This research focuses on adult education policies and aims to investigate the enactment processes through which policies are interpreted and translated into practices within local contexts. This study is theoretically rooted on a definition of policies as social constructs, which should be observed in their contexts in order to be understood (Shore et al., 2012). Accordingly, it embraces an extended definition of political actors and decision makers which includes all those involved in the policy enactment. From this point of view, the enactment process is not a mechanical enforcement or a mere implementation of pre-existing rules coming from a top decision level. Enactments should be considered as cultural practices, non-linear and dynamic processes which translate policy into actions under specific contextual dimensions (Ball et al., 2012). Drawing on this theoretical perspective, this research aims to contribute to the field by challenging the idea that policies are rational, linear and hierarchic processes; moreover, it refers to previous research which claims that political entities, such as international organisations, national states, regions and municipalities, do not constitute hierarchical, separate and discrete levels, and should be then approached by taking into account their interrelations (Mitra, 2018; Verger et al., 2018; Dale, 2000). The circumstance that offered the opportunity to conduct such a study is the reorganisation of the Italian adult education system in 2012. The policy led to the transition from the ex Permanent Territorial Centres for Adult Education (CTPs) into the Provincial Centres for Adult Instruction (CPIAs); the main innovation is that the new CPIAs have been provided with administrative autonomy, while the ex CTP were administratively dependent on a primary or lower secondary school. It has been 10 years since the introduction of the policy. CPIAs are now well established in almost all Italian provinces. Previous research has already explored these public institutions and their innovations in terms of organisational and educational practices, after they obtained administrative autonomy and reorganised their educational offer. However, few studies focused on public policies and policy enactment as an explicit research object. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature. More specifically, it explores how the policy process constructs the relationship between adult education and community development. To do that, I conducted a policy ethnography in two different locations of a CPIA in the northern Italy. I spent there one school year on the fieldwork in 2020/2021. Data set consists of 56 entries in the ethnographic journal; 43 semi-structured interviews (19 with the school staff, 24 with the students), 22 policy documents and 5 internal documents from the school. Data analysis draws on an interpretative perspective on policy analysis. I used critical discourse analysis (Bacchi, 2009) in order to explore policy documents and gain a background knowledge before entering the field. Other data have been analysed through a narrative approach (Connelly & Clandinin, 2006), which I adapted to an ethnographic perspective (Cortazzi, 2001). The analysis of the policy enactment highlighted the interactions, and at times the tensions, between different kinds of constraints and creative actions which are performed by the school community. Such interactions and tensions shape the narratives which are constructed collectively by the interpretative community of the school. On the field, they cluster into foundational myths and literary topoi. The main tension is produced around the pressures towards standardization, which stimulate a reconfiguration of the school functions related to reception and listening practices.
Questa ricerca si inserisce nel settore di studio delle politiche di educazione degli adulti e si propone di indagare i processi di interpretazione e traduzione attraverso i quali le politiche vengono tradotte in pratiche nei contesti locali. Questo lavoro definisce le politiche in termini antropologici, cioè come prodotti o costrutti socio-culturali che, per essere compresi, devono essere osservati nel loro contesto (Shore et al., 2012), da un punto di vista interno all’istituzione scolastica, nel loro contesto. Coerentemente a questa definizione, in questa ricerca sono considerati attori politici anche coloro che rendono le politiche operative in contesti specifici, mettendole in pratica (Ball et al., 2012). Secondo questo punto di vista, il processo di interpretazione e traduzione in pratiche (enactment) delle politiche non è una mera implementazione di norme che arrivano da un più alto livello decisionale, ma una pratica culturale, un processo non lineare e dinamico che traduce in azioni le politiche, anche in riferimento all’influenza delle specifiche dimensioni del contesto (Ball et al., 2012). Da questo punto di vista, la ricerca vuole contribuire al dibattito scientifico che problematizza la visione delle politiche come di processi lineari, razionali e legati a una gerarchia in cui i diversi livelli, internazionale, nazionale, locale vengono analizzati come se fossero separati e discontinui tra loro (Mitra, 2018; Verger et al., 2018; Dale, 2000). L’evento che offre l’occasione di un tale studio è il Riordino del sistema di istruzione degli adulti che, nel 2012, ha portato al passaggio dai Centri Territoriali Permanenti (CTP) ai Centri Provinciali per l’Istruzione degli Adulti (CPIA), dotati per la prima volta di autonomia scolastica. A dieci anni dal Riordino i CPIA sono ormai realtà consolidate in quasi tutte le province italiane. Ricerche precedenti hanno già esplorato queste istituzioni scolastiche e le innovazioni di tipo organizzativo e didattico legate all’ottenimento dell’autonomia e alla riorganizzazione dell’offerta formativa. Tuttavia, pochi tra questi studi hanno avuto come oggetto specifico di studio le politiche e il modo in cui sono messe in pratica. La presente ricerca risponde a questa necessità. In particolare, si interroga su come sia costruito, nel processo politico, il rapporto tra educazione degli adulti e sviluppo della comunità. Un CPIA del nord Italia, e in particolare due delle due sedi, ha costituito un caso studio esemplificativo che ho indagato attraverso un’etnografia delle politiche. La raccolta dati è stata realizzata durante l’anno scolastico 2020/2021, che ho passato con la comunità scolastica. I dati raccolti sono stati raccolti attraverso gli strumenti tipici dell’approccio etnografico: il corpus di dati è costituito da 56 voci di diario di campo, 43 interviste semi-strutturate (19 con il personale scolastico e 24 con gli studenti e le studentesse), 22 documenti politici e 5 interni alla scuola. L’analisi dei dati si inserisce in una prospettiva interpretativa: i documenti politici che costituiscono il Riordino del sistema d’istruzione degli adulti sono stati analizzati attraverso un’analisi del discorso (Bacchi, 2009) e hanno costituito uno sfondo per l’etnografia; gli altri dati sono stati analizzati attraverso un approccio narrativo (Connelly & Clandinin, 2006), adattato a una prospettiva etnografica (Cortazzi, 2001). L’osservazione di come la politica di Riordino viene messa in pratica ha evidenziato l’interazione, e in certi casi la tensione, tra vincoli di diverso tipo e azioni creative realizzate dalla comunità scolastica. Tali interazioni e tensioni danno forma alle narrazioni che sono costruite collettivamente dalla comunità interpretativa, e, sul campo, si aggregano in forma di miti fondativi e topos letterari. La tensione maggiore si gioca sulle spinte alla standardizzazione che provocano una ridefinizione della funzione della scuola come spazio di accoglienza e di ascolto.
Educazione degli adulti e sviluppo di comunità. Una etnografia delle politiche in un CPIA.
Francesca Lasi
2023-01-01
Abstract
This research focuses on adult education policies and aims to investigate the enactment processes through which policies are interpreted and translated into practices within local contexts. This study is theoretically rooted on a definition of policies as social constructs, which should be observed in their contexts in order to be understood (Shore et al., 2012). Accordingly, it embraces an extended definition of political actors and decision makers which includes all those involved in the policy enactment. From this point of view, the enactment process is not a mechanical enforcement or a mere implementation of pre-existing rules coming from a top decision level. Enactments should be considered as cultural practices, non-linear and dynamic processes which translate policy into actions under specific contextual dimensions (Ball et al., 2012). Drawing on this theoretical perspective, this research aims to contribute to the field by challenging the idea that policies are rational, linear and hierarchic processes; moreover, it refers to previous research which claims that political entities, such as international organisations, national states, regions and municipalities, do not constitute hierarchical, separate and discrete levels, and should be then approached by taking into account their interrelations (Mitra, 2018; Verger et al., 2018; Dale, 2000). The circumstance that offered the opportunity to conduct such a study is the reorganisation of the Italian adult education system in 2012. The policy led to the transition from the ex Permanent Territorial Centres for Adult Education (CTPs) into the Provincial Centres for Adult Instruction (CPIAs); the main innovation is that the new CPIAs have been provided with administrative autonomy, while the ex CTP were administratively dependent on a primary or lower secondary school. It has been 10 years since the introduction of the policy. CPIAs are now well established in almost all Italian provinces. Previous research has already explored these public institutions and their innovations in terms of organisational and educational practices, after they obtained administrative autonomy and reorganised their educational offer. However, few studies focused on public policies and policy enactment as an explicit research object. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature. More specifically, it explores how the policy process constructs the relationship between adult education and community development. To do that, I conducted a policy ethnography in two different locations of a CPIA in the northern Italy. I spent there one school year on the fieldwork in 2020/2021. Data set consists of 56 entries in the ethnographic journal; 43 semi-structured interviews (19 with the school staff, 24 with the students), 22 policy documents and 5 internal documents from the school. Data analysis draws on an interpretative perspective on policy analysis. I used critical discourse analysis (Bacchi, 2009) in order to explore policy documents and gain a background knowledge before entering the field. Other data have been analysed through a narrative approach (Connelly & Clandinin, 2006), which I adapted to an ethnographic perspective (Cortazzi, 2001). The analysis of the policy enactment highlighted the interactions, and at times the tensions, between different kinds of constraints and creative actions which are performed by the school community. Such interactions and tensions shape the narratives which are constructed collectively by the interpretative community of the school. On the field, they cluster into foundational myths and literary topoi. The main tension is produced around the pressures towards standardization, which stimulate a reconfiguration of the school functions related to reception and listening practices.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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