My primary research interests lie at the intersections of inclusion and diversity, educational policy, and teacher training. In my Ph.D. work, I am exploring how teachers in Norwegian and Italian secondary schools understand and enact the inclusion process of minority language students in their daily professional practices. Adopting a qualitative methodology grounded in Jerome Bruner’s socio-constructivist perspective, my project investigates how teachers make sense of inclusion through narratives and how these narratives resonate with broader policy discourses.

Beyond my doctoral work, I have also engaged in studies on schools and distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, religious pluralism in educational contexts, and professional ethics  for teachers and teacher students. 

I am a member of the research group Grunnped, led by Øyvind Wiik Halvorsen and focused on foundational questions in pedagogy from the perspectives of philosophy, the humanities, and the social sciences. I am also part of the research group RES - Ricerche Educative con le Scuole, led by Michele Caputo, which is dedicated to developing educational research with schools through collaborative and inclusive methodologies.

As a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bergen, I currently work in the Teacher Education program, where I teach pedagogical subjects and seminars and support pre-service teachers during their internships. I have also taught History, Philosophy, and Special Needs Education in Italian secondary schools, as well as pedagogical and didactic subjects at the University of Bologna (as a teaching tutor for the General Pedagogy course) and the Theological Faculty of Emilia-Romagna (as a university lecturer).

Narrating inclusion. A comparative research project on Italian and Norwegian educational policies and teachers’ narratives on the inclusion of minority language students. 

Project manager: Tommaso Rompianesi.

This 4-year study is carried out as a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Education, University of Bergen. The project investigates how the inclusion of minority language students is narrated within two national contexts: Norway and Italy. Using a qualitative methodology grounded in Jerome Bruner’s socio-constructivist perspective, the study examines how teachers construct narratives about inclusion and how these narratives resonate with broader policy discourses.

Relevant resources: 

• Rompianesi, T., & Hilt, L.T. (2024). “Heroes”, “victims”, and “villains”: policy narratives on inclusion in Norwegian and Italian educational documents. Intercultural Education, 35(4), 419–442. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2024.2379191
• Cristin page (link). 

NordBild: The future of Nordic Bildung. 

Project manager: Line T. Hilt. 

NordBild is an explorative project encompassing 4 research groups in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The aim is to explore and critically discuss the possibilities and obstacles that lie in the pedagogical-philosophical heritage of Nordic Bildung when facing epochal educational challenges of sustainability and inclusion.

Relevant resources:

• Cristin page (link). 

Immagio. Storie di eroismi, di fede, e di magia nell'immaginario giovanile [Immagio. Stories of Heroism, Faith, and Magic in Youth Imaginary]

Project manager: Michele Caputo.

Immagio is an exploratory research project investigating the relationship between narratives and youth imagination. A 47-item questionnaire was administered to a non-representative sample of 872 students and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The questionnaire was divided into three sections and required respondents to read and analyze excerpts from the Bible, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. The project is coordinated by Michele Caputo (University of Bologna) and involves research teams from the University of Bologna, the University of Padua, the University of Verona, and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Piacenza). 

Relevant resources: 

• Caputo, M., & Rompianesi, T. (2024). Bible Narratives and Youth Religious Identity: An Italian Exploratory Study. Religions, 15(11), 1385. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15111385
• Cristin page (link)
• RES - Ricerche Educative con le scuole research group webpage (link)

Concluded projects

• Educating the Next generation: Reflection on Crises, Migration and Education (project manager: Wills Kalisha - NLA University College, Bergen). The project takes as a starting point the complex question of why we engage with children and what we pass on to them, emphasizing the intergenerational and spatial dimensions of education. The challenges posed by global crises, migration, climate change, and wars may disrupt traditional notions of inclusion and inheritance in education. The project explores pedagogical approaches that rethink education as a means of renewal in a fractured world, addressing both native and migrant children in their diverse realities.
• Teaching ethics in initial teacher education (project manager: Øyvind Wiik Halvorsen - University of Bergen).
• Progetto di ricerca-azione "scuole Spallanzani" [Action Research Project "Spallanzani Schools"] (project manager: Michele Caputo - University of Bologna). The action-research project at the “Vladimiro Spallanzani” school aimed to investigate and assess the school’s educational and teaching practices, particularly its use of artistic expression, interdisciplinary approach, and focus on personalized learning. The research involved participant observation, interviews with staff, and analysis of teaching methods. Results highlighted the generative value of the personalization principle in education, as well as the role of “community of practices” as key resources for teachers training and professionalism. In its final phase, the project expanded to other secondary schools in the Emilia region, with goals including the detection of personalization principles, analysis of teaching staff dynamics, and the promotion of a network of schools dedicated to educational innovation and personalized learning. Relevant resources:
  • Research project webpage (link)
  • Scuole che educano, insegnanti creativi in Emilia-Romagna: una ricerca sul campo [Educative Schools and Creative Teachers in Emilia-Romagna Region: A Field Study]. Conference Proceedings (link).
  • Pinelli, G. (a cura di) (2024). Genesi di comunità educative fra creatività e orizzonti di senso. Una ricerca con le scuole in Emilia-Romagna [Genesis of Educational Communities Between Creativity and Horizons of Meaning. A Research Project with Schools in Emilia-Romagna]. Bologna: SPES - Scienze Pedagogiche: Esplorazioni e Sentieri.