Pedagogical Dimensions of Training Design in Doctoral Programmes

Abstract

Doctoral schools, in Italy and beyond, are experiencing a period of great change and redesign that can be particularly fruitful. Seizing this opportunity requires an understanding of both the formal constraints and the major teaching challenges involved in redesigning the training offer and the dynamics of doctorate evaluation. Specific contributions can come from pedagogical studies, starting with how doctoral schools within the same educational field can rethink themselves. The aim is to create learning environments that are also communities of practice, in which young researchers are guided to adopt an academic mindset that can be applied to other areas of social life. In order for these communities of practice to be effective in terms of education, it is important to recover that sense of sweetness of knowing how to live together as researchers, which should be the hallmark of university life, but is often fraught with difficulties.