Luigia Simona Sica

Identity formation in Italian emerging adults: A cluster-analytic approach and associations with psychosocial functioning

The present study examined identity formation in Italian emerging adults using an integrative identity model including commitment making, identification with commitment, exploration in depth, exploration in breadth, and ruminative exploration. Participants were 1,130 university students, aged 18–30 years. In line with previous research, results indicated that, by means of cluster analysis, six identity statuses could be derived: achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, diffused diffusion, carefree diffusion, and undifferentiated. Each of these identity statuses exhibited a distinct profile in terms of self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and need satisfaction. Suggestions for future research and limitations are discussed.

Personal Identity in Italy

This chapter discusses specifics of identity formation in Italian adolescents and emerging adults. We review consistent evidence illustrating that, in Italy, a progressive deferral of transition to adulthood strongly impacts youth identity development by stimulating identity exploration and postponement of identity commitments. We also consider the influence of ecological contexts and specific Italian groups (i.e., immigrant adolescents and those who drop out of school, youth living in disadvantaged areas in the south of Italy, and emerging adults who are unemployed or hold precarious jobs) for which the identity formation process is particularly challenging.

Future-oriented or present-focused? The role of social support and identity styles on ‘futuring’ in Italian late adolescents and emerging adults

Late adolescence and emerging adulthood are periods in the life cycle when individuals are involved in anticipating and planning for the future (futuring). However, in the last five or six years, as the effects of the recession have made themselves felt in Southern Europe, the situation that young people face has deteriorated dramatically. As a consequence, contemporary young people’s relationship with the future is strongly marked by these social difficulties, and family support becomes essential to their survival. The present study was interested in how futuring could be influenced by identity styles and perceptions of social support. Participants were 1201 Italian late adolescents and emerging adults attending the last year of high school and first years of university. We used three self-report measures: Functions of Identity Scale, Identity Style Inventory, and Social Support Scale. Findings indicate that futuring was influenced by the normative style and the diffuse-avoidant style and by the interactions between both normative identity style and diffuse/avoidant identity styles with peer support. Gender and age differences are discussed.

Exploring New Technological Tools for Education: Some Prototypes and Their Pragmatical Classification

The aim of this chapter is to introduce at exploring the potential of games in educational sector. More in depth, in this chapter we’ll describe: two European projects (Proactive11 and T31) with a specific focus on use of technology in formative sector; and a platform (Eutopia) experimented in both the projects with which educators can create virtual scenarios where students play a role and simulate a specific situation.

Raccontarsi ogni giorno: un intervento di orientamento universitario in itinere ispirato all’expressive writing e alla narrative vocational identity

Lo studio, ispirandosi agli interventi di expressive writing, ha implementato e valutato un intervento di orientamento universitario in itinere, finalizzato a supportare gli studenti nel delicato momento di valutazione e bilancio delle scelte compiute rispetto al corso di studi intrapreso e alla realta del contesto educativo universitario. Venti studenti hanno compilato continuativamente per due settimane un diario degli eventi percepiti come significativi. I risultati confermano che i processi narrativi cosi attivati elicitano processi di meaning making e facilitano l’elaborazione delle esperienze problematiche.

I became adult when … Pathways of identity resolution and adulthood transition in Italian freshmen’s narratives

ABSTRACT Defining and consolidating identity in order to acquire fulfilling adult roles may be more difficult than in the past for a significant proportion of youth cohorts, especially for youth in ‘post-industrial’ countries. This study was focused on the intersection between processes and contents of both identity and adulthood through the narrative approach in the Italian context. Participants were 105 Italian freshmen aged 18–21, attending the first year university. We adopted a narrative approach based on autobiographical memories. Findings confirm the relationship between identity resolution processes and adulthood reaching in Italian freshmen and they identify five student’s profiles (Resolved or closed keepers, Travelers, Uninvolved, On the way, Big babies). Suggestions for future research and limitations are discussed.

DILIGO Assessment Tool: A Smart and Gamified Approach for Preschool Children Assessment

This paper describes DILIGO, a tool for smart assessment of preschool children attitudes. Many tests for children assessment children are based on verbal materials that can result tiresome for pupils, taking a long time for the administration and also they are sensitive to biases. This paper illustrates a gamified approach to promote participation and involvement of preschoolers and to run an implicit and transparent assessment. This way, it is possible to evaluate the children preference for a certain activity, giving information for orienting in school and work context.

Theoretical Perspectives of Hands-On Educational Practices — From a Review of Psychological Theories to Block Magic and INF@NZIA DIGI.Tales 3.6 Projects

In this chapter, the main theories related to cognitive development are discussed, starting from psychological discussion up to theories application to training, pedagogical and formation sciences issues. We start from the classical contribution by Vygotsky and Piaget to arrive to the recent embodied cognition approach. This theoretical excursus leads us to describe two projects we are involved in: the Block Magic project and INF@NZIA DIGI.tales 3.6. The goal of Block Magic is to introduce a new teaching methodology and technology targeting young children between the ages of 2.5 and 7 who are attending pre-school or the early years of primary school. The project aims at helping young learners to learn autonomously. This, the authors believe, is a basic life skill, of critical importance for their future development. We then describe INF@NZIA DIGI.tales 3.6 project, an Italian project aimed to promote the use of ICT technologies and the latest paradigms of human–computer interaction (augmented reality, RFID/NFC sensors, handwriting and speech recogni‐ tion, motion detection, etc.) in order to define psycho-educational practices, which are able to enhance curricular activities and facilitate acquisition processes for skills and knowledge for pupils.

Videojuegos de rol, simulaciones por ordenador, robots y realidad aumentada como nuevas tecnologías para el aprendizaje: guía para profesores, educadores y formadores

Ademas de servir como entretenimiento y un buen canal de difusion de la informacion, las nuevas tecnologias tambien ofrecen ventajas pedagogicas y pueden resultar muy utiles para los formadores, bien como recurso didactico o para fomentar los procesos de aprendizaje. Esta es la idea que defienden los autores coordinados por Orazio Miglino, Maria Luisa Nigrelli y Luigia Simona Sica tras analizar el uso de las nuevas tecnologias en escuelas, universidades y empresas de Espana, Reino Unido e Italia.