The arts have always been present in the Italian school system, especially for the first years of school and in educational and training experiences geared towards education for the expression and development of the person. However, in the curriculum design, there is a profound disparity in treatment between the arts (for example, there is a greater presence of graphic-pictorial and musical arts than of the others) and between school grades (in upper secondary school, art almost disappears, remaining limited to some types of high schools, called “Licei” in Italian).

With the law no. 107 of 2015, and the relative Legislative Decree no. 60 of 2017, a strong impulse was given to invest in issues connected with the arts and creativity: not only it is stated that historical-critical knowledge and the practice of the arts are «fundamental requirements of the curriculum», but schools are invited to make an effort to include this type of activity in their Three-year Educational Offer Plans (Piani Triennali dell’Offerta Formativa – PTOF). This law puts end to the scarce presence of the arts in the curricula and intervenes in contrast to educational poverty, which is also characterized by the lack of opportunities in experimenting with the arts and expressiveness in general, that is fundamental for the growth and maturation of children and adolescents.

Specific tasks are entrusted to INDIRE by this law:

1. training, consultancy and support for teachers involved in the development of creativity issues;
2. documentation of the activities related to the themes of creativity;
3. support for the activation of permanent laboratories for teaching creative expression in school networks and in centres specialised in artistic and performative paths;
4. collection of good practices of educational institutions;
5. dissemination of the most effective best practices, in order for students to achieve skills, knowledge and competences relating to the themes of creativity. The Legislative Decree no. 60 of 2017 also establishes the three-year plan of the arts. In this regulatory framework, INDRE is entrusted with the tasks of monitoring the activities and the main results achieved by the educational institutions involved in the Plan and the documentation and dissemination of practices.

The reflection of the Research Structure is focused on the educational value, the forms, the ways, the languages, the purposes and the effects of laboratory teaching in the artistic-expressive area and its impact on the innovation of the curriculum in every school grade, also in continuity with the standard pedagogical programme for the 0-3 age group.

General objectives

1. Identification and experimentation of solutions and educational and didactic proposals that use the artistic-expressive practice as a didactic mediator;
2. Definition of observation protocols and documentation of educational activities in the artistic-expressive field.

Research questions

• In what educational scenarios artistic practices could be carried out as a decisive experience for personal growth and therefore, for the development of the skills necessary for active participation in society?
• What are the educational and didactic methodologies functional to the implementation of educational proposals in the artistic-expressive field?
• What are the most functional ways of documenting educational initiatives in the artistic-expressive field?

Context – Target population

The recipients of the research carried out by the structure are educators and teachers of the 0–6 years old group and in all grades of the scholastic path. Furthermore, students can also be actively involved in the actions.

Institutional collaborations and research collaborations

• City of Turin – Turin Institution for Responsible Education (ITER)
• ARTI (Association of Italian Theatrical Networks)
• TEMPO REALE – Association of music production and teaching research centre – new technologies
• National Committee for the practical learning of music for all students, inter-ministerial committee – Ministry of Education