Urban Planning and Formal Education. Methodology and political role of the Geographical Curriculum.

Abstract

Children participation in Urban Planning is a widely discussed topic (M. Francis, 1988; Ware W., Cavannagh S R, 1992; Hart, 1997; R. Lorenzo 1998). Referring to this theme, several authors have pointed out the role played by formal education (M. Francis, R. Lorenzo, 2002), therefore, by school and national curricula. The paper, focusing on the Italian National Curriculum, examines how themes and methods of the Geographical Curriculum are presented not only as fundamental tools for the development of children’s ‘sense of place’, but also as the required knowledge for the education of future ‘good citizens’. This relationship is critically discussed through the analysis of a sample of the projects carried out by the students of the Faculty of Science of Education (University of Milano-Bicocca).