Educazione alla professionalità: Per una cultura pedagogica della formazione professionale

This thesis discusses and promotes a humanistic way to interpret professionalism in the education and vocational training field. The aim of this research is contributing to transform the education of the future professionals into a concrete opportunity to make people able to participate in the social development, starting by supporting them in their processes of authentic development, both personal and professional. Currently, the theories and the principles that inspire the professionalizing practices in formal contexts are not closely connected to the foundations of the Philosophy of education based on the inheritance of The concept of Bildung. Therefore, in the first part of the thesis the points of contact and discordant elements among the theories of human Bildung and the patterns used in the educational practice for professionals are treated, in order to make emerge the problematic aspects that the maintenance of this separation produces. In accordance with the principle that says that every authentic professionalism can be achieved through a process that integrates the conformation to the professional models and differentiation from them, a new theoretical approach for the vocational training is proposed. It includes the reflections on (I) the authentical relationships among humans that can transform, both in the training contexts and in the professional practices, the interactions between trainers and trainees, among colleagues and between professionals and customers; (II) the subjective contributions that trainees can provide to their learning process and professional practices (emotions, opinions and personal attitudes are elements that are often marginalised in the training based on utilitarian training approaches); (III) the development of the reflective and transformative attitudes of the people, starting by the first stage of education till the adulthood.