ICARUS and 3R, an Erasmus+ crossover
Last March I had the great opportunity to accompany the members of Club Magic Extremadura in the national workshops that we developed in the prisons of Cáceres and Badajoz, as well as in the Therapeutic Community La Garrovilla (Mérida). And I speak of opportunity because I could see and learn how Juan Antonio Montero, Rodrigo […]
Playing with Consequences: Decision-Making, Risk, and Responsibility in Educational Games
In its regulated and symbolic form, play represents one of the most fertile contexts for education in responsibility. Strategic and reflective games—such as chess or role-playing games—place decision-making, consequence evaluation, and acceptance of outcomes at their core. These elements, often overlooked in educational programs focused primarily on content transmission, acquire central significance in contexts where […]
Playing Seriously: The Pedagogical Value of Play in Adult Education Contexts
In the Western educational tradition, play has often held a marginal position, associated with childhood, leisure time, or forms of escapism. Yet, growing attention from educational sciences has shown that play—far from being a merely childish activity—can be a powerful formative device even in adult education contexts, especially those marked by vulnerability or restriction. When […]
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 […]
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 […]