Learning to Learn. A Quali-Quantitative Comparative Analysis of Curricula and Education Systems for Mandatory Education in Italy, Spain and Latin America

Over the last ten years, ‘learning to learn’ (L2L) has assumed a central importance in both European and in non-European policies (EC, 2006; EC, 2018), international organizations documents (OEI, 2010), education systems and national curricula. This importance comes also from the impetus to the debate provided by international studies (Kupiainen et al., 2008; Deakin Crick et al., 2014; Stringher, 2016). From this perspective, the research work presented here is part of the international research project ‘Learning to learn in Italy, Europe and Latin America’ coordinated by INVALSI across five countries: Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, Italy, and Uruguay. In a comparative international perspective, the project includes two interconnected phases. The first phase of the project aims to explore the L2L construct both through a systematic analysis of international literature, with particular reference to Latin America and partner countries, and through a comparative analysis of compulsory education systems and curricula currently in use in Italy, Spain and Latin America (Patera, 2018). Furthermore, in this first phase, a ‘qualitative’ descriptive exploratory research (through a semi-structured interview) is being carried out. The aim is to explore the local and contextualized school practices on L2L of each country involved from a cultural and situated perspective. Specifically, considering the meanings attributed to these daily practices by teachers of three student-age groups (5, 10, 15 years old), a definition of L2L will be identified for each country taking into account differences and common points among them (Denzin, Lincoln, 1994).