The role of digital technologies in the mediation of institutional relationships and learning processes in Italian schools

Digital technologies have made massive inroads into the education system during the pandemic, not only for learning purposes but also as tools for mediating institutional relationships between school, family, teachers and students. In light of this, the research was carried out ‒ between 2019 and 2020 ‒ in a school complex in the Marche region, to investigate how the use of new technologies can impact both the institutional relationships between school and family and the quality of learning by developing skills and attitudes of students. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyse data collected via questionnaire administered to a reasoned sample of teachers. Results showed that the interpolation of physical and virtual spaces to mediate social relationships and methods of interaction between private, public and institutional contexts, turns out to be problematic due to the great stratification of information, languages, practices and representations, causing a condition of fragmentation within which schools, families and teachers try to transmit consistent values and knowledge to children. This, will have to be the subject of careful political planning both at national and European level, also considering the possibility of introducing professional figures (e.g. educators, psychologists, social workers) to mediate in the dialogue between schools and families, and dedicated to consultancy and support for students.

Keywords: distance learning, institutional relationships, quality of learning

Francesco Orazi, Davide Lucantoni, Il ruolo delle tecnologie digitali nella mediazione delle relazioni istituzionali e dei processi di apprendimento nelle scuole italiane in "PRISMA Economia - Società - Lavoro" 1/2025, pp 57-75, DOI: 10.3280/PRI2025-001005