, focusing on intercultural and interreligious issues, as well as those related to children and family law, services and institutions for the various ages and life conditions;
- recognise and correctly interpret cultural, intercultural, interreligious, legal and value factors involved in educational contexts or institutions.
- design and develop suitable research and action plans in the psycho sociological, historical and religious, legal, and criminology fields.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects included in some teachings. In order to prove that they have gained such knowledge and skills, students will have to pass written and oral tests (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, projects), as well as draw up a final paper.


History, aesthetics and literature
Graduates in “Education for early childhood services and socio-pedagogical contexts” are able to:
- recognise and correctly interpret historical, cultural, and value factors involved in educational contexts or institutions;
- design and develop suitable research and action plans in the educational, aesthetical and narration fields.

Such skills can be acquired through the teachings provided for by the Study Manifesto and related seminars, as well as laboratories and research-action projects included in some teachings. In order to prove that they have gained such knowledge and skills, students will have to pass written and oral tests (multiple-choice tests, open questionnaires, short essays, reports, projects), as well as draw up a final paper.