CEFEO INTERNATIONAL

IDENTITY AND MISSION

CEFEO (Research Center on Outdoor and Experiential Education and Training) is an interdisciplinary research center interested in the study, evaluation and experimentation of issues related to nature-based activities in the educational, training and therapeutic areas, which take place in the following fields:

• educational and social work (not in schools, but in extracurricular programs) in particular starting from preadolescence: prevention in vulnerable conditions or marginality; promotion of psychosocial wellbeing, empowerment and development of life skills; harm-reduction for individuals in vulnerable conditions; educational programs for people with disabilities; street education;
• adult education: professional and/or company training; University training; educational proposals in the social private sector, in associations and in voluntary organizations aiming at the development of soft skills;
• training programs for groups in the professional, educational and social contexts aimed at team building, leadership, conflict management, communication and relational skills;
• therapeutic work: rehabilitation projects for individuals and/or groups with specific psychopathologies, using experiential and outdoor methodologies.

The main characteristics of the Center are its interdisciplinarity and its strong involvement of non-University professionals. CEFEO works with academic staff and non-academic experts on issues of nature-based education and training. The aim of this collaboration is to integrate knowledge and skills deriving from different disciplines, such as Pedagogy (General, Social and Special Pedagogy) and Psychology (Social, Developmental, General and Clinical/Dynamic Psychology), with the experiences carried out in the field by practitioners and their organizations (public or private ones).

CEFEO collaborates with the Research Center on Outdoor Education of the Department of Sciences for Quality of Life (QUVI) of the University of Bologna, and with other national and international partners.

PURPOSES OF THE CENTER

• To promote and organize scientific research, experimentation, dissemination and documentation in the field of nature-based education and training;

• To promote and organize the collaboration between researchers and practitioners, in order to develop methods and tools for research and evaluation of educational, training and therapeutic interventions that use nature-based methodologies;

• To promote the internationalization of the Center, connecting it with other Universities, associations, national and international agencies of the field;

• To experiment and promote vocational training courses in the area of nature-based education and training;

• To contribute to the dissemination of experiences, experiments and interventions carried out by CEFEO, especially to:

       -practitioners in the educational, training and therapeutic areas with the aim to promote the culture and the habit of using the natural environment and the experiential approach as an educational medium;

       -students attending degree courses in the fields of Education and Psychology;

       -students and teachers of other school grades (in particular secondary schools).

RESEARCH

CEFEO’s main research objectives are:

       1) Mapping and monitoring Italian nature-based experiential and outdoor projects in the following areas:

• educational programs addressed to individuals and communities aiming at: preventing psychosocial risk, promoting psychosocial well-being and empowerment; promoting health education; promoting the respect of the natural environment; supporting the socialization process and the development of autonomy in people with disabilities or social disadvantages;
• training of young people and adults for the acquisition of technical and relational skills useful for work;
• therapeutic projects aimed at the rehabilitative treatment of psychopathologies involving individuals and communities (e.g. drug addiction, food issues, mental disorders in general).

       2) Designing and implementing research activities with the purpose of assessing the quality and effectiveness of the educational, training and therapeutic interventions listed above. Therefore, the development and implementation of research tools (observation grids, questionnaires, interviews, etc.) will be essential. 

       3) Experimenting and evaluating innovative nature-based experiential education programs. 

       4) Organizing seminars, conferences and public events; scientific publications; realizing media productions (films, shorts films, etc.).

       5) Strengthening and expanding national and international partnerships with other academic and/or non-academic entities interested in nature-based education and training.

RECENT AND CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

2020-2021: Research on evaluation tools of nature-based programs.

2020: Questionnaire regarding the effects of the Covid pandemic on the nature-based activities in the educational, training, therapeutic and leisure areas (see publication below and on the right).

2018-2019: Mapping of Italian organizations working in the nature-based sector in the educational, training and therapeutic areas (see publications below).

PUBLICATIONS

Borelli C., Gigli A., Melotti G., The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Italian Nature-Based Programs in the Educational, Therapeutic, Training and Leisure Areas, in  Education Sciences , Volume 10 , Issue 12 , DOI: 10.3390/educsci10120394: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/10/12/394

DOSSIER: Effects of the Covid Pandemic on Nature-Based Programs in the Educational, Therapeutic, Training and Leisure Areas (Gigli, A., Melotti, G., Borelli, C.) – THE ENGLISH VERSION IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD ON THE RIGHT

Melotti, G., Gigli A., e Borelli C. (in press). Lo stato dell’arte dei progetti nature-based in ambito educativo, formativo, terapeutico e ricreativo in Italia: i dati di una ricerca di mappatura. «Formazione & Insegnamento», 18(2).

Gigli, A., Melotti, G., & Borelli, C. (2020).  Lo stato dell’arte dei progetti nature-based in ambito educativo, formativo, terapeutico e ricreativo in Italia: quadro concettuale e una possibile categorizzazione dei settori/contesti.. «Formazione & Insegnamento», 18(1), pp. 77-91.

Gigli, A. (2019). L’adventure education nel lavoro socio-educativo: riflessioni pedagogiche ed esperienze. In Farné R., Bortolotti A., Terrusi M. (a cura di) L'educazione fuori. Territori e orizzonti culturali dell’Outdoor Education, Carocci, Roma.

Gigli, A. (in press). Educare “fuori”: strategie integrate di lavoro di strada, sviluppo di comunità e adventure education, in Dozza L. CerrocchiI L. (a cura di) Volume sui contesti educativi per il sociale (titolo provvisorio).

Melotti, G., Cani, D. (2019). L'educatore prende il largo: la barca a vela come laboratorio di formazione professionale per educatori. In Farné R., Bortolotti A., Terrusi M. (a cura di) L'educazione fuori. Territori e orizzonti culturali dell’Outdoor Education, Carocci, Roma.

Gigli, A. (2007). La strada come setting educativo, in Dozza L (a cura di), Contesti educativi per il sociale, Trento, Erickson.

Gigli, A. (2004). Le pratiche educative nelle reti sociali e nelle comunità locali. Riflessioni e indicazioni metodologiche. Studi sulla Formazione, 3, 10 - 20.

CONTACTS

edu.cefeo@unibo.it