OVERVIEW

The teaching, integrated with that of methods and techniques of evaluation of the social and formative policies (Code 87038), aims to provide to the students the basic knowledge and competences for the analysis of the needs in the social contexts, the programming, design and evaluation of interventions in the educational and social field and offer them opportunities to experiment with techniques and tools that can be used in these areas, under the guidance and supervision of the teachers.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Illustrate the challenges to social design in complex society and the ways in which the social designer operates, particularly in the public sphere. Illustrate the processes and strategies of evaluative research, with a deeper focus on public decision-making contexts, on the types and objectives of evaluation, on the use in social and training policies. Give the fundamental theoretical concepts of the evaluation and the techniques and tools used in evaluative research.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the basic knowledge and skills for the analysis of needs in social contexts, the planning, design and evaluation of educational and social interventions.

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. have a clear conception of the new frontiers of social programming and of the techniques necessary to achieve it;

2. have a clear conception of the new frontiers of social policies in the new welfare;

3. know the models of analysis of decision-making processes and understand how use it for the design and evaluation of social policies;

4. manage the fundamental concepts of evaluation and know the related  methodological and theoretical implications;

5. build projects with the Project Cycle Management method and the Logical Framework;

6. construct problems’ tree and objectives’ tree as well as stakeholders’ map as essential components of social policies design.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of lectures for a total of 36 hours (equivalent to 6 CFU), during which theoretical arguments will be presented and application exercises will be carried out in groups with the aim of reinforcing the learning of the theory, and good practices by experts will be presented.

If required by the epidemiological situation, the course will be held in distance learning mode, according to the specifications that will be published in good time in the classroom web page of the course.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course starts from the characteristics that social design assumes in complex society, highlighting the epistemological and methodological difficulties of social engineering and correlativelying the difficulties of defining the profession of Social designer. Abandoned the role of technical neutral, thanks to the participatory design can find answers to the impracticability of the model of synoptic rationality, however redefining its professional role and innovating its work tools. Analyzed theoretical models of reference, generative causality and mechanisms opposed to linear causality, the course addresses the basic principles of social design, focousing in particular in the current evolution of the welfare state. Special attention is given to co-designing, which is said to be a typical mode of work in the educational and social field.
Then the course goes on analyzing the basic principles of the evaluation of public policies, distinguishing from monitoring and putting in light purposes and uses. The main reference theories and the operational modalities deriving also from European policies will be illustrated.

The course contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, with particular reference to Goal 4 "Provide quality, equitable and inclusive education and learning opportunities for all".

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Palumbo M., Il processo di valutazione, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2002 (chapters 1,5,6,7)

​De Ambrogio U., Dessi C., Ghetti V., Progettare e valutare nel sociale. Metodi ed esperienze. Carocci Faber Servizio Sociale, Roma, 2013

Further readings for non attending students:

Stame N., Valutazione pluralista, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2016

Students with DSA, disability or other special educational needs are recommended to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course, in order to organize teaching and assessment, taking in account both the class aims and the student's needs and providing suitable compensatory instruments.

For international students, texts and articles in English are available on request. For international students who request it, it will be possible to take the examination orally in English.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CLAUDIO TORRIGIANI (President)

VALERIA SILVIA PANDOLFINI (President Substitute)

STEFANO POLI (President Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Second semester

Class schedule

PLANNING, ANALYSIS, PLANNING OF THE SOCIAL AND FORMATIVE POLITICS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

For the non-attending students the exam is written, with 5 open-ended questions. For each open-ended question, the range is 0-6 points. The available time will be 90 minutes (total marks from 0 to 30).The student who has passed the written exam, once informed of the mark, will decide whether to accept it, integrate it with a question about a specific thematic area, which is evaluated in oral mode in the next call, or reject the mark and present itself in subsequent session. If required by the epidemiological situation, the exam will be carried out through aulaweb tests with closed-ended questions and some open-ended questions, followed in any case by a supplementary question in oral mode.

For attending students (i.e. those who have attended at least 70% of the total hours of lessons), it is possible to use the mode envisaged for the non-attending students, or to carry out intermediate written tests, which will take place during the course. Two intermediate tests are foreseen, each of which will gave 15 points. The final mark will consist in the sum of the two marks. Students who fails or does not accept the mark of one of the two tests will be able to complete the exam orally. For the students aiming to improve the mark of the interim tests, a short oral examination is foreseen on a part of the program defined according to the results of the intermediate tests to the next section, for the registration of the mark.If required by the epidemiological situation, the exam will be held in distance mode.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Questions on the topics of the course and on its use in design and evaluation of social policies.

The written test will be structured on 5 open-ended questions on the whole program; for each open-ended question, the range is 0-6 points. The available time will be 90 minutes. (total marks from 0 to 30).The student who has passed the written exam, once informed of the mark, will decide whether to accept it, integrate it with a question about a specific thematic area, which will be asked in oral mode in the next call, or reject the mark and present itself in subsequent session. If required by the epidemiological situation, tests will be carried out through aulaweb, consisting of closed-ended questions and some open-ended questions. The written tests are aimed at evaluating the learning of theoretical knowledge and the mastery of technical language.

The oral examination aims to verify the students' actual knowledge and acquisition of the concepts and theoretical notions covered in the course, as well as their ability to apply the notions to specific contexts. Competences in the use of specific disciplinary terminology used to analyze the studied phenomena will constitute a preferential evaluation element.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

All students are invited to periodically consult the page of this course on the AulaWeb e-learning portal (accessible from the University website or at: http://www.aulaweb.unige.it/). All information and materials on this course are published exclusively on this site.