Doing and being educators during the Covid time in the Calabrian context
Mariateresa Muraca, Rosa Fiore, Maria Angela Ambrogio, Luciano Squillaci
The paper is based on a qualitative research carried out by some professors and students of the Don Giorgio Pratesi University Institute in Soverato (Catanzaro), in order to explore the professional experience of educators, during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, structured interviews were conducted with forty-six educators engaged in multiple social areas of the Calabrian territory. The contribution starts from the recognition of the void that was registered, both in public opinion and in scientific research, with respect to the challenges faced by non-formal education during the first lockdown, and intends to restore value and visibility to the professionals involved in host, care and support for the most fragile people and social groups. In the results the imaginaries of the subjects of the research about pandemic, the difficulties and tools experienced in residential and non-residential structures, the relations with colleagues and with the service, the hetero-representations and self-representations of educators, the learning and transformative perspectives are discussed.
Keywords
Pandemic, Covid-19, non formal education, professional educators, Calabria.