Special Collections

Franco Frabboni

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 Library  

Biblioteca Umanistica Università di Urbino

1.2 Collection name   

Franco Frabboni

1.3 Biographical notes 

Franco Frabboni (April 18, 1935 - May 17, 2024), Emeritus Professor in General and Social Pedagogy at Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, was among the first students of Giovanni Maria Bertin (a student of Antonio Banfi).

As Dean for two terms of the Faculty of Education Sciences, he partecipated in the creation of the "Scuola bolognese" of pedagogy, working with colleagues such as Piero Bertolini, Andrea Canevaro, and Mario Gattullo. He also contributed to the establishment of the Free University in Bressanone, a model for a trilingual university. Additionally, he served as President of the Italian Society of Pedagogy (SIPED), and in 2016, he was awarded the SIPED Career Award.

In a Curriculum Vitae he wrote, Frabboni stated that his research "aligns with the theoretical (Philosophy of Education) and empirical (General Education) foundations of critical rationalism with a Problematicist approach. […] He focused his scientific research on the educational systems of schools [from early to higher education] and extracurricular activities […] within the idea of an integrated educational system and a lifelong learning". These guiding principles shaped both his academic teaching and research, making it challenging to easily follow such an extensive career and scholarly contribution. Therefore, only some of the fundamental themes of his lifelong study and research will be highlighted. Among these are the principles of democratic, secular, and activist pedagogy that values freedom, anti-authoritarianism, dialogue, mediation, complexity, and collaboration while respecting all epistemic positions.

Other key themes in his work include an ongoing reflection on active citizenship and the various aspects of the teaching/learning process. He examined thoroughly these topics through the lens of democratic pedagogy, thinking of empirical research as a means of innovation and transformation, while maintaining scientific rigor and a focus on epistemological and methodological issues. Frabboni's reflections on the distinct traits of pedagogy and educational knowledge, enriched by studies and research, have highlighted aspects and problems that remain central to contemporary pedagogical and didactic research.

As an academic with diverse cultural interests, Frabboni was also involved in political and cultural debates at both national and international levels. Nationally, he collaborated with, debated, and wrote significant essays on crucial educational themes, integrating his thoughts with those of Italian educators from both secular and Catholic pedagogical traditions. As evidence of this there are the numerous conferences where he was a speaker and the wide array of publications that reflect his diverse interests.

Frabboni collaborated with prominent university scholars, including mathematicians Gianfranco Arrigo and Bruno D’Amore, and maintained an continuous dialogue with teachers across all educational levels throughout Italy, working "with, for, and among" teachers and their students. He also had importanti collaborations with colleagues from Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and German universities. In the 1980s and 1990s, he conducted the Ricerca-Azione project with colleagues Franz Hamburger and Otto Filtzinger (University of Mainz) to promoting multilingualism, active citizenship, and advanced intercultural processes in German Kindergartens with a high presence of foreign children from immigrant families. The project aimed to integrate these children and their families into German socio-economic and cultural life, also through the inclusion of specially trained foreign educators. These educators played a crucial role in helping children – both foreign and native – to become familiar with at least two languages (their mother tongue and the host country's language). Additionally, they supported families in fostering a more active and constructive relationship with schools.

Furthermore, collaborating with Gerwald Wallnoefer and German-speaking colleagues Nando Belardi and Werner Wiater, Frabboni developed the editorial project Le parole della pedagogia. Teorie italiane e tedesche a confronto (Bollati Boringhieri, 2007), a volume that was later translated into German and published in 2010 by Schneider Verlag.

His most significant works mark a research path that began with his first essay, La pedagogia curativa e il problema dei deboli mentali (Cooperativa Libraria Universitaria, 1968), and continued for more than fifty years with publications such as Pedagogia (Accademia, 1974); La scuola Fuori (Cooperativa Libraria Universitaria, 1968); Scuola e ambiente (Bruno Mondadori, 1980); Dialogo su una scuola possibile (co-written with Cesare Scurati, Giunti, 2011); La sfida della didattica (Sellerio, 2011); Il Problematicismo in pedagogia e in didattica (Erickson, 2012); Una scuola per il duemila (co-written with F. Pinto Minerva, Sellerio, 2014); and Felicità e scuola (Anicia, 2014).

1.4 Date and methods of acquisition

The Frabboni Collection was donated by his family and arrived at the University of Urbino in January 2025.

1.5 Collection history

The collection consists of 190 documents representing Frabboni's academic and research from the 1970s to 2024. It includes education and pedagogical manuals, works from editorial series he founded and curated, all related to pedagogy. Some of his publications are available in Spanish translations, reflecting his numerous collaborations with Iberian universities.

1.6 Collection increase
No further material is expected to be added to the collection.

1.7 Collection indexing

The collection was donated with an attached file compiled by Rossella D’Ugo and Laura Frabboni, listing all 190 monographic titles. It was pre-categorized into six thematic sections.

1.8 Collection accessibility 

The OPAC catalogue is accessible online at: 

https://sbaopac.uniurb.it/SebinaOpac/query/f.frabboni?context=catalogo 

and on open shelves: it is available and it has been fully inventoried and catalogued.


2. DESCRIPTION

2.1 Extent

The collection holds 190 monographic units, primarily manuals authored or curated by Prof. Frabboni. Various editions and some Spanish translations are present, including unique copies within the Italian territory.

2.2  Description identifier, organization, and placement

The collection is divided into three sections with the following classifications:

A - Pedagogy as a Science (33 units)

B - Didactics as a Science (44 units)

C - Lifelong Education (4 units)

D - Integrated Educational System (23 units)

E - The School

- E-01 Nursery and Early Childhood Education (24 units)

- E-02 Elementary and Primary Education (29 units)

- E-03 School Reforms (28 units)

F - Miscellaneous (4 units)

2.3 State of conservation

Well preserved.


3. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND DOCUMENTATION

3.1 Bibliography and documentation

No official publications on the collection exist. However, here are some links related to Franco Frabboni: 


4. NOTES

4.1 Special notes and reports

The collection holds of copies of Frabboni’s publications rather than his study materials. His works range from primary school textbooks to university-level manuals. Particularly noteworthy is the presence of the Didattica viva series (La Nuova Italia), valuable resources for educators.


PERMALINK TO THE CATALOGUE

Access the catalogue


COMPLIER'S NAME

Francesca Palmieri