How to train adult educators in university? A qualitative empirical research to explore the development of professional competences

In Italy, adult educators are involved in activities such as designing, managing, and evaluating educational services in different contexts of intervention. Developing such skills represents a challenge for university didactic because it entails strong connections between thinking and acting [1], instrumental dimension and meaning making, theoretical and practical knowledge [2] [3]. In relation to this, the university apprenticeship program could represent a fundamental place for synthesis and composition. The Master Degree Course in Pedagogical Sciences of Milano Bicocca University elaborated an experimental program meant to enhance the learning potential for students, firstly carried out in A.Y. 2015-2016. After three years of this experimentation, a qualitative research [4] has been planned in the A.Y. 2017- 2018 in order to explore the students' competences developed during the university apprenticeship. Questionnaires composed by open-ended questions will be proposed to students at the beginning (October 2017) and at the end of the apprenticeship (June 2018). Moreover, students will be involved in focus-groups in the middle (February 2018) of the traineeship. This contribution will present and discuss the first reflections coming from the research, referring to the collected material and highlighting themes and meanings of the students’ learning development in order to become adult educators. These first results will be also discussed and compared with theoretical aspects from scientific references about adult educators’ competences.