Teaching and Learning in Prison: The Transformative Role of the Educator in Re-educational Contexts
In contemporary pedagogical discourse, the role of the educator in re-educational contexts represents a crucial theoretical and practical issue. Education in prison, in particular, cannot be understood as a mere transmission of knowledge or functional skills for reintegration, but rather as a profound relational practice in which educator and participant co-construct meaning. From this perspective, […]
Empathy and Emotional Intelligence in Prison Education: The Transformative Role of Play
Emotional intelligence and empathy are central competencies for building meaningful relationships and for reintegration into social and working life. In prison education contexts—often marked by marginalization, isolation, and affective deprivation—these competencies are frequently underdeveloped or latent, yet they are crucial for any genuine process of personal transformation. Education in prison, therefore, cannot be limited to […]
The Pedagogical Function of Error in Prison Education: An Analysis Through the ICARUS Project
Traditionally regarded as something to be avoided in educational settings, error can play a strategic role in transformative learning processes—especially in socially vulnerable contexts such as prisons. This contribution explores the pedagogical value of error in light of the European project ICARUS – Including Chess As a Re-education Up-Skilling Tool (KA220-ADU-D5940462), with specific reference to […]
Psychology in chess
It is now well known that chess is an effective educational system. This idea is also shared by the European Parliament, which has promoted the inclusion of chess in the education system through legislation, considering it a subject in its own right. Wolfango Sbordio, a professor and chess player from Turin, known for having introduced […]
Chess as therapy
Soft skills are the type of ability that is becoming increasingly sought after in the labour market, even more so than the technical skills that are acquired through study programmes. Soft skills are the type of abilities that include, among others, emotional intelligence, team spirit, risk assessment and taking responsibility. For these reasons, it is […]
The movement of the horse
May 2024. Perugia. Two women approach the Fontana Maggiore, in the centre of Piazza IV Novembre. One of the women shields her eyes from the glare of the sun, which is quite bright considering it’s only eight in the morning, then she bends down and stops to observe one of the twenty-five sides of the […]
CHESS AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION AND EMPLOYMENT
Andreas Ahrens1, Antonia Castellani2, Maria Chiara Di Francesco3, Jelena Zascerinska4, Mihails Zascerinskis5, Anastasija Bikova6, Irina Abjalkiene7, Olga Gukovica8, Ludmila Aleksejeva9 1 Dr.-Ing. habil. (Electrical Engineering), Professor, Hochschule Wismar University of Applied Sciences Technology, Business and Design, Wismar, Germany, e-mail: andreas.ahrens@hs-wismar.de 2 Senior researcher, Skill Up, Rome, Italy, e-mail: a.castellani@skillupsrl.it 3 Junior researcher, Skill Up, Rome, […]
CHESS PLAY AS A MEANS OF IMPROVING INCLUSIVENESS OF DISADVANTAGED GROUPS
Andreas Ahrens1, Jelena Zascerinska2, Anastasija Bikova3, Ludmila Aleksejeva4, Mihails Zascerinskis5, Olga Gukovica6, Irina Abjalkiene7 1 Hochschule Wismar University of Applied Sciences Technology Business and Design, Germany 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Centre for Education and Innovation Research, Latvia Abstract. Chess game as a means of the enhancement of inclusiveness of disadvantaged groups is attracting […]
Menudas Piezas’. A Spanish blockbuster about chess and social inclusion
‘We are all equal in front of a chessboard’. That is the leitmotiv of ‘Menudas Piezas’ (‘Checkmates’ in English), a Spanish film from 2024 that has become a hit and which, based on a true story, highlights the power of chess as an element of social integration. The film’s protagonist is Candela, who mistakenly believed […]
Caring: Icarus Project and helping relationships
The essence of being human is to Care, is to take care of other human beings. The philosopher Heidegger traced a subtle but important diversification within this attitude. ‘To care’ means to provide help by substituting oneself for the needy subject, bypassing him or, in extreme cases, even mortifying him by making him perceive the […]